Best power tool, and technique, to cut a 45 degree miter in solid wood?
Got a new spline jig for square corners and want to make a bunch of small miter-corner boxes (1” x 4” solid wood, probably poplar) to try out various spline patterns. So, initial question is:
What is the best power tool, and technique, to cut a 45 degree miter in solid wood?
(I am mindful of the trick to cut a miter a tiny bit sharper than 45 to anticipate small irregularities. That doesn’t affect tool choice.)
What does “best” mean here? I suppose it would mean accurate 45 degree miter cuts and accurate 90 degree corners on the boards, and length of opposite box sides being identical. Maybe the cleanness of the sharp edge, too.
My tools:
10″ table saw
Kapex sliding miter saw
14” bandsaw
Router table
Handheld router
Shooting board
Re “techniques”, for example, one could cut a miter with wood laid on saw table or vertical against fence, with corresponding different settings of blade – rotate, tilt. On table saw, could use rip fence, miter gauge, etc.
Thanks for anticipated good insights.
TT
Replies
I would make a dedicated sled for the table saw using the "5-Cut Method" to square the cut. The sled should be large enough to cut boards on each side of the blade.
Set the blade at 45 deg. Cut one board on the right side of the blade outside face up. Cut the mating board on the left side of the blade inside face up.
Nice.
Guaranteed 90 result even if the blade setting is a little off 45.
Domo
TT
I have a very similar equipment to you.
If I am making picture frames I use the Kapex with a 80T blade. I tried making a fancy frame sled for the table saw, but ended up ditching it.
For making small boxes with mitred corner I grab a piece of 3/4" MDF, add a 2" high fence that is flush or slighty overhangs the long edge and secure a mitre gauge to the fence. In one mitre slot I have a cut for 45 and when I move the mitre gauge to the other slot I have a cut for 90.
Believe Matt Kenney has some info on this in his articles/books.
Thank you for your offering. I’m a little foggy on the details.
In your 2nd paragraph, are you working on the table saw or the Kapex miter saw?
I can’t picture your setup. Do you have any photos or drawing.
I shall search Matt Kenney
TT
Well I started trying to make a fancy picture frame sled (Michael Alm on Youtube) for my table saw, but it was always slightly off. Therefore I ended up using the Kapex to cut the mitres for picture frames.
Sorry, will not be close to my shop for a few weeks. But the sled I use on the table saw for box mitres can be found here on FWW (Matt Kenney).
Are you really talking about a 1"x4" box?
The lumber will be 1 by 4 boards.
Length and width of boxes will vary, e.g., 8" long, 5" wide.
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Well you bought the kapex at about 2x the price of the next best miter saw. If it's not capable of cutting an accurate miter what is it?
Way, overthinking it IMO
The best is what you have on hand. You should not have to go to any great lengths to cut a simple miter.
OP has a top of the line mitersaw and so what's the problem?
I honestly can't believe how far this thread has gone
I was worried about pieces being too small. I don't like to cut tiny pieces on a miter saw.
I suggest that you make a sled for that saw and add 45-degree jigs. With that and a set of stops you can cut a lot of small pieces with very repeatable results. If most of the miter cuts are on the flat, make a dedicated sled for that angle.
Use whatever machine feels safest for you. In my case it would not be a table saw but a bandsaw or miter saw. Whatever works. Then just sneak up on the angle with your shooting board. Shooting boards and a bandsaw or handsaw are my methods.
Until I started using a shooting board, my miters were crap and I no longer use a table saw due to loss of digits several years ago. Use whatever works best and safest for you.
Well tuned tablesaw and an Incra 27 are what I use. For tablesaw / miter gauges that won't quite dial in a sled is a godsend. It doesn't have to be overly involved, just accurate and repeatable.