I accidentally dropped my miter saw, and it's now not cutting square. The saw is an old Makita LS1020, which means a lot to me. After the drop, the blade seems misaligned — it cuts straight, but when measuring from the blade to the throat plate, there's about an 1/8" difference from front to back, and I had to remove the throat plate just to make a cut. The blade itself isn't bent, and the bevel angle seems fine. I took some photos to show the alignment issue. Can this be fixed, or should I start looking for a replacement?
3 Answers
You might be dealing with a bent component if it hit the throat plate hard enough. Double-check both the blade alignment and that the pivot points are parallel. If everything checks out, it might just need some fine-tuning, and you can keep using that sentimental saw!
It sounds like your saw isn't totally broken! Start by checking the manual for alignment steps. Sometimes it's just a matter of tweaking things back into place, especially if the fall shifted something out of alignment. Give that a shot and see how it goes!
Make sure everything is squared up properly. Check the alignment of the motor and the turntable; they might have shifted during the drop. Loosening the bolts and adjusting might get everything back on track. If the blade is parallel with the plunge mechanism, you could be back to cutting in no time!