Method for cutting 45 degree edge on 12” piece of pine
RWL01
| Posted in Jigs, Fixtures, Tips & Tricks on
I’m creating a simple box with mitre joints along its 4 connecting sides. Pretty straight forward but I’ve had a hard time setting my table saw to exactly 45 degrees. It’s a freaky contractor saw. I’ve created a sled and tried a digital scale but it’s not as close as I would like.
Questions:
1) What is this type of cut called?
2) What are some techniques used to make this cut?
Thanks
Replies
I would use a 45 chamfer bit on my router table, I also struggle with precise angles on my vintage table saw.
Set your blade a little more than 45 degrees. Try 45.4 degrees or so with a sharp blade. That way the outside edge will compress together a little bit and give you a tight joint. If it a small box you are working on you can use packing tape or painters tape to hold the miters together as the glue dries. If all the sides are equal width you should be able to square the sides up to 90 degrees.
A miter or bevel cut.
A lot of folks go through the effort to align their tablesaw blade to the miter slot and the fence with the blade at 90 degrees. To finish this effort you also have to do the same thing at a bevel angle (usually 45 degrees). Most do not finish the process which leaves the saw misaligned for any bevel angle.
Aligning for bevel cuts on a contractor saw can drive one to distraction so, often we seek alternate methods to make these cuts. This is understandable as many contractor format machines are unable to stay aligned when the carriage is tilted, many of them flex too much.
You don't mention the thickness of your material but, a chamfer bit inthe router table would be one answer. You could remove most of the waste on the ill performing tablesaw and then remove the last 1/8" or less (depending on how far out the saw is) on the router table with a chamfer bit.
Another solution would be a donkey ear on a shooting board or a gizmo on a shooting board like the one show in the pics.
Three posts and three great pieces of insight. Thank you all for the help.
Or, since it's pine, you could cut it by hand with a miter box. On one of my more industrious days I took a Lowe's miter box and built up the sides to handle wide stock. Regardless, if you're worried about fit, you could refer to the article on this site that discusses interior miter splines.
Of course, if you're working with hardwoods you probably want to do what the others suggested and use a router chamfer bit. Sawing hardwood by hand is a tiring task.
One last thing. For the best fit, use the same ruler, tape, router bit, etc. on all your miters.
Good luck,
Mikaol
Whenever you set your saw to 45 degrees the sum of the angles to the right and left of the blade is 90 degrees.Thus if the left is 45.5 degrees the right is 44.5 and the sum is 90 degrees.Therefore either use the two pieces from the first cut to make up your corner or if grain matching at the corner is important,cut the next piece to the roght.In the second case the good face is down
Having the face down would put the piece under the angled blade, which is not safe for smaller pieces. The risk of kickback is very high.
Just a caution on advising folks that the sum of a blade tilt will always be 90 degrees . . . This only holds true if the saw is well aligned at bevel angles. Many contractor saws have difficulty with this resulting in a distorted geometry that will never line up at 90 degrees for any length. It may align at one end or one point along an edge but the balance of the path is fouled.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled