When it comes to cutting bevels, miter joints and doing cross cuts on standard wood stock or molding, few tools can compare with the accuracy and efficiency of a miter saw.
This machine is meant to make a limited set of cuts, and do it really well. For a typical job that involves mouldings, roof hips, door frames, and windows, the number of bevels and miter cuts that need to be made can easily run in the hundreds. That makes the miter saw a worthwhile investment that pays off big in terms of less time and material waste.
What The Miter Saw Can Do For You?
The miter saw, just as the name suggests, is great for doing miter cuts. It also does well with cross or straight cuts for cutting pieces of timber to the correct length. Most types of miter saws today can be adjusted to cut into the wood at an angle to make bevel cuts, as well, and the better miter saw models can do a combination of bevel and miter cut (simultaneously) called the compound cut.
That’s about the extent of cuts it can do. Miter saws are, for most intents and purposes, circular saws mounted to a stable arm and platform such that it can only come down on the material at fixed angles and slide front to back. The circular saw is arguably the more versatile tool, as it can cut not just dimension timber but also boards and plywood.
For most framing and cutting applications, though, the miter saw makes cutting stocks of consistent lengths and angles so much easier. Accurate miters and cross cuts are vital for getting frames to sit level, as well as for cutting joints that look seamless.
Which Type of Miter Saw Should You Choose
Miter saws excel at very specific cuts and as such, they are very useful for a specific range of projects. The type of miter saw that you need largely depends on the cuts that you need to execute.
The Basic Miter Saw
No discussion of miter saws will be complete without a mention of the classic cross cut basic miter saw, which has all but disappeared from the market. This variant can only do miter cuts and usually have no slide option to them either.
These will be the most affordable miter saw models out there and will work for those who dabble in DIY projects.
The Compound Miter Saw
The compound miter saw is a major improvement on the basic miter saw in the fact that you can tilt the blade in one or two directions. This simple feature lets you execute accurate bevel cuts, which is often used in door frames and for installing interior trim pieces around the corners of the ceilings and walls.
Most compound miter saws have blade arms that tilt in just one direction, usually to the left. This means that to cut a stock with a reverse bevel, you will need to flip the material around.
Newer compound miter saws that can tilt to the left and to the right are also available on the market, in which case they are called dual compound miter saws. These are also one of the more expensive types of miter saws available.
The Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Yet another improvement on the compound miter saw that overcomes one of the major shortcomings of the tool is the sliding capabilities. With the ordinary compound miter saw, the saw arm can only pivot from a fixed spot, and this means that the saw has a cut capacity that is limited by the diameter of the blade.
For example, a miter saw with a blade that is 12 inches in diameter can only cut stock that’s less than 12 inches wide.
Enter the sliding miter saw. This variant has a sliding feature that lets the operator pull the blade along the line of the cut for a few inches. This feature can drastically increase the cutting capacity of a miter saw by more than a foot, making it suitable not just for cutting dimensional pieces of wood but also wood planks, as well.
Some of the most expensive miter saw models combine all the features into one handy package. A dual compound sliding meter saw gives you a miter saw that can tilt both left and right, let you slide forward and backward, all on a mitering table that gives you a wide range of angles.
Cordless Miter Saws
Just like the case with most power tools, improvements in lithium-ion batteries have given rise to battery operated miter saws that you can take almost anywhere on the job site. Of course, there is still the issue with limited running times and the need to wait for the batteries to charge.
New models with brushless motors offer the advantages of less noise, less battery drain, and maintenance-free operation throughout the life of the device.
Features to Look For in Miter Saws:
Positive Stops let you set up the miter saw by feel. Usually, detents will ‘click’ the miter table in place along the most commonly used angles, such as the 45, 90, 30 and 22.5 degrees angles (common angles used in construction), for example.
Cutting Guides are crucial for making the precise cuts you need to do with a miter saw. Some models will shine a laser beam to help indicate the blade’s path on the material, although some red lasers can be hard to see in the sunlight.
Some models come with green lasers, instead, while others have opted for a less high-tech but arguably more accurate method of shining an LED light from behind the saw blade to cast a narrow shadow.Fences are not just guides for keeping cuts straight. Since the miter saw cuts away from the front, the fence also holds the material against the blade. Taller fences are pretty useful for cutting into wide crown moulding, which can be flimsy and some fences can also be extended to support longer stock, as well.
Dust Extraction features help you keep the workplace clean by shooting the dust out of the port, where it can be collected by a vacuum cleaner or a dust bag. Miter saws are fairly efficient cutting machines that hardly waste material, but the hundreds of cuts you can do with them will add up pretty quickly.
Soft Start Motors help the saw blade gradually spin up, giving you ample time to secure the stock against the fence as you make your cut.
Brushless Motors are quieter, more efficient, and require less maintenance. They also let manufacturers add advanced features like rate control and overloading protection, as well.
Built-in material clamps let you secure the material to the miter table. Having clamps ready to secure bigger stock down can be incredibly handy when using a sliding miter saw, to ensure perfect cuts anytime.
Miter Saw stands lets you use the machine on the job site or anywhere that a bench may not be available. The more useful stands not only provide a stable platform for the machine, but they also have built-in supports to stabilize longer stock material.
Simple Blade Changing features lets you swap out the blade easily for increased capacity
Electronic Speed Control features let the saw run at consistent speeds even under varying loads, for smoother and more consistent cuts.
Comparing Miter Saws
Miter Saws are fairly standard across the different models put out by manufacturers. When comparing models of the same type, expect most features to come standard – positive stops, adjustable fences, and other things that enable you to make accurate and consistent cross and bevel cuts.
When choosing a miter saw, picking a model made by a respected brand matters. Miter saws are precision tools in every sense of the word, and manufacturers with plenty of experience building miter saws will generally offer these tools to cover a wide range of price brackets that might just fit your budget.
Also keep in mind that aside from the tool itself, the choice of blade is another major consideration that will have a huge impact on the quality of your work.
Blade Size and Cross-cut Capacity
The size of the blade is one of the main limiting factors to the capacity of the miter saw, especially if it’s not one of the sliding types. Most miter saw models will take one of the traditional circular saw sizes – 7 and 1/4 inch, 8 and 1/2 inch, 10-inch and 12-inch diameter are more or less your options when it comes to blade size.
If you opt to get a miter saw that can take 10-inch blades, keep in mind that the same circular blades you buy for it are the same ones you can use with a table saw.
Cordless miter saws are usually meant to be more compact, and they are often designed with the 7 and 1/4 inch blades in mind. If you opt for one of these, then you are getting a tool that can use blades interchangeably with most circular saws, as well.
Cross-cut capacity is limited by the diameter of the saw blade, but sliding models can do crosscuts of 12 inches or even longer.
Angle Range, Bevel Range, and Positive Stops
The range of miters that a miter saw can produce will determine the type of joints it can make. Most models can miter the requisite 45 degree angle, with some models capable of mitering up to 60 degrees. Similarly, miter saws can usually bevel at a 45-degree angle in one or two directions.
The positive stops that a miter saw has can make all the difference between consistent angles and having to eyeball it every time. The most common angles should be covered – 0, 15, 22.5 and 45 degrees are just about the bare minimum angles that should be equipped.
Power
The power of the tool, like the case with most tools that run off the power outlet, is usually given in terms of amperes (amps). Most models come with 10, 12 or 15 amp motors and the more powerful miter saws are better suited at cutting hardwood and metal.
In the case of cordless miter saws, power is usually specified in terms of volts. Most battery operated models will have motors rated for 18V or 20V, depending on the manufacturer.
Speed
The speed of the miter saw is usually given in terms of rotations per minute, or RPM. The higher the RPM, the faster the saw can spin the blade and the cleaner the cuts it can do. Most corded models run their blades at around 3,000 RPM or faster.
Blade Types
Miter saw blades, like circular saw and table saw blades, are toothed pieces of metal made from high-speed steel or carbide materials (in most cases). Most miter saw blades have a tooth count. The higher the tooth count, the more teeth that the blade has and the finer cuts it can do.
Miter saw blade manufacturers will also specify a kerf width or the amount of material that the blade will take out of the stock as it plunges into it. Most wood blades will remove less than 0.1 inches of material, and blades made for cutting metal may cut off even less.
Miter Saw Safety
When working with power tools, safety is always the number one priority. The miter saw may look safer than most power tools owing to the built-in blade guard and guide arm, but keep in mind that as the circular saw, it’s a tool that can break saw discs with improper use.
Always make sure that the unit is turned off and disconnected from power before installing or changing saw blades. Before operating the machine, always make sure that you are wearing eye protection. If you are working indoors, having hearing protection and a mask is highly recommended, as well.
Always check that the blade brake works before putting the tool through its paces. If the blade stops a moment after releasing the trigger, you have a working blade tool. Otherwise, you have to wait for the blade to stop spinning before you push the arm back up to release your stock.
