Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - Mitre box suggestions?
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parkers1
08-26-07, 08:55 AM
Hi,
I have one of those manual JobMate mitre saws from Home Depot (not bad, has many angles, height adjustment locks, etc.) but the problem is the bloody thing never cuts a square edge! E.g. if I cut anything at a 45-degree angle, the two ends never square up properly. Whether it's quarter round (where you can get away with a little inaccuracy due to the small height) or 3" - 4" baseboard (where you can get away with nothing), it's always the same.
So, are these manual mitre saws just pieces of junk or am *I* doing something wrong? Do I really just need to get a power-operated one? Help! And thanks in advance!
I have one of those manual JobMate mitre saws from Home Depot (not bad, has many angles, height adjustment locks, etc.) but the problem is the bloody thing never cuts a square edge! E.g. if I cut anything at a 45-degree angle, the two ends never square up properly. Whether it's quarter round (where you can get away with a little inaccuracy due to the small height) or 3" - 4" baseboard (where you can get away with nothing), it's always the same.
So, are these manual mitre saws just pieces of junk or am *I* doing something wrong? Do I really just need to get a power-operated one? Help! And thanks in advance!
marksr
08-26-07, 01:30 PM
IMO the biggest problem with a hand powered miter saw is the vibration the sawing action causes makes it hard to keep the wood in position = uneven cuts :eek: The higher end hand miter saws tend to do a better job than the cheap ones - but I still prefer a power miter :D
mango man
08-26-07, 03:27 PM
make your own , with some scrap hardwood and use the saw that you will be using to cut the slots .
accurate , cheap
accurate , cheap
XSleeper
08-26-07, 04:30 PM
Parkers1,
I tried to find a photo of your miterbox online... I'm picturing one of the cheap wooden or plastic miterboxes that is nothing more than a glorified " [ ". But you mentioned height adjustment locks, and it makes me wonder if this is some sort of advanced design.
At any rate, if you are saying that the faces do not match, it could be that the thing is not adjusted right... cutting a 43 on one side, 47 on the other... or it could be that the piece being cut is not sitting at a perfect 0 degree bevel as you cut- if it is leaning forward or back as it's being cut you would in effect be cutting a compound angle... which would also mean the pieces wouldn't match up. And Marksr makes a good point about the pieces moving as they are cut... and mango man's point about the saw wiggle is good too. (saw kerf needs to hold the saw tight, and be perfectly square with the base because the saw needs to be guided at the perfect angle- any wobble throws the angle off, creating a compound angle cut)
I haven't used one of those things since 7th grade shop class. I'm probably not much help at troubleshooting them, but I think one could safely assume that they just aren't as accurate as todays' power tools.
I tried to find a photo of your miterbox online... I'm picturing one of the cheap wooden or plastic miterboxes that is nothing more than a glorified " [ ". But you mentioned height adjustment locks, and it makes me wonder if this is some sort of advanced design.
At any rate, if you are saying that the faces do not match, it could be that the thing is not adjusted right... cutting a 43 on one side, 47 on the other... or it could be that the piece being cut is not sitting at a perfect 0 degree bevel as you cut- if it is leaning forward or back as it's being cut you would in effect be cutting a compound angle... which would also mean the pieces wouldn't match up. And Marksr makes a good point about the pieces moving as they are cut... and mango man's point about the saw wiggle is good too. (saw kerf needs to hold the saw tight, and be perfectly square with the base because the saw needs to be guided at the perfect angle- any wobble throws the angle off, creating a compound angle cut)
I haven't used one of those things since 7th grade shop class. I'm probably not much help at troubleshooting them, but I think one could safely assume that they just aren't as accurate as todays' power tools.
parkers1
08-27-07, 07:18 AM
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. I was just trying to find a picture of the one that I currently have but it seems Home Depot no longer sells it... At this point, I am leaning towards finally getting a power mitre saw. I see Home Depot has this one:
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=944052&Ntt=944052&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
Would this be a good choice for a DIYer? I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money and this is about my limit. I think what I'm confused about iis the maximum cutting thickness of these. Is it easy to cut say 6" high baseboard with these things?
Thanks very much again!
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=944052&Ntt=944052&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
Would this be a good choice for a DIYer? I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money and this is about my limit. I think what I'm confused about iis the maximum cutting thickness of these. Is it easy to cut say 6" high baseboard with these things?
Thanks very much again!