How do i saw repetitive 1 inch cuts on a miter saw?

[David Ruhland]

I am trying to make some 1 inch long blocks from a 2x2 I need 30 of them for a project. Am having a hellva time getting them all the same size...Tried a stop block, but that is dangerous as as can be when that lil piece gets between the saw blade and stop block. Suggestions please...:-)

D

[Adam Herman]

if i need a bunch of something the same, i think about the critical dimension. can you rip it to 1 in and then cut the blocks so that inaccurate cut is on the side instead of the critical dimension? may require a different size stock. do you have a band saw with a fence?

[Doug Garson]

Use your table saw. Either use a sled with a stop block and spacer. Set the stop block to get your 1" length with the spacer, remove the spacer before you cut so the piece is not trapped. Or use your miter gauge with a stop block on your fence located in front of the blade so your workpiece clears the stop block before the cut starts and is not trapped.

[Lee Schierer]

The first think I would do would be to make a zero clearance fence for my miter saw. I would also consider making a jig that would hold the cut off in place during and after the cut. It may require you to stop the saw after each cut so that the blade doesn't catch on the piece and produce a kick back.

This type of cut on a miter saw is very dangerous. A table saw would be more accurate and safer.

[Brian Henderson]

You don't. That's a job for the tablesaw with a sled and a stopblock.

[David Ruhland]

Thanks All.... Looks like i will be building my sled before i get the small blocks project done!

[David Ruhland]

use your miter gauge with a stop block on your fence located in front of the blade so your workpiece clears the stop block before the cut starts and is not trapped.

Can you clarify this? I am having a hard time envisioning it....

[Al Launier]

Position the block ahead of the saw blade & clamp it to the fence. Then position the fence with block so the block is 1" away from the near side of the blade. Place the workpiece against the miter gage & slide it up against the block. Hold the workpiece to the miter gage & move both the miter gage & workpiece through the blade to cut off 1" pieces. The block will remain at the fence while the workpiece is cleared for the cut. Repeat as required.
If you don't already have one, it would minimize tearout if you had a backer board attached to the miter gage.

[Doug Garson]

Position the block ahead of the saw blade & clamp it to the fence. Then position the fence with block so the block is 1" away from the near side of the blade. Place the workpiece against the miter gage & slide it up against the block. Hold the workpiece to the miter gage & move both the miter gage & workpiece through the blade to cut off 1" pieces. The block will remain at the fence while the workpiece is cleared for the cut. Repeat as required.
If you don't already have one, it would minimize tearout if you had a backer board attached to the miter gage.
Couldn't have said it better, thanks for clarifying.

[Jim Becker]

If you choose to stick with the miter saw and stop block...make the cut and don't raise the blade until it stops spinning. The kick-back of small off-cuts like that happen when the spinning blade is raised and it catches the off-cut. That said, a sled on the table saw will also permit precise small component cutting.

[Zachary Hoyt]

That is about the hardest shape to cut. I used to use a miter saw to cut blocks for banjo rims, essentially segmented turnings. Each banjo required 54 or 72 blocks, so it took a while. As Jim Becker says, holding the head down and using a stop block is pretty safe, and for only making 30 blocks it shouldn't take too long. Now I cut my blocks on the bandsaw, using a rip fence to control the length and a miter gauge to set the angle. If you have a sharp blade and a well set up saw this is faster and makes at least as good of a cut as the miter saw. I put a cardboard box on the cart behind the bandsaw so that the cut off blocks eventually fall into the box, after getting pushed across the table by their compatriots. It's a lot safer than the miter saw too. I still use the miter saw to make tree slice coasters, they're about 4" in diameter and 1/4" thick and I can lift the saw head without a problem, they are too thin and tall to get caught in the blade easily, and just ride beside the blade as it goes up. When I cut banjo rim blocks I used a hold down stick with a notch cut in the end so I could raise the head again, but those blocks were around 2" long so there was more room for the stick to go between the blade and the stop block.
Zach

[lowell holmes]

I would put it on my miter saw with a line at the dimension I wanted.
Then I would cut the end and move the end I just cut to the line. I would repeat the cut until I had the blocks I needed.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I would put it on my miter saw with a line at the dimension I wanted.
Then I would cut the end and move the end I just cut to the line. I would repeat the cut until I had the blocks I needed.Tried that method once....didn't take the saw kerf into account......by the third or fourth block, the blocks had gotten noticeably smaller.

