Miter Saw Tips For Better Cuts

Today I want to share some tips and tricks when using your miter saw that will help you with cleaner cuts, reduce tear outs and how to cut those small pieces effectively.

10  Miter Saw Tips for Your Next DIY Project

1. Make Safe and Quality Cuts

One thing I catch myself doing sometimes when I am in a hurry is dropping the blade to fast instead of taking my time and let the blade do the work. Make sure you give it a second to let the miter saw motor reach full speed and then lower it.

You will also find that this works really well for those thin pieces of wood.

2. Consider upgrading your blade

In general you receive a normal 40 tooth blade for general cutting. If you are wanting clean crisp cuts, especially for harder woods, upgrade to a premium blade that has 80 teeth or 100 tooth blade spending on your saw size.

3. Use Scrap Wood for Small Pieces

Have you ever tried cutting a small section off trim board and watch it go flying across the room after it's cut since it gets caught in the blade. One trick I do is to use a piece of scrap and put the small piece of wood to cut in front of it to keep the small piece from falling into the miter saw blade.

miter-saw-cuts

4. Cut the Same Length Every Time

When I have to cut several pieces of the same thing I actually mark the measurements on my saw with a pencil for the measurements. It saves me from having to measure every piece each time and lets me quickly make the cuts.

5. Safety First When Cutting

I'm probably stating the obvious but I am going to say it. When cutting make sure you never user your opposite arm to cross over and hold the wood.

6. Let the Blade Stop

If you are in a hurry you will be tempted to lift the blade while it's still spinning after you made the cut. As you do that, there is a risk of the blade catching the cut off piece which can send it flying or leave a mark on the wood and score it.

7. Use a Miter Saw Stand

One thing I like about using a stand is that it keeps me from bending over all day doing cuts and it gives me more support area to place my boards on. There are several stands that you can purchase for a reason able price.
You can also make on with a couple 2x4s and a 1x8.

8. Add a Laser To Your Old Saw

If you have an old miter saw that didn't come with the laser line feature you can buy one to add on to most saws. It's made by rockler.com. Look on their site to see if it will work for your model.

9. Don't Cut The Line Marking

One thing my dad taught me when cutting trim is to leave the line when you make the cut so that you can always take more off if it needs to go shorter.

10. Making Micro Cuts

There are times where you just need to shave off a 1/16th of an inch. One thing I do is lower the blade with the motor not running. I push my piece of wood against the blade and slower raise the blade until it raises barely above my wood. Then I so slightly move the wood into the blade so that it shave just a bit off the wood.

Well, hopefully you can take some of these tips and use them in your next DIY project a home. If you have more tips that I do not have listed please comment below!

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.