# Compound Miter saw jigs



## jtate (Dec 18, 2007)

Okay y'all, I bought a compound miter saw and now I need help with how to hold the wood in place so I don't (1) have wood pieces fly up in my face and/or (2) have parts of my fingers fly up in my face.

Here's the saw I bought:







Previously I've been doing EVERYTHING with hand saws.

Can someone photograph their set-up for holding wood in the bed of this thing for sawing?  Or just 'xplain it to me?  I can cut short pieces from long pieces because it has the clamp on the left which is visible in the photo.  But pen blanks are too short to be held by that clamp.

Any help would be appreciated.


Still possessed of a full compliment of fingers in Tennessee, I am, sincerely,
Julia


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## Rifleman1776 (Dec 18, 2007)

The picture shows a clamp built on.


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## rherrell (Dec 18, 2007)

TO ME a miter saw is a poor choice for cutting pen blanks.HOWEVER, if that's what you have then I would seriously consider getting a cutting jig for it. I can't recall a good one off hand but TRUST ME, somebody here will have all the info you need.


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## rherrell (Dec 18, 2007)

Frank, if that one is anything like mine it won't get close enough to cut half a blank.


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## mwenman (Dec 18, 2007)

What I did for my mitre saw first, was to use the holes in the back of the stock metal fence and then screw a solid hardwood fence to it.  This gave me a zero clearance fence in the back to start with.  Granted I lost cutting width, but can live with that.   After the fence was cut and attached, then I went about making stop blocks that I could slide along the fence to the position wanted and just hold in place using a small C clamp.


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## Daniel (Dec 18, 2007)

can you make a piece of wood that will hold down that blank that the clamp can reach?
I have both a miter saw, and a radial arm saw. I don't even consider the miter saw when cutting a blank. So I am sort of trying to help you with something I would not even try to do. Most advice I have seen on cutting small pieces of wood require attaching it to a large piece of wood in some manner. gluing, screwing, clamping etc. Otherwise my experience with the miter saw is that the blank becomes airborne. My radial arm saw will slice off paper thin pieces and leave them right there on the bench. Not really sure what the difference is.


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## johnkofi (Dec 18, 2007)

Julie... The miter saw is all that I have been using since I started a few months ago. What I have learned to do to keep the short pieces flying is to.... stop the blade while it is in the down position, because it was usually when I raised the blade after cutting the blank the short piece would go flying.


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## low_48 (Dec 18, 2007)

Julia,
I assume that you are using this for cross cutting the blanks to length. The biggest danger is that large gap between the two fences. There are some holes in the fence that will let you place a piece of hardwood or 3/4 plywood on the front of the fence and send screws from the back to fasten it. This will add safety and back up the wood blank while cutting to limit chipout on the blank. Then you can screw a stop block to that plywood for setting the length if you want to. Only use a stop block on one side, the other piece needs a place to exit when cut so it will not pinch on the blade. If you want to use that hold down, place a piece of scrap the same thickness as the blank, several inches away from the blank. Place another piece on top of the blank and the scrap so it looks like a bridge. Put the clamp in the center of the bridge and tighten it. You may want to add a better blade some day for smoother cuts. Good luck, Rich


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## fernhills (Dec 18, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Rifleman1776_
> <br />The picture shows a clamp built on.





  I made a sled for saw with a few angles,put sandpaper on sm fence so it doesn`t slide and use a notched push stick to hold it in place,try to keep a zero kerf,if it gets to wide discard and make new one,wood is cheap,fingers & eyes arn`t.. carl


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## wood-of-1kind (Dec 18, 2007)

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17823&SearchTerms=mitre

This homemade jig does the trick for me in "catching" the flying parts as they're thrown from the force of the blade. It's never caught on well here, but heck who cares. All that I know is that I have all my fingers left safely where they were 'originally'placed.[]

-Peter-[]


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## Rifleman1776 (Dec 18, 2007)

> _Originally posted by rherrell_
> <br />Frank, if that one is anything like mine it won't get close enough to cut half a blank.



I agree. But all he said was "wood". His intention could be for anything. Also, agree, poor and dangerous choice for pen blanks.


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## cowchaser (Dec 18, 2007)

This is the jig I bought. It is sold by PSI, but I bought mine from woodturningz. They sell all of PSI stuff at a cheaper price. I just gave them a call and Fritz hooked me up. I know several others here use it as well. It has been and absolute life saver for me. It is safe and my hands are up away from the blade. Cuts my blanks perfectly. 