[David Ruhland]

398610

Swf got got a few different sizes coming out. Lol

[David Ruhland]

398616
Al-is this what your talking about? Having a hard time visualizing?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Al-is this what your talking about? Having a hard time visualizing?That's more or less how I'd do it - on the table saw with the stop like that so it doesn't bind.

I'd also bundle 4 pieces. run the end through first & cut off a half inch or so - just so all 4 are even, then just make 7 passes instead of 30.

[Edwin Santos]

Sometimes to get the task at hand done, you have to make do with the tools at your immediate disposal. If a miter saw is that tool, I would consider fashioning a flip stop. Clamp it to the miter saw fence or an auxiliary fence. I like the aux fence because the zero clearance at the back will make the procedure that much safer.
Set your piece against it, flip the stop out of the way, cut, and repeat. No opportunity for binding.

*Be sure to follow Jim's advice of not lifting the spinning blade back out of the cut where it can grab the cut piece.*

You can buy flip stops also, but it should be a simple thing to make. You could also make a hook stop that registers to the end of your auxiliary fence and fixes the spot to set your workpiece against. Once set, put the hook stop aside until the next cut.

There is a good video on YouTube by a woodworker named Mr. Baldwin (can't recall his first name). He demonstrates how to use a miter saw safely and accurately for small part cutting using aux fences, tables, double stick tape, adhesive sandpaper, and hold downs. Worth your time. You probably have most of these items in your workshop right now. Hope this helps

[lowell holmes]

The mark goes at 1" to the right of the saw blade.

[Edwin Santos]

The mark goes at 1" to the right of the saw blade.

Yes, and this is why the flip stop or hook stop is placed on the right side of the fence. By fence I mean the vertical support backing that exists on both sides of the saw blade at the back of the miter saw table.

[Wayne Lomman]

You can do this on your mitre saw perfectly safely. Securely set up a piece of 2" timber on the infeed side of your mitre saw. This makes a temporary stepped saw bed. Set up a mimimum sized stop in the usual way on the out feed side and start cutting. The cut piece will drop down out of the path of the saw blade when it is cut. Flick it aside with a thin stick before cutting the next one. It works on the table saw as well but the drop saw is simple, quick and safe with this set up. Cutting blocks like this is a first day on the job task for a first year apprentice. Cheers

[phil harold]

398616
Al-is this what your talking about? Having a hard time visualizing?
thats the ticket!

[Al Launier]

398616
Al-is this what your talking about? Having a hard time visualizing?

Yes, that's it.

[glenn bradley]

You don't. That's a job for the tablesaw with a sled and a stopblock.

Ding, ding, ding :)

398636

[Zac wingert]

Tablesaw, with what everyone else said. Hands down.

[Van Huskey]

While I agree most people would use a TS for these cuts I would use a bandsaw, but I am wired like that.

[Roger Feeley]

one solution that I haven't seen suggested is something called step and repeat. It's used in printing.

-- Rip a strip exactly 1" wide + the width of the kerf.
-- cut the strip into, say, 10 pieces.
-- Set up a stop about 18" from your miter saw blade and cut a piece of stock to that length.
-- insert one of your pieces between the stop and the stock, thereby advancing the stock and leaving the cutoff free to move
-- continue adding blocks until you have cut 10 pieces

You can modify the procedure to conserve stock.
Do the same thing at 36" and cut off 10 pieces. Then move your stop so that you cut off just a bit and calibrate to shorter stock. Cut off 10 pieces and so on.

[John Stankus]

How precise of a square block do you need?

One thought I had was to make rig sort of like is used for flattening large slabs (but on a smaller scale)
A Piece of plywood with sides going up to the height you want.
Take your stock (before you cut to the smaller sizes and lay it in between the sides and use a router to make it the height set by the sides, turn 90 degrees and repeat, now you have two dimensions that are exactly the same.
Now cut the blocks on the miter saw but make them a little bit large.
Take the collection of blocks, set them in the plywood rig, but clamp them together (make sure each block is referenced to the bottom, trim the side with the router. Voila you should have a block with x,y, and z dimensions the same. (at least theoretically :-) )

John