Chop
Saw Cutting Capacity
Compound Miter Saws and Fences
Miter Matters
Before You Buy
It wasn't that long ago that making accurate crosscuts in wood required
a skilled hand, a sharp handsaw, and a chunk of time. But in the
early 1970s, a new saw began to appear on job sites that promised
to speed up these cuts: the motorized miter saw, or chop saw. A
chop saw is essentially a lightweight circular saw mounted on a
spring-loaded pivoting arm supported by a metal base. While these
relatively small, inexpensive saws don't have the cutting capacity
of a radial arm saw, they are very portable and rugged enough to
stand up to daily use (and abuse) on the job and survive the pickup
truck ride to the next job.
Chop
Saw Cutting Capacity
A chop saw with a 10-inch blade and a hefty 12 to 15 amp motor can
make quick, accurate 90-degree cuts in two-by-fours and two-by-sixes.
If you rotate the blade left or right, they can also make miter
cuts, and some of them can be pivoted past 45 degrees in one or
both directions. But 10-inch chop saws have one major limitation:
cutting capacity. Most of them are limited to about a 5 1/2-inch
cut at 90 degrees, and even less when cutting miters.
For this reason,
manufacturers also offer chop saws with 12-inch, 14-inch, and even
15-inch diameter blades, which enables them to make cuts that are
wider (up to about 7 1/2 inches) and higher (up to about 3 1/2 inches).
For some users, this capacity still isn't enough, which is why the
pricier--but more versatile--sliding compound miter saws have become
so popular. In fact, regular chop saws are disappearing from the
marketplace.
Compound
Miter Saws and Fences
Chop saws that can make bevel cuts as well as miter cuts (and most
of them can nowadays) are technically called compound miter saws
. If you tilt the blade while cutting at an angle, these saws can
cut crown molding while the stock lies flat on the table. But tilting
the blade means that the fence has to get out of the blade's way
when the saw head heels over. To achieve this, some manufacturers
significantly reduce the height of their fences near the blade,
then advise users to add a supplemental wood fence when making regular
cuts that need extra-height support. But a better approach is to
use a sliding fence, which provides full-height support and moves
out of the way for bevel cuts.
Miter
Matters
Preset detent positions on the saw's turntable (typically set at
0, 15, 22.5, 30, and 45 degrees) help to position the blade quickly
and accurately for common miter cuts. Some manufacturers also offer
detents for the common crown molding angles on the miter and bevel
scales. But the detents on some saws can be tricky to override if
you want to make minute adjustments to the fit of a cut--say, a
32.25-degree miter instead of the 31.62 degrees that crown molding
typically requires. The miter and bevel scales offered by different
manufacturers aren't equally easy to read, either. This is particularly
true of bevel scales, which are often partially hidden behind the
body of the saw.
Before
You Buy
The points below should help you choose a compound miter saw that
will suit your needs:
Weight:
If you do a lot of moving around, weight can be an important factor.
Some saws weigh as little as 30 pounds, while heavier saws can
weigh in at 50 pounds or more.
Handle
comfort:
Some saws are more balanced than others when you pick them up
by their carrying handle. The position of the trigger handle may
also affect how comfortable the saw is to operate. Many people
prefer D-shaped handles oriented perpendicular to the blade.
Saw blade:
Most saws come equipped with a carbide-toothed saw blade as standard
equipment. If the saw comes with an inexpensive steel blade, you'll
want to replace it with a higher-quality blade, specifically designed
for a miter saw, for consistently smooth, straight cuts.
Blade guard:
It's easier to see the cut line if your saw has a smoothly operating
blade guard that automatically moves out of the way as the blade
nears the cut, as opposed to being pushed out of the way by the
workpiece.
Accessories:
Finally, accessories such as dust bags, table extensions, and
stock clamps often are included with the price of the saw, but
not always. Remember to add them to your calculations if you need
to purchase them separately, since they can have a considerable
effect on your total cost.
Adapted
from an article by Andrew Wormer - contributing editor to Fine Homebuilding
magazine
provided courtesy of Amazon.com
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