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pkscjig.html

Here is the link to the discussion when I bought it. Basically it also removes the need for measuring. You just stick your tube in the slot and slide the bar up and it cuts it to the tubes length. Real handy in my opinion. 

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29183&SearchTerms=miter+saw


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## JWW (Dec 18, 2007)

> This is the jig I bought. It is sold by PSI, but I bought mine from woodturningz. They sell all of PSI stuff at a cheaper price. I just gave them a call and Fritz hooked me up. I know several others here use it as well. It has been and absolute life saver for me. It is safe and my hands are up away from the blade. Cuts my blanks perfectly.



I bought one a few weeks ago and love it, works great. All aluminum and very easy to set up. I bought it from woodturningz, good price, great communication, fast shipping.


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## GaryMGg (Dec 18, 2007)

Julia,
You've received some good advice here and I'd like to add one more thing.
When you have funds, I'd suggest getting a good blade for that saw.
I've not known a manufacturer to put quality blades on their stock equipment and at that price they surely didn't.
Something with 80 or more carbide teeth made by a reputable manufacturer is what you want.


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## VisExp (Dec 18, 2007)

I work with a miter saw all day, most every day, installing kitchen cabinets.  While I agree that there are other ways to cut a pen blank, I do feel that it can be done safely with a miter saw.  

The first thing I would do on your saw, as others have mentioned, is to put a wooden sacrificial fence on the back fence.  The opening where the blade passes through on your saw is huge.  If you are holding a small 5" piece of wood then only an inch or saw will be supported by the back fence.  As the blade contacts the pen blank, unless you have a herculean grip, it will be ripped from your grip and flung back.

When I use the miter saw I am always concious of the following:
Firstly know where your fingers are in relation to the blades path.  That may sound obvious, but there is a point when you lower the blade that the motor might obscure your view, so know that your hands are out of danger before you hit the switch.

Secondly never cross your arms.  I see Norm on New Yankee Workshop doing this all the time and it drives me nuts.  If the piece you are cutting is on the left of the blade, then hold it with your left hand and activate the switch with your right hand.  Vice versa.

Thirdly, let the blade come up to full speed before you start to lower it.  Some of the worst "kickbacks" I've seen on a miter saw have been when someone is in a rush and plunged the blade into the workpiece before it was up to full speed.

Fourth, let the blade come to a stop before you withdraw the blade.  Offcuts tend to get thrown around more when you are lifting a spinning blade than when you are making the cut.

I've spent the last fifteen minutes trying to find a picture of the hold down  Malcolm Tibbetsuses on his miter saw, but no luck.  If you can get his book The Art of Segmented Wood Turning there is a good picture and explanation of his hold down jig for his miter saw.  He does most of his cutting for his segmented bowls with a miter saw.

Ha!!  Just found the picture.  Go to Amazon and find the listing for his book.  Click on "Search inside this book"  When that window opens click on "suprise me".  It brings up random pages.  Keep clicking until it brings up page 32.

Good luck and please take care cutting small pieces with the miter saw.  It can be done safely but there are precautions and procedures to follow.

BTW, I agree with Gary.  Get a decent blade, chances are the one on the saw is not very good.


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## jtate (Dec 18, 2007)

This is SOOOOOooooo useful!  Thank you all so much!

Julia


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## leehljp (Dec 18, 2007)

I know that pictures are not always what you get, but that does not appear to be a good or safe blade for a miter saw. I do occasionally see "what ever" blades on bargain miter saws but that is dangerous. 

That blade looks a little like a non-ferrous metal cutting blade but just could be a kickback prevention (prevents it from taking too big of a bite). But more important, that blade looks like it has "positive rake" teeth which greatly increase the possibility of it LIFTING the blank. 

Some people can go a lifetime without a problem but most of these people are VERY experienced along with just plain lucky. Miter saws should have NEGATIVE RAKE teeth, especially on smaller pieces of wood. And as already mentioned, 60 - 80 teeth blade. But by all means, use a jig.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Dec 18, 2007)

Malcolm Tibbetts has a video on you tube, if you look closely you will see the great CMS sled he uses for segmented turning.

Cute video, worth 8 minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRn_mzDYq-s


BTW, Malcolm sold this piece on ebay for $5600 with all the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society


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## VisExp (Dec 19, 2007)

Another thing you could do in lieu of a hold down jig would be to CA glue two pen blanks together end to end.  That way you could cut the one pen blank to size while holding the second blank.  It would mean your hand would be further away from the blade.  This method combined with a sacrificial back fence which supports the blank being cut on both sides of the blade would be safer than just cutting a 5" blank by itself.


