Advice please

[boomer]

Firstly hi there,
I really am out of my depth on here & feel a bit embarrased on asking the following question,well i've been having a go at making a few garden products for myself but it seems they've caught the eye of a few people,so i brought my self a sliding compound mitre saw 10" blade among other things my question is:
How do i get a 35 degree cut on it,i moved the rotary table to 35 but when it cut it was no where near the angle i wanted (its for legs on a bird table).

Any advice would be very good,& sorry about the daft question but im a total woodworking newbie .

 

[woodbloke]

making a few garden products for myself but it seems they've caught the eye of a few people

....hope the Inland Revenue isn't one of them.... :wink: - Rob

 

[mailee]

Hi there boomer, It looks like your saw is out on it's measurement table but not to worry. Use a protractor or something that will give you the angle you require and rotate the blade to this setting and lock it off. This way you will know the angle is correct. Hope this helps. :wink:

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi boomer,

Don't rely on the scale on the saw - they are often not accurate. Measure the angle, then make some test cuts.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to the forum.

Paul

 

[jasonB]

The angles on mitre saws are measured from the fence, I suspect the angle you are actually after is 55degrees (35+55=90) there are only a few saws that will cut to this angle and then usually only to one side.

Are you cutting braces for the base like the pic, if so top cut will be 55degs, botton 35degs

Jason

 

[Losos]

Hi Boomer,
Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll get the definitive answer from someone soon, personally I'm not much of an expert on the mitre saw. What is "miles out" in your book :?:

My saw is a cheapo & is often 1 or even 2 degrees out

There is usually an adjustment at the back to 'calibrate' at 90 degree, I do it from time to time but I still don't get 100% accuracy I just live with it or if possible use the table saw which did cost me a bit.

As mentioned if you tell us how far out you are there maybe some more people come back to you.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Another thought - if you find that despite all your efforts your saw will not cut a sufficiently accurate angle, you could cut it near enough then finish it off accurately with a bench plane on a shooting board. There are plenty of threads on here about shooting boards. Like this one https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... 62&start=0

Paul

 

[Colin C]

Hi boomer
Welcome to the forum
Never feel embarrased about asking question of any kind as we all dont know it all ( unless your Srit :wink: )
So next you have a question, ask away

 

[boomer]

The angles on mitre saws are measured from the fence, I suspect the angle you are actually after is 55degrees (35+55=90) there are only a few saws that will cut to this angle and then usually only to one side.

Are you cutting braces for the base like the pic, if so top cut will be 55degs, botton 35degs

Jason

Thats exactly what i mean Jason,now for daft question no2,what do you mean top & bottom cut ?
Thanks to all who answered.

 

[jasonB]

The top cut will be the angle you need to set the saw at to cut the mitre at the top of the brace, the bottom cut will be the angle at the bottom. Its at times like this you will wish you paid more attention in those geometry lessons at school :lol:

What saw have you got and whats the max angle you can mitre, if its less than 55degs there are ways around it.

Jason

 

[lugo35]

hi boomer
why dont you make up a mitre box and cut the angle you want that way

 

[boomer]

The saw i've got is a cheapo(£70ish) from B&Q called performance power 255mm slide compound mitre saw,rotary table 45degs both ways bevel 45degs one way.Hope ive explained right lol.

 

[engineer one]

the best advice is always the simplest.

with most mitre saws, there is a problem at certain places to get
truly accurate cuts, so there is something to be said for
producing a small jig which will hold the wood at the right angle, and
leave the saw blade at 90 degrees, by reversing the wood in the
jig, you could get both of your angles very easily.

if you can't get it done at home, then you could i am sure
get your local supplier to do it for a few quid.

paul :wink:

 

[JPEC]

I use a bevel gauge to set the wood at the required angle to the blade, set at 90 degrees, then hold it with a clamp before cutting

 

[boomer]

Thank you all for the advice,i think i'll go with the jig idea.

 

[George_N]

I use a bevel gauge to set the wood at the required angle to the blade, set at 90 degrees, then hold it with a clamp before cutting

That does kind of defeat the purpose of having a compound mitre saw though, doesn't it. The project in hand is a bird table. if the angles are 35 or 38 degrees, it won't matter much. To cut more acute angles make a right angle jig that clamps to your fence and will hold the workpiece at 90 degrees to the fence (end on). This will let you cut acute angles down to a few degrees if you need to. I haven't used this method with a power mitre saw, but it works well with a hand-powered one.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Boomer and welcome

I think your problem is that you get 35 and want 55 degrees?

Seems to me that although your setting of 35 degrees is not giving you the angle you want on the piece of wood you choose to use, the angle on your off-cut is the desired 55 degrees as both together must make 90 degrees for a single, straight piece of wood.

Surely your problem will be solved by simply placing the wood in the other orientation on the saw or turning the saw to 35 degrees at the opposite side?