Compund Miter Saws

You think you'll get good information on a saw to cut something "square", from a group who takes great pride in making everything "round"?

James Barley

Hi Mike, I use miter saws all the time at home doing segmented woodturnings and at work. If you have a saw that won't cut square the first thing you must do is check the fence with a known straight edge to be sure the fence is straight all the way across. If it isn't it will never cut square. If it's not straight across you can usually correct it by loosening the bolts in the fence and correcting it with a straight edge. At the same time you must use a square and check the blade making sure it's 90 degrees to the fence. Both sides. It takes a bit of fiddling to do this but it isn't too difficult. I check the 45 degree settings so the positive stops will be correct. Don't look at the degrees pointer until your finished because it's adjustable and not always adjusted correctly. If the fence is straight but it won't cut square there is usually an adjustment to correct it. Again don't look at the pointer until your finished and adjust it if needed. If there is no adjustment you must use the method above. For vertical alignment for a compound saw the only adjustment is the 90 degree stop. A good blade and arbor washers are also needed. If you do all this and you still aren't cutting square the board your cutting may not have a straight edge to begin with. If your aligning a saw always use a jointed board and only check for square from the face that touches the fence. The saw I have at work has been thrown in pickups, dropped in the dirt, left in the rain, dropped on concrete, has had every type of liquid poored on it and looks as if it was hit with a bomb and still cuts fine if I keep it aligned.

Bob, Naugatuck Ct.

I've worn out 2 miter saws and currently own a Dewalt which I'm happy with. I think I gave right around $300 for it tho'. As far as I know, Dewalt makes Black and Decker too, I think the B&D machines are a bit cheaper, don't know if the quality is or not. It might bear some looking into.

Bob. Very good advice. We need to be reminded to tune up all of our tools and machines when bought and from time to time. Thanks.

James. ROTFL. Too funny to get you into COC.

Fortiter,

No, B&D owns Dewalt.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Hi All,

Thanks for all the quick replies and great advice.

Mike

I'm in the market for a compound miter saw. 10" sounds good, but 12" inch sounds even better. My budget will allow about $225-$250 to spend.

All the suggestions that I read on the web through epinions.com or amazon.com don't include too many bad reviews. I just just sold a craftsman that I could never get to cut square. I don't want to have the same problems. Any comments would be helpful.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike,

You might want to take a look at my review of the 12" Bosch Miter Saw

-- Regards,

You get what you pay for. Stay away from the GMC. DeWalt is cool.

Oh one more thing. No matter how much you spend on the saw, throw away the blade and get yourself a Forrest.

I went through the same decision a couple months ago. I had narrowed the choice down to the Delta 36-085 and the DeWalt DW703. The Delta comes with a few more extras, such as extension supports and a clamp, and does dual bevels. The DeWalt bevels on one side only. In the end, I got a good deal on the DeWalt 703 at a woodworking show, and I'm happy with the purchase, paraticularly since I was able to get a super blade with the Dewalt at a great price.

I think the DeWalt is a little more solid than the Delta. I wasn't impressed with the bevel angle indicator made out of paper on the Delta. You can go to Delta's Website and download the instruction manuals for most of their products, including the 36-085, to give you a chance to review their saws.

It would also be nice to spend a little more and get a sliding compound miter saw. An acquaintance makes his living as a cabinet maker and final trim fitter, and he uses an 8" sliding compound saw -- I think it's a Makita. A little winner.

Jim