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## Rifleman1776 (Dec 19, 2007)

> _Originally posted by leehljp_
> <br />I know that pictures are not always what you get, but that does not appear to be a good or safe blade for a miter saw. I do occasionally see "what ever" blades on bargain miter saws but that is dangerous.
> 
> That blade looks a little like a non-ferrous metal cutting blade but just could be a kickback prevention (prevents it from taking too big of a bite). But more important, that blade looks like it has "positive rake" teeth which greatly increase the possibility of it LIFTING the blank.
> ...



Hank, you are absolutely right. What he has on that saw could be very dangerous. Especially with small pieces of wood like pen blanks. The positive rake blade can, and will, grab; lift and 'race' through wood.


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## jtate (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm new to power tools.  Heck I'm new to all tools - at least within the last couple of years.  If anyone has the time to find me a link to the blade I should I buy I'd be very appreciative.  I'd just go whereever you tell me to go and buy whatever you tell me to buy (within reason of course).   

I DO want to be safe!  I have seen too many people who've lost fingers or eyes and I don't want to join that group.  And I DO want to do nice work.  Sounds like in this case a new blade would make my work safer and increase its quality.  Win-Win!

Thank you all for your help.


Julia


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## jtate (Dec 19, 2007)

Here are three views of the blade on my saw.  It has 24 teeth and 5/8 inch arbor  - or so it says on the blade.


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## cowchaser (Dec 19, 2007)

Before you buy something you will need to know the arbor size. If you move you blade around on the writing side it probably says 5/8 arbor or whatever size it is. You local Lowes or Home Depot or whatever will have some nice blades at decent prices. Just tell them your wanting a quality 80 tooth finishing blade. Just beware, blades are not cheap.


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## maxwell_smart007 (Dec 19, 2007)

A good blade will probably cost more than you paid for the saw! []


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## GaryMGg (Dec 19, 2007)

Julia,
Look here:
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3369298
Fantastic prices for good quality blades. Tell Mike what you're primarily using it for.
Save some $$ too.
Merry Christmas


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## Rifleman1776 (Dec 19, 2007)

> _Originally posted by cowchaser_
> <br />Before you buy something you will need to know the arbor size. If you move you blade around on the writing side it probably says 5/8 arbor or whatever size it is. You local Lowes or Home Depot or whatever will have some nice blades at decent prices. Just tell them your wanting a quality 80 tooth finishing blade. Just beware, blades are not cheap.



I haven't found negative rake blades at the borgs. Check Freud and Forrester sites for good blades. Be prepared to spend some $$$.


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## scotirish (Dec 19, 2007)

I also bought one of these.  I carried it a step further and added a oak wood piece to fit the miter slot on my band saw.  Every piece is cut straight and my fingers are away from the blade.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pkscjig.html[)]


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## jtate (Dec 19, 2007)

Ronald,

Can you post a picture of your set-up using the oak piece and the jig from PSI.

I'm definitely going to get that PSI Jig.

The Arbor on the miter saw I bought is 5/8 inch.


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## rherrell (Dec 19, 2007)

This is what I have on mine Julia....http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU91M010-10-Inch-Crosscutting-8-Inch/dp/B00004T7AI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1198092768&sr=8-3
It works pretty dang good. It has the 5 degree negative hook that you're looking for. Good price too!


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## alamocdc (Dec 19, 2007)

I bought my Freud at Lowes and it's been a good blade. Not as good as my Forrest, but not nearly as expensive either.


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## Ron Mc (Dec 19, 2007)

I would highly recommend getting a blade with at least 80 teeth. I use a Diablo 80 tooth and love it.
I go take some pictures of the jig I use on my saw for small cuts and post them for you.
Very easy to make and is accurate.


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## Ron Mc (Dec 19, 2007)

Here are some pictures to help you out.

Set up






With blade down






With additional stop added to the front of the zero clearance. This allows you to make repetitive cuts of the exact same size.






With additional stop cut at an angle to meet your needs.






See how it works?






You can easily save any size cut by not lifting your blade when done cutting. Let the blade come to a stop and then retrieve the sliver.






One cut made....50 to go.






Most importantly....Be very safe and have fun!


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## jtate (Dec 21, 2007)

Okay,  I bought a nice clear piece of red oak today and I'll be adding it to my compund miter saw tomorrow to get that zero clearance.  The pictures here, help me understand how this setp up accomdates angled cuts.  I'll take photos when I get it set up.

Thank you all so much!


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