Hey everyone! I recently picked up a Skil 10-inch miter saw a couple of months ago, and while it's been pretty cool, I'm running into some trouble with making miter cuts on baseboards. I tried to calibrate it and I believe it's pretty close to 90 degrees, but I've been getting a wavy line on the cuts. I'm using a different blade than the standard one – it's from a brand called Specialist and has more teeth, but it's nothing fancy. I also clamped a pencil next to it at full speed and noticed it doesn't make contact across the entire surface.
I'm starting to think this blade might be the issue. What do you all think? I took off the blade, cleaned the arbor, and put it back on, but I'm noticing a slight size difference between the hole in the disc and the arbor, possibly around 0.2mm. The saw itself had some weird vibrations when using the original blade—not intense, but definitely noticeable. I'm posting some pictures of a flooring board I cut. Any advice would be appreciated!
3 Answers
Have you thought about trying a different blade with fresh teeth? It might give you the clean cut you're after. Just a heads up though, if your next blade has fewer teeth, it might not slice as nicely. But it's worth a shot!
Great questions! I noticed you mentioned some vibration with the original disc. Is there any play at all in your saw's pivot? It looks like the cuts could be veering off angle sometimes, which might be due to play in the drive bearing or pivot itself. Just something to check.
It sounds like there could be a few different factors at play here. Have you tried swapping out the blade for a higher quality one? Brands like Amana or Diablo could make a big difference. Also, when you're cutting, it might help to slow down a bit. Even though it’s called a chop saw, easing into the cut allows more teeth to engage and can help with that wavy cut issue. Don't forget to check that there's no dust between your workpiece and the fence—keeping it clean can help avoid those tiny pivot points. Lastly, consider adding a piece of wood to the fence for better support. If the saw itself isn’t fully immobilized, it might be causing some extra vibrations too. That could be a biggie!
Exactly! I totally agree with these suggestions, especially about attaching a clamp directly to the saw.
I haven't had a chance yet, but I plan to try my other blade soon—just worried because it only has 48 teeth and isn't as fine.