Miter (angle) cuts

[patm95]

My control panel plans that I am using is calling for various angled cuts.  Odd angles like 22 degrees.  Obviously, you can't just dial that up on a hand saw or even a table saw (that I know of)  I was wondering if there is a tool that will help check those angles and help get something resonably accurate?   Thanks.

[DrewKaree]

Click this here linky for the perfect solution

[patm95]

That looks perfect.  I hope that Home Depot carries those.

[DrewKaree]

If Home Depot doesn't, you can order 'em online at Rockler, Woodcraft, or some other "woodworker" store.  Check 'em out and see if there's a store near you.

[hurtz]

What am I missing? DrewKaree's post is blank.

[Stingray]

Looks blank to me, too.

I bought a cheapie miter saw at Lowes a couple years ago and it quickly became one of my favorite woodworking tools.



I'm pretty sure this is the same one. It was on sale for $99 and was the best money I've spent on tools in ages.

-S

[hurtz]

Would I be able to miter a cut in a piece of MDF 20+ inches long with that saw?

[Stingray]

No, you definitely wouldn't be able to do that. Ten inch cuts are about the extent of what you'll get out of this type of saw. I must have misunderstood your question.

-S

[DrewKaree]

What am I missing? DrewKaree's post is blank.

I guess I shoulda put "This space intentionally left blank", but I figured it was implied in the "go check out Rockler et al" part of the post.

If you're referring to the first post....well, even if I got it right the first time....if ya can't find Rockler online, I'm not so sure you should be handling sharp tools!

[jmricker]

Would I be able to miter a cut in a piece of MDF 20+ inches long with that saw?

No, you definitely wouldn't be able to do that. Ten inch cuts are about the extent of what you'll get out of this type of saw. I must have misunderstood your question.

I wanted to ask the question that didn't seem to be answered here which is what do you use if your pieces are too big for a miter saw? I've been thinking that I would try marking my angle and cutting by hand with my hack saw. Anybody have any luck with this? And would any of these other type of saws like coping saws or back cut saws be any more accurate for this type of work.

Joel

[NiteWalker]

What exactly is it that you're cutting? If not the miter saw, then definitely the table saw can make cuts like that.

[ScottS]

I wanted to ask the question that didn't seem to be answered here which is what do you use if your pieces are too big for a miter saw? I've been thinking that I would try marking my angle and cutting by hand with my hack saw. Anybody have any luck with this? And would any of these other type of saws like coping saws or back cut saws be any more accurate for this type of work.

Don't even try it... Making long, accurate cuts with a hand saw can be done, but not with a hacksaw and not without quite a bit of skill. If you don't either own a handsaw that costs $100+ or know how to sharpen and set a handsaw, then you're unlikely to have success with this process. You can buy reasonably prices Japanese saws that would be capable of making the cut, but you'd probably still need to practice for quite a while before you could make a cut that was accurate from one end of a board to the other.

Why not just use a circular saw or a jigsaw? Buy yourself a Starrett ProSite protractor and use it to measure the needed angle, then tilt the sawblade until it matches the angle on the protractor. Throw your sawboard down on the cut line and cut away! If you have lots of different angles to cut, you'll need a different sawboard for each one... unless your saw tilts such that the blade end up under the shoe.

[jmricker]

What exactly is it that you're cutting? If not the miter saw, then definitely the table saw can make cuts like that.

The pieces are for a wall mounted jukebox and the angles make the pieces form a rounded front that is typical in these types of projects. The pieces are 15 1/2" long and some of the angles are very small like 7.5 degrees or 9 degrees.

Don't even try it... Making long, accurate cuts with a hand saw can be done, but not with a hacksaw and not without quite a bit of skill.

Not to brag but I'm no slouch with a hacksaw.  I use one every day for work. I decided to try it though to see if it was even possible. I found that a hacksaw did pretty good considering it had been used for cutting out galvanized pipe recently.  I reversed the blade and made short even strokes and reset the blade each time rather use a back and forth motion. The big drawback is that the blade binds as I cut deeper in the wood but I relieved that by cutting off segments of the waste side every couple of inches.

The end result was decent considering what I was working with. Before I did it for my actual cabinet, I would either get a new blade or possibly buy a coping saw.

I like the idea of the protractor for what I'm doing. I was just planning to use trig to figure out the angles but the protractor may be a little more accurate.

Thanks for the help
Joel