First the good news. I realigned, cleaned, lubed, clamped down and, yes, I can cut 45 degree angles that fit together perfectly. Thank everybody for all their help.
Now the bad news. The box that I was working on, prior to this disaster, still isn’t right. I clamped and cut and the angles are slightly off from each other. A couple are 45.5, one is 46 and one is 44. At least the gap in the center is gone. Ok, folks, what do I do now? And don’t say start over, there is an inlay, very expensive, already in the wood. You guys were great on the last problem, what do you say?
Thanks.
Robin
Replies
It would help if you gave all the details of how you are going about the cutting process. What species, what saw blade, miter gauge or sled, flat angle or edge bevel, any accessories such as an attached fence, whether you have fit the miter gauge to the slots and anything else you feel is pertinent.
I have a Lion trimmer, which is a guillotine like tool that trims miters quite precisely. When I use my sled and a fine cutoff blade, I get just as good results, and it's easier to cut repetitive lengths. Something must be moving if your cuts are not coming out the same. If you back up in the same position after the cut, this could be the issue. If you try to take a very small sliver off, the blade will be unsupported on one side and some blades will keel to the easy side. This is especially true with thin kerfs and dull blades.
Instead of a special tool like the Lion Trimmer, some like to use shooting boards with a hand plane to true up a miter cut. The low angle planes are particularly good for this. Carpenters often use a low angle block plane to fit miters without a shooting board. One thing that is very important when cutting four corners is that the opposing sides must be of equal length. This is easier if you have an accurate stop set up on the sled or miter gauge. With any method, your stock has to be straight and of equal width. Cutting miters on something like a picture frame and having every corner fit exactly is a challenging process. Very slight irregularities get multiplied times four so a great deal of care and accuracy are needed.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
First off,I'd be interested to know what brand of miter gauge you have.If it is adjusted well and securely locked down you should get a repetitive angle on your cuts.Or possibly,the bar is loose in the miter gauge slot .You may have to do a little fine tuning there.
For your problem right now,I'd agree with Hammer.Use a shooting board to fine tune your angles.Also make sure the opposing sides are the exact same length.To make the shooting board cut a few pieces and choose one at 45.............or just check your miter gauge,miter gauge bar and do what ever maintenance is needed first.
Robin, I think it'd help if you describe your cut again. My recollection is that you were (are) bevelling with the saw blade tilted to 45*.
My initial wild guess this time around is that your miter gauge is moving, probably because it doesn't fit snug in the miter slot.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
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