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Hand Miter saw with more teeth per inch, suitable for hardwoods?
Hand Miter saw with more teeth per inch, suitable for hardwoods?
I occasionally make wood projects for fun. All by hand except I do have a drill press and a small belt sander. I have the usual wood miter box and miter saw. I also have a framing miter box for small profiles and a really tiny Xacto all metal one. I am a picky craftsperson but still a hobbyist.
Recently I built an oak bookcase with mitered trim. The hand miter saw had a lot of trouble with the oak trim. Even if I started the cut with a file, the too-large teeth kept catching on the wood. It was taking forever to cut the trim, and except for the wider base molding, they were not thick pieces.
I decided the saw was old and dull and went out to buy a new one, only to find out I was still having the same problem. I had looked for something with more teeth per inch than my old one, which I think would take care of it. But all the miter aka backsaws in the store had the same number of teeth, 12 per inch. I ended up using a hacksaw (18 tpi but not very deep teeth, if that’s the right term) to finish the job: still very slow, plus presented its own problems, as it is very hard to maintain the right vertical angle and not tilt.
I have some major framing projects coming up, framing antique tiles. Being deep I have to stack the moldings, so that’s a lot of cuts. I need something better. I bought walnut molding: that might be even harder to saw than the oak was.
I bought a beautiful vintage all-metal miter box at an antique store last fall. This has slots to cut some unusual angles, which is just what I need for the antique afghan hexagonal tile I want to frame. This has a guide device to slip your saw into and set the angle; meant to accommodate a regular miter saw: it has a channel to hold the thicker metal top piece of the saw. I took photos of this, but every time I try to upload them, my thread disappears and I have to start over.
So: what kind of hand miter saw is suitable for hardwoods, and where do I find one that is in a hobbyist price range but still cuts well?
I am looking at Lee Valley and a site with Shark Saws, that has things in my price range but I really don’t know what will work before buying it.
I also have these stores in my area: Woodcraft, Berland’s House of Tools (which caters to contractors mostly), and a Rockler store about half an hour away. Thanks very much for any guidance you can offer.