Miter Saw

Overview

A miter saw makes accurate angled cuts across boards: a circular blade mounted on a pivoting head drops straight down onto a workpiece held against a fence. This is a sliding compound model, the most capable kind. "Sliding" means the head rides on rails so it can cut boards far wider than the blade alone would reach; "compound" means it both swivels left and right for miter angles and tilts for bevel angles, so a single plunge can cut a corner that is angled in two planes at once. It is the standard tool for framing, trim, decking, and fine carpentry.

The workpiece sits on the Base & Turntable, a cast-aluminum foot with a rotating table. Swing the table and the whole cut angle changes; spring-loaded stops in the Miter Detent Plate plate click into the common angles so a 45° corner repeats exactly every time. A two-piece Sliding Fence backs the board up square. Power comes from a slide-on Battery Pack pack, and a hold-down Hold-Down Clamp keeps the stock from creeping during the cut.

How it works

The cutting force lives in the Saw Head. A brushless Brushless Motor spins at several thousand RPM, and the Gear Reduction uses a toothed belt and a helical gear pair to step that speed down and multiply torque at the arbor. The blade clamps to that spindle and spins inside a clear retractable Blade Guard that lifts out of the way as the head comes down and snaps back over the teeth on the return, pulled by its own return spring.

To make a cut, the operator squeezes the Trigger & Control. A lock-off button must be pressed first so the saw cannot start by accident, and a soft-start board ramps the motor up smoothly instead of jerking the head. The head then pulls forward on the Slide Rail Carriage for a wide board, plunges down to meet the work, and pushes back through the cut; a coil spring lifts the head back to rest when released.

Angle adjustments are mechanical and lock solid. Rotating the base sets the miter angle against the detent plate. Tilting the head on the Bevel Pivot Mechanism trunnion sets the bevel angle, and a lever locks it. A Cut-Line Guide projects the blade's kerf onto the wood so the operator can line up the cut before the blade ever touches it, and the Dust Port & Bag pulls chips off the back of the blade into a bag or shop vacuum.