Accurate angles

[quixoticgeek]

I would like to cut some wood to for mitring together to make a box. I'd like to cut pretty precise angles. All the angles involved are 30° or 60° or 90°.

I bought a cheapish mitre saw (something like this one: https://amzn.to/2uEAXIw (tho I think mine was draper brand), and it's basically useless. I Couldn't get it to cut accurately, even on angles of 90°.

I'd like to not waste any further materials on cheap solutions that don't work. what do people recommend for cutting accurate angles in wood? I'm thinking hand tool based solutions (largely on cost grounds).

Thanks

Julia

 

[Just4Fun]

Cut as close as you can with your mitre saw then fine tune with an angled shooting board.

 

[dzj]

" I'm thinking hand tool based solutions (largely on cost grounds). "

Precise hand tools are often also costly.
I'm not sure that there is a cheap solution that works properly every time, for the kind of
work you wish to do.

 

[Rorschach]

I hate those hand powered mitre saws, never had good luck with them producing a good cut or a precise angle.

I much prefer a powered mitre saw. You can clamp the wood so it won't move and take the cut very slowly which greatly improves the quality of cut, you can also make very fine adjustments to the angle and length easily. Even a cheap one does a good job with a sharp blade.

 

[MikeG.]

.........Precise hand tools are often also costly.

I honestly can't imagine what you've got in mind here. Which expensive hand tools do you see making a difference in this situation?

I'm not sure that there is a cheap solution that works properly every time, for the kind of
work you wish to do.

Shooting board and plane. Total cost £30 or £40.

 

[novocaine]

what you've got is fine.
it's a saw. you use it to saw as close to your mark as you dare.
then as 2 people have already said, shooting board and plane.

 

[MikeG.]

Another approach is to cut a knife line all around, remove (chisel) a little waste from adjacent to the line, cut the bulk off roughly with a hand saw, then pare to your knife line with a chisel. Again, skills are involved, rather than kit.

 

[AndyT]

what you've got is fine.
it's a saw. you use it to saw as close to your mark as you dare.
then as 2 people have already said, shooting board and plane.

Agreed. I have an identical mitre saw and have used it successfully for all sorts of things.

One thought - as supplied, you get a fine blade, designed for cross cutting picture framing and similar. If you are using it for long cuts or rip cuts the teeth could be too small to clear the sawdust, leading to a wonky cut.

You should be able to get a coarser blade or just cut by eye and rely on planing to the angle.

What sort of scale are you attempting? A few pictures would help people give specific advice.

 

[shed9]

If cost is a driver, try looking for a local woodworking / evening class to develop your skills and decide what equipment works for you before committing further. Maybe put a call out on here for someone in your area to show you their setup and help /advise for an hour. Appreciate I'm suggesting other people chip in here but I have faith they would.

I agree with dzj in that precise hand tools can also often be pricey, albeit that definition of pricey is relevant to each individual and many spectrums of price scale. My own point being that both routes can have similar costs at the end of the day. It depends on what you want to achieve and to what level.

My own advice in terms of tools - don't be swayed into believing the mantra that cheap tools are not the issue and that it's all about skill; It's about both, the tools and the skills to use them. There is nothing more disheartening when starting out in woodworking using inefficient tools believing it's your own skills that's letting you down. It often puts people off woodworking all together. You don't need to break the bank just be selective and investigate the options per tool. Paul Sellers on Youtube is a good resource for starting out, he uses basic accessible tools, both new and old (advising how to revamp the old). Revamping an old tool can be cost effective, just hungry on your time but it does take the mystery out of a tool and instils a bit confidence in its use in my opinion. A good saw, (or saws suitable for the type of work you do) shooting board and plane is a good route but you need to make the board and have a sharp plane in the first place. Again Youtube is a good resource, look up scary sharp - an easy cheap way to start getting good results on achieving a workable plane blade. Don't get me wrong, skills are definitely key but they aren't going anywhere if the tools aren't up to it.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Another point to make - and it's common to most joinery - is that the stock needs to be nice and square all round, otherwise no amount of finessing (with expensive or cheap tools) will work. Excellent results are possible with inexpensive hand tools. Cheers, W2S

 

[Jacob]

The tools don't matter much as long as they are sharp so perhaps the most critical thing is accurate shaping of workpiece, marking out and working to the lines - as near as you can with a saw then pare off with chisel or plane down to the lines.
Then there are wheezes to make things fit better such as butting them up and sawing down the gap between them.
The best machines would be a mitre guillotine or table saw.

