I've got this old Craftsman mitre saw that I use a lot, and while it has the usual preset angles, it also features a 9-degree indent. I recently saw a video about a similar style of saw, possibly the "Langdon" type, and it had the same 9-degree mark. I'm curious about what the purpose of this angle might be. Does anyone know?
2 Answers
One possible use of the 9-degree indent is for making unique shapes, like a tetracontagon, since 9 is a common factor in several angles like 45 (octagon) and 72 (pentagon). It seems like a versatile angle that could help in crafting various polygons, plus adding a stop at 60 degrees could also help with triangles and hexagons.
The 9-degree angle could actually be really useful for building stable structures. If you flip the saw to the other side, it gives you an 81-degree angle, which is great for cantilever supports on shelves. Also, if you're using it for framing, a narrow-legged sawhorse at 9 degrees fits better between studs compared to a standard 15-degree one.
That makes total sense! I was thinking it might relate more to hanging trim since that's a common task for mitre boxes, but I'll keep these other uses in mind.