I have a miter saw with a laser - and a new fine-toothed backsaw(?) - for finer cuts with precision. I have never used the backsaw and have used the miter saw very little. What I noticed with the miter saw is that the laser is not accurate, so you have to try to figure out how much to the left/right of the laser the cut will be - you can test this by cutting on test pieces.
I need to cut moldings to make a frame for a painting, so the cuts need to be exact for the frame to be perfectly square. I feel like the miter saw will drive me crazy. But the question is, how good of a 90-degree cut can I achieve with the backsaw + a miter box? ...I will try - but what are your experiences?
I need to cut moldings to make a frame for a painting, so the cuts need to be exact for the frame to be perfectly square. I feel like the miter saw will drive me crazy. But the question is, how good of a 90-degree cut can I achieve with the backsaw + a miter box? ...I will try - but what are your experiences?
The laser is just an indication on cheaper saws. Make a thin line, lower the saw without starting it, and check that the side of the tooth reaches exactly where you want on the line. If you draw a line along the entire cut, you can let the blade step/touch along to see if the angle is correct before you saw. Cheaper miter saws move and flex when used forcefully, make sure it's somewhat lubricated/runs smoothly, and saw slowly without forcing and bending the saw.
If you go through these steps, it should be possible to get a good straight cut with a cheap miter saw. You want both the correct angle and the entire cut in one plane. The latter should be clearly easier with a miter saw than with a backsaw.
But why not try both saws on some scrap piece and see which one you feel most comfortable with?
Edit: or buy a new expensive one, the most tools win, as you know
If you go through these steps, it should be possible to get a good straight cut with a cheap miter saw. You want both the correct angle and the entire cut in one plane. The latter should be clearly easier with a miter saw than with a backsaw.
But why not try both saws on some scrap piece and see which one you feel most comfortable with?
Edit: or buy a new expensive one, the most tools win, as you know
I have a fairly cheap miter saw where the precision is quite poor for making finer woodwork. I usually use a good speed square and make some test cuts in a scrap piece where I fine-tune the saw before cutting the real piece. If you take a fairly wide scrap piece, it's easier to see if it's skewing in any direction. On my saw, it's about +-1 degree on the saw's protractor, which becomes very noticeable if you're going to miter trim, for example.
Calibrate the saw using a good speed square/rafter square. Sometimes it can be good to check the blade angle every time the saw's angle changes.
This one is good and is more user-friendly than a traditional try square.
https://www.empirelevel.eu/en-eu/squares/rafter-squares/true-blue-174;-rafter-squares/
A good blade with many teeth provides cleaner cuts.
Most miter saws flex slightly. Try to identify in which positions your saw flexes the most and avoid them.
Before important cuts, it can be good to test cut the angles on scrap pieces to verify the combined angle.
This one is good and is more user-friendly than a traditional try square.
https://www.empirelevel.eu/en-eu/squares/rafter-squares/true-blue-174;-rafter-squares/
A good blade with many teeth provides cleaner cuts.
Most miter saws flex slightly. Try to identify in which positions your saw flexes the most and avoid them.
Before important cuts, it can be good to test cut the angles on scrap pieces to verify the combined angle.
Cut one piece first and then use it as a template; place it on top when you cut the other three. You should cut the other three pieces one at a time using the same template for all. As long as you make sure the template aligns completely "at the other end" and you place the blade right next to the template, the pieces will be more than sufficiently "identical."Dracula said: