Replies

1. 
   uncommontree | Jun 12, 2002 04:56am | #1

   Jase..................

   It sounds to me like you have a dull blade or to aggressive of a blade (one more suited for cutting off rough lumber)or both.What kind of blade is it,how many teeth,how long has it been used since it last trip to the sharpener?.......

   This may be simply a tired blade.           Rick    ADESIGNS

1. 
   jase | Jun 12, 2002 05:35am | #2

   I got the saw new last year. I've cut wood for two picture frames, and for a workbench. The blade is the original. 10"-24 tooth ATB blade Delta.

   Jase--Is there a better way?

1. 
   AJinNZ | Jun 12, 2002 05:42am | #3

   Unfortunately the blades that you get with a new saw are often not the best. Not crappy, but could be a lot better.

   The blade I use for my RAS cost me $230. It cuts like a dream, and perfectly squae out to over 16 inches. It makes your eyes bug to pay that, but the results are worth it. Also, they last a long time when only doing fine work and can easily be sharpened.

   Is it possible on wide stock that the saw itself is allowing lateral drift?, therby giving the 'curve'. 

   Wood Hoon

1. 
   dollarb2 | Jun 14, 2002 05:56pm | #23

   Which blade cost you $230 and where did you get it?$ Bill

1. 
   Elcoholic | Jun 15, 2002 12:00am | #24

   Besdies a good blade also check for runout on the arbor flanges.  My 12" SCMS had about .010" runout.  I lapped the flanges on a piece of glass with 180 - 320 SC paper and runout dropped to .004".  It came with a nice 160T (probably Tenyru) blade but it was a thin kerf type and I had to do a bunch of compound scarf joints on some very hard beech.  I put a 200T FS mitre saw balde on it and haven't looked back.  When I put pyramid points on chair legs and bedposts I don't have to sand them at all.  I agree with clamping for the best accurancy.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

   Edited 6/14/2002 5:01:43 PM ET by ELCOHOLIC

2. 
   dollarb2 | Jun 17, 2002 05:20pm | #26

   I'm not familiar with a 200T FS blade. Who makes it?$ Bill

3. 
   Elcoholic | Jun 17, 2002 11:11pm | #28

   Sorry for the shorthand.  It's FS Tools and it's their 200 Tooth 12" blade for mitre saws.  If your in SoCal I get mine from California Woodworking Machinery in Anaheim.  Check with your local industrial wood working supplier.  "Hobby" shops don't carry FS.  Or you can check their web site for a dealer near you.  John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

4. 
   AJinNZ | Jun 17, 2002 06:00am | #25

   I got the blade from a local dealer here in New Zealand. It is a 10 inch jobbie. niiiiiiice cut, made in Germany if my memory is right. I still have the specs ( I think ) at home, I can give you those if you like. 

   Wood Hoon

5. 
   dollarb2 | Jun 17, 2002 05:22pm | #27

   Please send me the specs if you can. My email is [email protected].$ Bill

2. 
   uncommontree | Jun 13, 2002 04:56am | #14

   Jase............

   I am going to stick to the blade as being your problem.Cutting maple with anything other than a 60 to 80 tooth blade is risky at best,this never worked for me.The blades supplied with your new saw are not allways the best ,good for rough stuff like 2x4's,furing strips.One of my guys on the finishing crew purchased a new 12" P.C.CMS with a 40 tooth carbide tooth blade.this saw was doing the same thing right out of the box(on Oak trim)He put a Freud LU85 80 tooth and it stoped.It is very possible that there could be something else wrong with your saw but a bad blade can do strange things.Allso check out the LU88 Freud its 52.99 in the new Woodworkers supply cat.            Happy Cutting....Rick        ADESIGNS

1. 
   jase | Jun 13, 2002 07:07am | #15

   The tests I ran today were on red oak. The miters looked great. But when I tried to fix the maple pieces the curves reappeared. Sounds like a new blade is in order. Sigh.

   Jase--Is there a better way?

