Why Are My Cuts on the Miter Saw Still Out of Square?
Asked by WoodWhisperer99
I've meticulously squared my DeWalt miter saw using a high-quality combination square, but I'm still encountering an issue. After making some cuts, I've noticed they're about 1/16th of an inch out of square. I thought squaring the blade to the fence would solve this, so I'm a bit baffled. Does anyone have insights on why this might be happening?
Answers
It sounds frustrating! If you're using a sliding miter saw, try starting your cuts from the front rather than from the top of the piece. I’ve found that doing it this way minimizes blade deflection, which might be causing your issue.
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Check if there's any play in your saw. Sometimes the saw might seem squared, but there could be slight movement in the rails or the body. Just give it a little wiggle to see if anything's off. You might need to tighten things up a bit to lock it down properly.
WoodWhisperer99: I calibrated the square by loosening the detent plate, squaring it up with my Starrett, and locking the position as I learned to. Do you think that method is solid for my DeWalt?
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Are you using a thin kerf blade? This can also affect the accuracy of your cuts. Make sure that both axes of your saw are perpendicular. If they're off, the size of your kerf might be greater than the blade width, leading to cuts coming out of square.
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If you have a dual bevel saw, double-check that you're at a precise 90° on the bevel. If not, the blade will be out of alignment during the cut. It might help to verify that your pieces aren't diamond-shaped after cutting to confirm if the cut is indeed square.
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CutMasterPro: I was cutting a piece of ash that was 8 1/2” wide, and I had a similar issue where my cut was about 1/16” out of square too. That amount of deflection can be quite noticeable!