 

[dzj]

Shooting board and plane. Total cost £30 or £40.

£30? Luxury!


What would be the cost of tools or machines needed to make a good shooting board?
Most woodworkers after a few years can persuade an old Stanley or even an Asian made plane
to work well enough, but can someone starting out do it? (Nope)
Then there's the cost of sharpening and time needed to achieve adequate results...

Perhaps a small disk sander might be a better bet?

 

[woodbloke66]

The tools don't matter much as long as they are sharp

Oh dear Jacob, I ought to have kept the little block 'plane' I found at In-Excess near me. Pressed steel body, blade about as thick as a Coke can etc. Total cost...about £1.50 if I recollect.

Shooting board and plane. Total cost £30 or £40.

£30? Luxury!

What would be the cost of tools or machines needed to make a good shooting board?
Most woodworkers after a few years can persuade an old Stanley or even an Asian made plane
to work well enough, but can someone starting out do it? (Nope)
Then there's the cost of sharpening and time needed to achieve adequate results...

Perhaps a small disk sander might be a better bet?

Making a great shooting board like this one (IMO the best I've ever used) costs virtually nowt and even a relative newcomer with a little experience could make one, assuming that you can get a No.5 reasonably sharp and that you can also make the housing across the grain (it doesn't even have to be square to the edge) as well as sort out the fence. Not difficult by any stretch and once it's made, you'll find it's THE most used jig in the 'shop (at least in mine ) - Rob

 

[MikeG.]

.......What would be the cost of tools or machines needed to make a good shooting board?.......

A few bits of scrap and a mitre square, a plane, hand saw, straight-edge, drill, screwdriver......that's pretty much it, I reckon.

 

[woodbloke66]

.......What would be the cost of tools or machines needed to make a good shooting board?.......

A few bits of scrap and a mitre square, a plane, hand saw, straight-edge, drill, screwdriver......that's pretty much it, I reckon.

Wot Mike said ^, I'd include a chisel and mallet as well - Rob

 

[shed9]

What would be the cost of tools or machines needed to make a good shooting board?
Most woodworkers after a few years can persuade an old Stanley or even an Asian made plane
to work well enough, but can someone starting out do it? (Nope)
Then there's the cost of sharpening and time needed to achieve adequate results...

Perhaps a small disk sander might be a better bet?

Totally agree. Good tools are half the battle and even more so for someone starting out.

 

[MikeG.]

Precise hand tools are often also costly........

You haven't said what you meant by this. What is the difference between a precise plane and an imprecise one? A precise tenon saw and an imprecise one? A precise chisel and an imprecise one? I'm utterly in the dark as to what you are getting at.

 

[transatlantic]

Saw and shooting board is definately the way to go.

As a side note .... [Not related to the op of this post]

I would have to agree with the previous comments. Its usually the people with years of experience that can make 'any old tool' work, no matter it's quality. The key being the experience they have!

It's somewhat annoying when you see people telling someone who is completely new to the hobby, to go out and buy a beaten up hand plane off ebay and do it up.

Great.

So before they can even begin their woodworking journey, they now have to side track into restoring hand planes!

Not saying it can't be done, and I am sure that many people have done it successfully, but for the average person, ...it would be far better to simply go out and buy a mid range plane. If funds don't allow, then I guess they don;t have a choice, but it's bound to cause frustration.

 

[MikeG.]

Whilst I agree with most of that, Transatlantic, there isn't anything in this thread to say we are dealing with someone new to woodworking. Further, on planes, you left out the easiest and cheapest option for a newcomer: buy a reconditioned plane. There are a number of specialist tool sellers with beautifully tuned old planes. In my view it is an absolute fundamental of woodworking that you can't replace skills with kit, and yet this is what so many people try to do.

 

[shed9]

It's somewhat annoying when you see people telling someone who is completely new to the hobby, to go out and buy a beaten up hand plane off ebay and do it up.

Something to be said for cleaning up an old but better plane and understanding how it works, goes together, sharpens up, etc and besides some sellers of old planes do most of that for you. Chances are with a new plane of similar low price (and this is a driver for the OP) they may very likely end up having to do similar work to it anyhow. This in line with a local class is an option in my opinion, not the only one but an option none the less. On a low budget, buying a cheap plane is going to require work or compromise at least with old metal you have something to work with at that price point.