Miter Saw Question

[Sue Wise]

Hi Friends:
When I cut with my Bosch miter saw, I get splintering and tear out. I probably need a better blade, but I was wondering if many of you have built a zero-clearance jig for your miter saw.

Thanks,

-Sue

[Chuck Wood]

Sue.

I was also getting quite a bit of tearout from my MS. Way too much! Then I change the blade and what a difference. I didn't think my blade had been on there that long or would have gotten that dull that quick. I also increased the number of teeth on the blade and that will help.:)

[Jim Becker]

Sue, I put a ZCI in my miter saw a long time ago...just made one out of scrap material using the original plastic one as a template. (Similar to doing the same operation for the table saw) The ZCI is very helpful in reducing splintering on the bottom of the cut.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a Bosch 12" compound miter saw with the Forrest Chopmaster blade and don't notice any excessive tearout.

If you're getting tearout on the back of your cut, clamp a piece of MDF against the fence and cut it off with saw. This will give you a zero clearance "insert" on one side of the back of your cut. Then cut your actual wood. Remove MDF when finished.

This works well for angle cuts, also.

I've not had trouble with tearout on the bottom or top of the cut on my saw. I suppose you could do the same for the bottom - put a piece of MDF down before you make your actual cut.

But I'd try a new (and maybe better) blade, also.

Mike

[J D Thomas]

Sue,

This might help if it's pertinent to your situation. Last week I was cutting some custom molding I milled for my house, including some modified L-shaped threshold pieces. To eliminate tearout, I simply placed a piece of 3/4" plywood on the bed of my mitersaw. I also have a sacrificial MDF fence attached to my regular fence. When I cut the pieces, I just made sure I didn't cut thru the plywood underneath. Just enough to cut the molding. It worked great and I just kept moving the plywood piece around to get a fresh surface underneath as I went.

I've made a ton of zero clearance throat plates for my mitersaw, but they do wear out very quickly and lose their effectiveness.

[Sue Wise]

Thanks for all the good responses. I broke down today and purchased the Forrest Chopmaster at Amazon for $89.00 and free shipping. (They are having some kind of promotional with an extra 10% off.) I will also try some of your other suggestions.

Thanks again,

-Sue

[J D Thomas]

Sue,

Good choice on the new blade. I did overlook the fact that I too have the Chopmaster on my 12" Delta.

[glenn bradley]

Hi Sue,

The Chopmaster will cure many ills. I do use a zci on the base-table of my CMS. When cutting miter edges that will show or very small moulding I also use an "L" shaped aux. fence / base made of scrap MDF. This helps with tearout on prone woods like ash or red oak and keeps smaller pieces fully supported during the cut.

[glenn bradley]

You didn't mention size but, did you see this post:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=47421

[John Piwaron]

Thanks for all the good responses. I broke down today and purchased the Forrest Chopmaster at Amazon for $89.00 and free shipping. (They are having some kind of promotional with an extra 10% off.) I will also try some of your other suggestions.

Thanks again,

-Sue

You're going to love it.

I use a DeWalt DW705 and used the stock blade for a long time. I simply used a very slow feed rate. It gave good results.

I upgraded to a Chopmaster for the glass smooth surface it gives and zero splintering. It's way better than my DeWalt blade.

FWW had a story sometime back in which they discussed tooth geometry and the whys and wherefores of how the blade cuts. If you want to delve into that, it'll probably provide you with some pointers for what blades to look for beyond the Chopmaster.

[Jim Bell]

Mike is dead on with the Chopmaster. Tears at the cash register but a pleasant surprise at the saw table.