DeWalt Miter Saw

Someone asked me one time, “How do you make those perfect miter joints?” I told him, “If I ever made a perfect joint, I’d call them and tell them how I did it.”

But I want to share with you about five tips that will help you get the very best joints that you possibly can.

The first thing I want to share is this: this isn’t a chop saw; it’s a miter saw. I see people come up and, as soon as they put the board in there, they start the saw and just slam it into the cut. When you slam the blade into the board like that, you take a chance on damaging the board, the blade, the saw, and maybe even yourself. So give the saw and the blade a chance to do their work.

The second thing I always pay close attention to is keeping the saw clean and making sure there’s no debris back against the fence, because all it takes is the slightest bit of sawdust buildup or debris to hold that board a little bit out, and then your cut’s not going to be accurate.

A great number of the cuts that I make are casing trim. I always want to make sure that when I’m cutting a piece of casing trim, I’m actually cutting an angle that’s going to shear the grain in the wood, not tear it. Sometimes I see people turning the board around like this and making a cut from this direction, but that’s actually tearing out the wood fibers instead of shearing them.

Try this sometime: make a cut like this and then run your finger backwards. You’re going to feel all those grains trying to raise. Then go this way, and you’ll see that it’s a lot better to cut this way, where you’re shearing the fibers of the wood.

Some people say, “Measure twice and cut once.” I almost never try to get the cut exact the first time. I’d much rather cut it close and then make a second cut to make sure that I get the joint I want.

Try this sometime: if you want to take just a little bit off of a cut, place the board against the saw, lower the blade all the way down, and then slide the board against the blade. When you raise up and come back down, you’re going to find that you take just a little bit off the board.

One thing that I’ve found in life is true: you get exactly what you pay for. Instead of spending money on several cheap saws over time, invest in the best saw that you can up front. Then, once you’ve got the best DeWalt miter saw that you possibly can, start using the best blade that you can.

This is the blade that I use. When you put a blade like this on your saw, there’ll be a noticeable improvement in the quality of cuts that you get.

Affiliate link. We may be compensated.