Miter box and saw

[Mark Rainey]

What are Neanderthals using to saw miters on small moldings. My standard size miter box shreds the small moldings and even my lie Nielsen dovetail/carcass saws seem to damage the profile.

[Bill Houghton]

Got a small backsaw? Make your own miter box or miter block. If you use hardwood and exercise care, you can make a very respectable box/block. I made a miter block from a scrap of exterior door jamb (with a rabbet milled into it) that made perfect miters on some 1/4" by 1/4" picture frame stock. If you're not familiar with miter blocks, this is an example of the concept, but the back piece should be much wider to guide the saw effectively:

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If that intimidates you, art supply stores sell small miter boxes with matched saws; no idea of the price.

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks Bill. Time to make my own small miter box/block

[steven c newman]

Xacto sell a Mini Mitre box, with a small backsaw.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Mark, what is your "standard size miter box?"

I have an old Craftsman, looks like a Stanley, that does a decent job. Most of the time it is the saw doing the shredding.

The more teeth a saw has, the smaller each bite will be. A crosscut saw across the grain tends to leave a smoother finish than a rip saw of the same tooth count.

Cutting into the show face will direct all of the blow out to the back side of the piece.

Finally, almost all of my mitered pieces get a swipe or two on a shooting board. Sometimes just to clean up the edges and sometimes to adjust the fit.

When making a corner the mating pieces are cut as close together as possible. When the pieces are put together the grain matches and it almost looks like the wood was bent around the corner.

This is one of my better attempts:

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The blue tape is holding down the lifted slivers of molding as it is being glued after nailing the molding in place.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?232798-Blind-Nailing

jtk

[Bill McDermott]

Reiterating the point Jim made about using a crosscut saw (not dovetail or rip carcass). Also, I have very little set on the miter saw. Also, take your time. Just let the weight of the saw bring the blade down. You are just moving it back and forth, very easily. You can finish the cut much faster if you let your inner beast loose. Hold back and take it slow to get a smooth and accurate cut with no cleanup needed. Finally, you will always get some fuzz on the back side. Just be careful to keep the show face forward (or down).

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks Steven, Bill & Jim. I have a Stanley 246 miter box with a Miller Falls saw which was beautifully sharpened by TomLaw years ago but is about 11 points per inch with decent set so it can give a rough cut. I heard these miter boxes are mostly for softwoods and were not made for hardwood furniture making

[steven c newman]

Have a Stanley #2246, and a Millers Falls Langdon 75......use both all the time....right now, they are cutting Ash....with ease.

[Mike Holbrook]

I ended up with a free bathroom cabinet. I used it to make a miter saw & glue up table, with a Festool table top that got damaged in shipment. The miter box is a Stanley #150. There are articles on this miter box at Bad Axe Tools. The claim to fame of this box is the small saw holder allows the use of hand as well as back saws. The box also works with shorter saws, again due to the smaller guide. The Ron Bonz 20” custom saw is a shameless plug for Ron’s saws. The miter box & bench hook fit in the door below it, with plenty of room for the saw. My restored Miller Falls/Langdon 74C & bench hook, with 26” saw, works on the same table. So does my set of hard wood bench hooks. The Festool top and Festool quick clamps allow a vaiety of items to be clamped to the top on the PDQ.

There are 1/8” pieces of MDF resting on the carcass below the festool top. These stop any dust/shavings from getting into the drawers. It is easy to remove the Festool top to vacum it out. I added a folding shelf to the back of the cabinet, using LV folding brackets, recently. This is handy for stacking cut offs, pieces to be glued up....Next the cabinet will get casters, so it can be moved around at my new location. Still calculating on the best final height for sawing comfortably.

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[Mark Rainey]

That is a sweet set up Mike. The Stanley 150 is interesting - it looks like you adjust for blade thickness.

[steven c newman]

If all one needs is a 90 and a 45, and does not have much room on a bench..
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Until needed, it stays in the tool box, folded up
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Place on the bench/saw horse, and unfold
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Add the saw of your choice. The metal guides will adjust to whatever thickness the saw's plate is. A simple woodscrew, loosen to adjust the guide, then tighten the screw back down.
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Logo on this one says GEM....It had a hole through the leaves, for a brass rod, to keep it from folding up on the user. There was also countersinked holes, to attach the box to the work surface. Slots get a bit worn? Either move things a bit, and cut a new slot, or just replace the wood with new.