1. 
   cuttoff | Jun 13, 2002 06:00pm | #16

   Jase, you might want to save your money for a bit longer and buy the Bosch 12". I have one and it is sweet. I'm still running the blade that came with it and I havent had any problem with rock hard sugar maple, oak, cherry, etc. I think the 12" blade is more stable than the 10". I don't have any scientific evidence to prove that so it is just my feelings.John

2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 14, 2002 05:06am | #17

   Yep, they had that one at Costco for a great price awhile back.  It was killin' me to walk past it, but it just wasn't close to the top of the (long) list.  Nice saw!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   uncommontree | Jun 14, 2002 05:26am | #18

   Hi F_G

   Good luck with your Jet delivery tomorrow or did you say Sat. Anyway hope all goes well and pain free.Did you get a moble base for it?these are life savers for small shops..........I just put one on my old Delta Milwaukee table saw.

                        Take care Rick ADESIGNS

4. 
   forestgirl | Jun 14, 2002 05:53am | #19

   Hi Rick, where you been??  I actually have the jointer in the van as we 'speak.'  A friend (who's sharing the cost with me) is coming over Sat morning to help unload and set up.  The surplus dealer I got it from didn't have a mobile base in stock, but said he'd ship me one when they come in.  In the meantime, I have an oak dolly I can use in a pinch.  This tool is pushing the capacity of my shop, so mobile is necessary.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

5. 
   uncommontree | Jun 14, 2002 06:05am | #20

   F_G

   We all have this nasty cough all night bug ,been a week for me three for the boy,three days for my sweetie pie.Hard to type..........................sleep............work......but I have managed to all but finish the siding on my shop ,this is grounds for a party.Shooting for Sunday.

   You know you can never have to many tools but you will never have enough space.....

   Be safe.................Rick     ADESIGNS

2. 
   gerry001 | Jun 12, 2002 06:21am | #4

   I'm not sure that I follow this. Is the cut not square, or the angle wrong? You said "curved", and that implies that something is moving as you are cutting. If the wood's clamped down, check the blade. Remove it, clean the washer and reinstall it. If you have a dial indicator, you can check the blade for flatness, and also apply some side pressure to see if the assembly has play in it.

   Gerry

1. 
   jase | Jun 12, 2002 07:16am | #5

   The desired 45 is actually slightly convex so that mating 45's rock and of course do not form tight joints. Every board end is like this, and the curve is consistent. So if it's board movement during the cut, then, man, have I got that down. I can't wait to cut more curved 45's. Maybe I should buy some clamps to hold the wood down. I'll check the blade tomorrow morning. Anyone else cut a curve on a miter saw before?

   Jason--Is there a better way?

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 12, 2002 08:11am | #6

   Are you bevelling or mitering the 45's?? How thick is the wood?  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   user-135888 | Jun 12, 2002 10:49am | #8

   That is happening to me the other day I could not get a good cut so i did it on the table saw.

   I flipped the board over and reversed the feed side and it was still there

   Hope this will help us. I was confused. I have a Delta.

   I think I was bevel cutting at 45*( / ) Maybe it only happens when blade is tilted to side.

   thanks for any help

   John G

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 12, 2002 06:39pm | #9

   This is why I asked Jase what kind of cut he's making.  I have the little Delta 8-1/4" miter saw, and have had problems with bevels.  Since it was never real precision work, I didn't sweat it at the time, but at some point I'll have to tune the darn thing up and figure out what's causing the problem.  It seems to me there is some movement in the head assembly as I'm bevelling.

   We need more info, IMHO.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   cuttoff | Jun 12, 2002 07:53pm | #10

   John G. sounds to me like bad bushings or bearing slop (whichever is being used, I suspect bushings). You may be able to adjust to compensate for it but I don't know what the adjustments are for your saw. My Bosch 12" is fairly new and still in perfect alignment. I haven't had the problem but if I do and I find the cure I'll be sure to post a message about it.John

3. 
   cuttoff | Jun 12, 2002 08:34am | #7

   Jase, is there any way that you can post a picture of the curved cuts. I'm having a really tough time understanding why binding is not happening during these curved cuts. Maybe you could clamp a piece of wood in the saw and cut it. If this curve thing is actually comming from the saw, you should be burning the wood and causing the saw bog down.

   John

4. 
   cuttoff | Jun 12, 2002 08:17pm | #11

   Jase, I just got through going over my saw to see if I could find where the problem might be comming from. I think that it is from the bushings in the axle shaft that allows the saw to move up and down. It would seem to me that if the saw is primarily used in a vertical position then wear would occur at the bottom of both bushings. Since the wear should be equal, it would likely go unnoticed during normal vertial cutting operations.

   When the saw is tilted as in the case of a compound mitre or bevel cut the weight of the saw would shift to the bearing on the lower side of the tilt. While this might be a minor shift, the saw cutting through the wood could cause it to lift slightly to the high side of the saw at the time when the most pressure is introduced between the blade and wood. Because there is a natural arc to the blade when it is brought down onto the wood, in theory, there should be less force required at the begining and end of cuts thereby producing a curved cut.

   Please disconnect the saw from the power source before trying the test procedures below.

   I'm pretty sure you can test this by securing the saw base, locking down the tilt function, and locking the blade in its down position. You need to find a way to take any slop out of the lock down then try to move the blade left to right or up and down. If it moves at all then the area where the movement is being allowed is where your problem is.

   The only other place I can think of is in the table. If it is sloppy and rocking during the cut the same problem might occur.

   John

1. 
   jase | Jun 12, 2002 09:42pm | #12

   Hi everyone.

   My saw is not a compound miter saw. Simple up-and-down saw. I am trying to cut the miters for a picture frame. The wood is 3/4 maple. I think I do remember the saw bogging down on some of the cuts.

   After the discover yesterday, I marked each side of the blade with a black marker and made some test cuts. The marks were rubbed off the left side but not on the right.

   John, I think you're right about the blade passing through the wood with the blade not parallel to the travel path of the blade. I'll have to test it like you and Forest_Girl said to see if it's me or the saw and which part of the machine is causing the problem.

   I'll let yall know how it goes.

   Jase--Is there a better way?

1. 
   jase | Jun 13, 2002 02:56am | #13

   When all else fails follow the directions. The manual for the saw says to clamp the wood when cutting. I just adjusted the saw: blade parallel to table slot, fence perpendicular to slot. I tested some cuts with the wood clamped down and the curves disappeared. Now if I could just get the thing to cut straight up and down. The saw doesn't travel at a 90 to the table.

   Thanks everyone for your help. Maybe I'll go buy the Delta 10" CMS at Lowes for $100 and sell this one.

   Jase--Is there a better way?

5. 
   Gregito | Jun 14, 2002 07:10am | #21

   Jase,

   If you watch very carefully when you cut with any saw, the blade vibrates when it hits the wood.  Looking at the blade you can see it appear to become wider as it is lowered into the wood.  You can minimize this by using a good sharp blade, and making the first cut about 1/16" long, then trimming the last little bit while keeping the rpm's high.

   Greg

6. 
   MPHarper | Jun 14, 2002 07:41am | #22

   Jase,

   I cut a lot of picture frames on my Ridgid 12" miter saw and I have seen the same problem you are facing.  I checked everything on my saw, gave it a tune up, and then found out the answer.

   I only cut bad miters occasionally and I found out that the answer is to 1. clamp the wood down and clamp it tight.  My saw came with a clamp to hold the wood tight against the fence and it works great. 2. Keep your blade sharp!!!!!!! and clean!!!!!!!  As soon as I see any build up on my blade I take it off and clean it, and I keep it razor sharp.  Start with a good blade though.  I recommend that you purchase a good finish carpentry blade, there are two or three brands that all make a good blade.  Buy a good one now and it will pay off in the frustration it saves you!!!

   Enjoy finishing your frames.

   Matt-