Miter saw problem

[John Meikrantz]

I am having fits trying to get my Bosch 12" miter saw (3912) adjusted. When I adjust the fence to square it to the blade, the actual cut is not square. I can adjust the fence to be "out of square" with the blade and get pretty close to a square cut, but I'm sure that isn't the best way to do things. Using an 80 tooth, full kerf, thick plate blade. Am I missing something here?

Thanks,

John

[Dave Lehnert]

I am having fits trying to get my Bosch 12" miter saw (3912) adjusted. When I adjust the fence to square it to the blade, the actual cut is not square. I can adjust the fence to be "out of square" with the blade and get pretty close to a square cut, but I'm sure that isn't the best way to do things. Using an 80 tooth, full kerf, thick plate blade. Am I missing something here?

Thanks,

John

Sounds like your stock is sliding when making the cut. The blade will pull the wood some making an out of square cut. Try clamping your wood to the base/fence of the miter saw, then make a test cut and check for square. See if that helps.

[John Meikrantz]

Thanks, Dave. Tried that, with no change in results. After more experimenting this morning, it appears that the head is able to move side to side slightly, due to a very small amount of play in the rear vertical pivot/spring. Not sure if I can do anything about that. Any ideas?

John

[Dave Falkenstein]

I had a different adjustment problem with my Bosch sliding CMS. I called the local Bosch repair center, and after talking for a while, they hooked me up with a guy at Bosch-USA headquarters. That guy was exceptionally knowledgeable, and was able to find the answers I needed in a few minutes. My problem turned out to be a missing part and a hard-to-read parts breakdown, but I'd suggest you try that same route. Everyone I talked with was helpful and eager to see my problem resolved.

[robert micley]

i have had a hitachi and just got the makita cms 10 inch.i have tried the bosch.i personally in these three brands have not seen perfect detents.in other words if the 90 degree cut is square the 45 is just a little off.the bosch was the worst of the three.i would like to know if many folks own a cms with perfectly accurate detents.i know it is the detents as opposed to blade wobble or wood movement because i first get my 90 degree perfectly square by adjusting the fence.if you cannot get the 90 degree dead square it has to be wood movement,blade wobble or play in miter arm.i chose the makita over the bosch only because it felt smoother to me,the factory blade is very premium and i liked the big one piece round table and it seemed more quiet than the bosch.but the bosch gets great reviews on amazon.

[John Meikrantz]

Thanks for all the responses. I did speak to Bosch, and they were unable to come up with any reason for the saw's behavior. So I took a dial indicator to the blade, and discovered that it was NOT spinning true, out by several thousandths. I took the blade back off the saw, and discovered a small clump of sawdust stuck on the rear flange. Cleaned it off, put everything back together, and was back to making square cuts. I feel like a dope. Anyway, I never would have guessed that such a small spot of sawdust could have caused such an annoying problem.

John