I am trying to cut 45 degree miters. They keep coming out with a gap in the center of the miter, from the top to bottom. The tops meet fine, bottoms meet fine, gap in the center. Checked blade at 45, it’s 45. Parallel to miter slot. Miter gauge is squared up, front to back of blade lined up. Can’t figure it out. When I stand it on end, on the angle, it wobbles and you can see the gap. So I tried it at 22.5, no gap, no wobble. At 30, no gap, no wobble, 40 small gap, small wobble, 45 is the worst. What is going on? Please help. THank you.
Robin
Replies
The only thing that is comming to me right now is that possibly your work piece is riding along the miter gauge as you make your cut.Try clamping the work piece to the miter gauge and see if you still have the problem.If not, a piece of psa sand paper on the gauge should keep it from happening again.
Brent
I agree with Brent that you need to make sure the stock isn't moving. Sandpaper's a must if you don't have a clamp. Don't go too slow across the blade. Also, one thing that often gets overlooked is checking the throat insert plate -- make sure it's perfectly flat to the table. If there's a little "rise" in it, it can throw off your cut.
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" .... :>)
I agree.
You need to hold the piece of wood dead still. Hand-holding may seem OK, but if there's any vibration - even so little you can't hardly feel it - the piece will creep.
Clamping almost always solves this for me. When I bought my big mak 1013 I also sprung for the horizontal clamp, and it's worth its weight in gold!
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking
Forestgirl,
Thanks for your reply. If I held the piece of wood any tighter, I wouldn't be able to move the miter gauge. When I look at the blade, when it's at 45, I can actually see it drifting backward. I don't know what's going on. I'm headed to my shop right now to tear the thing apart. Luckily, I still have the owners manual. Thanks anyway.
"If I held the piece of wood any tighter, I wouldn't be able to move the miter gauge. "
Are you holding the wood to the gauge, or pressing the gauge down to the table? You should be able to clamp the wood immovable to the gauge (preferrebably with a clamp, not handholding) and move it freely, even pick it up from the table, and it never move from the face of the miter gauge. It sounds like you are trying to "strong arm" it and are fighting the wrong thing.
Woody
"When I look at the blade, when it's at 45, I can actually see it drifting backward." The it you see drifting is the blade? or the workpiece? [just checking].
Going to double-check on one more thing: that when you "rechecked to make sure table top is flat" you included the throat insert in the check. A subtle bump on the bevel side of the blade in the insert would make the stock move up and down relative to the blade.
OK, assuming that's all you can do on checking things, consider having the blade at 90* and using your miter gauge to get your 45*. Use an auxillary fence to keep the cut clean, and have the AF lined with sandpaper to keep the stock still.
Here's a design (click) for a sled if you want to make one.
Summary afterthought: given the fact that the cut abberation is in the form of a curve, I'm pretty convinced that the wood is moving. It's either that or the blade, and I doubt the blade is flexing. After your project is done, and the tension factor is low, get some scrap stock and fool around until you get it figured out. If your fingers are turning numb, you're gripping too tight, LOL!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" .... :>)
robin,
A dull blade will sometimes lead off in one direction. Perhaps this is what you are experiencing? You could try another blade if you have one handy.
Regards,
Ray
I am with joinerswork. If after you have cut all of the corners, and put them together, if the angles are right, but they are open in the middle of each miter, it wouldn't be creep or anything to do with the gauge, it sounds more like a dull or inappropriate blade.
Is this a thin kerf blade? When you are making the cut, can you see and vibration or wobble in this portion of the cut?
If the blade is dull on one side and the molding is thicker in the middle, the blade will deflect to the sharp side ; path of least resistance; and could come back as it gets back to a thiner section.
Ok, I tore the entire saw apart. Lubed everything, cleaned out all the sawdust. Put it together, checked alignment on everything, and cut. No dice, 3 out of the 4 come together perfect, 4th is out. Not only that, but it wobbles on the end. Changed blades, 3x's, cleaned blades, again, changed wood, rechecked to make sure table top is flat. Nothing works. I give up. How do I make a sled to make 45 degree cuts? I have a project deadline and don't know what to do.
Robin,
Take a look at
http://www.runnerduck.com/tablesaw_sled.htm
http://users.adelphia.net/~hishis/Table%20Saw%20Sled%20Construction/Sled%20html/build%20sled.htm
http://www.imaging.robarts.ca/~amulder/wood/j.sled2/
There are several designs that can be modified to your needs. Since you have a deadline, I wouldn't try to make a fancy one. Think of it as a throw away and when you have time make a nice one.
Use a 45 degree drafting triangle if you have one to set your fence on the slide.
Hope this helps.Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
Robinlynn,
I don't know from nothing. I've been following your thread because I've been having a similar issue when straight ripping...bowed in the middle...put a straight edge on it and there is a gap about 1/32" over a 24" distance. I have re-adjusted/cleaned everything over the last few weeks..no help. All my blades are thin kerf and appear to be sharp.
I just got back from Woodcraft. Bought a Woodworker II 30T 1/8"...no more problem.
Robin,
Are you pushing the stock through in one fluid motion? Also some people let up in the middle of the cut because they are afraid of pushing the stock into the blade along the miter gauge.
As others have said. Sandpaper attached to the miter gauge will help. Clamping the stock to the miter gauge is better. Just make sure that it stays flat on the table. An auxillary face on the miter gauge with a clamped stop block will also do the trick.
If your doing a lot of 45 cuts consider making a slide with a 45 fence on it.
Hope this helps.
I can't quite determine from your description exactly how you are cutting the miters. Are you tilting the blade? If so, the following could be a factor.
An often overlooked item is the alignment of the top perpendicular to the arbor. That is, the tilt front to back. The top must be perfectly flat in this aspect. If it is not, the "error" produced will be most severe at a 45 degree bevel and non-existent at zero degrees. If the top is not flat in this aspect, the stock will encounter the blade on one side entering the cut and the other side on exit.
Try this...........Make your cut with the blade tilted as you have been doing,but only pass by the front edge of the blade then slide the wood back along the miter gauge.Don't pull the miter gauge back with the wood still in contact with the blade.If as I think,your wood is drifting during your cut,at least this way the wood is in contact with the blade as little as possible.
You also mention that 3 sides meet perfectly but not the fourth.Are you using a stop on your miter gauge to make sure that all pieces are exactly the same length?
Brent
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