5

I have a cheap miter saw. When I saw something the blade does not go all the way through. The blade does not reach entirely between the fence and the bottom, leaving a part uncut. Is this a known problem? Can I adjust some settings on the saw to solve this? Is my saw blade too small?

In this picture, the blade does not reach the red part:

enter image description here

I also made a video of me sawing.

1
  • 3
    Did you inspect your miter saw? Look out for accumulation of saw dust; it can stop you from reaching the full deep. There's also sometimes a screw that controls the deep of the cut. Other than that, Graphus's workaround is a pretty common solution. May 22, 2016 at 17:36

5 Answers 5

12

I couldn't figure anything out from inspecting the saw on the outside, so I opened up the saw. It turns out that the saw did not go all the way down because there was a lot of saw dust on the inside:

saw dust in miter saw

1
  • 2
    Rule #1: find a manual. Rule #2: open it up and start poking around. None of this stuff is rocket surgery.
    – user5572
    Nov 8, 2020 at 15:24
4

Is this a known problem?

I can't say but the simplest workaround is probably to install a sacrificial fence to hold the pieces being cut far out enough that the teeth will exit the bottom inside corner. Like this:

Mitre saw sacrificial fence

2

You are not dropping the saw all the way. In your video, look at the underside of the movable arm. See the little tit sticking down on the left? That should make contact with the frame of the saw. Try looking at the position of blade with no wood in the saw and the arm all the way down.

1

It almost looks like the fence that your board sits against while you cut, could be moved more towards the centre. It looks like there are holes for the fence to move forward. So you wouldn't have to make a sacrificial fence.

1

Had the same perplexing problem with my Rigid 10" miter saw. Looking at the possible reasons for the blade never completing the cut--always leaving a 1/16" nub to be broken off--I was convinced the metal pin functioning as the stop when the saw slid away from me was the culprit. I was right.

The housing through which the two sliding tubes run and into which the stop pin inserts itself has a thin cover plate on the back of it. I took it off; the entire cavity was packed with compacted sawdust. The stop pin was blocked, and so kept the saw from completing its cut.

1
  • 1
    This answer is identical to the accepted answer, isn't it?
    – user5572
    Oct 25, 2021 at 13:44

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.