I've never used a sliding mitre saw before, but I've just bought one. Looking for safety/operating advice.

[ILikeGarages]

Sorry for the long title, but don't want to be accused of clickbait!

I've bought a sliding single bevel mitre saw and have never even used one before. It's a parkside one, from Lidl.
Don't have much of a need for one at the moment, but hope to do a few woodworky things when I move house, including french cleating my garage. I'm sure this mitre saw will be quite useful then.

I'd like beginner user guidance around using it and using it safely. Happy to be pointed at youtube vids too.

I'm bound to have a play with it, probably this weekend, to familiarise myself with it.

TIA

 

[Bingy man]

Hi and welcome to ukw - 1st thing to do is read all the relevant safety info especially the do,s and don’ts . Next with the saw not plugged in follow the set up info -it might be under the heading ( before you use the saw ) you need to confirm it cuts at 90 deg and 45 deg respectively. Then following the instructions you have just read give it a try - ensure kids pets etc are not in the work area - and you are not tired , under the influence or seriously distracted. Make sure you’re wearing suitable ppe and make sure you’re not wearing loose / long clothing. Tie back long hair and remove any jewellery. Try a test cut in a straight ,nail free piece of timber- if it doesn’t cut as per above then refer back to the instructions and recheck everything assuming it’s all good then consider a new better quality blade . Never be tempted to cut small pieces of timber and only cut to the limits of your saw .the most important advice is to keep your fingers away from the blade at all times.

 

[TheUnicorn]

as per bingy man above but also once you get used to it don't get too comfortable and get complacent, care and caution will save your fingers.

also use dust extraction or use it outside, they create more sawdust than you can ever imagine

 

[Sideways]

Mark your cutting line and place the wood in position against the fence.
Without starting the saw, release the locking catch and bring the blade down to the wood.
Tap the timber left or right until the correct edge of the blade is lined up with your mark.
You can position a cut to a fraction of a mm this way.
Lift the blade and if you have a clamp with that saw, without moving it, clamp the wood so that it can't move.
Now, pull the blade fully toward you without pulling it down.
Pull whatever trigger there is to start the saw and let it come up to full speed.
push or pull the safety catch that lets you hinge the saw blade down, and do this in a controlled manner.
Ideally, if the wood isn't too wide, the spinning blade will come down into fresh air and the safety guard will retract as you bring the blade down. The blade will be spinning in a narrow slot in the tablenof the saw.
Keeping the blade "down", push it away from you steadily and through the wood from the near edge to the back edge against the fence. That is your cut. Push slowly and steadily without jerking. Go slow at first while you find out how easily your saw and blade cut any particular piece of hard or soft wood.
Release the trigger and let the motor come to a stop but keep the blade hinged downwards while this happens.
Finally raise the blade out of the wood. The safety guard will cover the blade and the latch will lock the blade in the up position as you let go of it.
Unclamp the wood.

Whatever you do, keep your holding hand out of the blade.

Dry run this whole process a few times first with the wood pulled to the side so you don't cut anything.
Get used to the sequence. Repeat, repeat until you have it down pat. Once you know it, it only takes seconds to do.

Some saws don't have a clamp to hold the timber and rely on you holding it.
Some people prefer to hold because it's quicker.
Just be aware that the risk is having your holding hand bitten by the blade so keep it well back from the blade at all times. If you have a clamp, use it. If you don't, then you need to squeeze the wood tightly back against the fence and down on the bed of the saw.

I'm right handed so I hold / clamp the good piece of the wood on the left of the blade and the piece to the right is generally my waste / offcut.

Don't brush anything out of the way until the blade is stopped.

Hope this helps.

 

[HOJ]

Don't have much of a need for one at the moment, but hope to do a few woodworky things when I move house

My simple advice is to take it back & get your money back, when you've moved house, reconsider your needs and purposes.

 

[TheUnicorn]

If the timber isn't sitting firm and square across the fence your cut won't be accurate so clean of the sawdust from fence and base regularly

 

[TheUnicorn]

to quickly test your cuts are square cut a long scrap piece, turn one piece over and but the cut edges together, your two pieces should sit in a perfectly straight line.

similarly to test a 45 degree cut fold the two pieces together, cut edge to cut edge and you should have a perfect 90

 

[Orraloon]

All good advice above and as the say a picture says a thousand words. Read the instructions and understand them before wading in. Anything you dont understand then ask the questions on here.

how to use a sliding compound miter saw - Google Search

 

[Niall Church]

Sorry for the long title, but don't want to be accused of clickbait!

I've bought a sliding single bevel mitre saw and have never even used one before. It's a parkside one, from Lidl.
Don't have much of a need for one at the moment, but hope to do a few woodworky things when I move house, including french cleating my garage. I'm sure this mitre saw will be quite useful then.

I'd like beginner user guidance around using it and using it safely. Happy to be pointed at youtube vids too.

I'm bound to have a play with it, probably this weekend, to familiarise myself with it.

TIA

Like others,don't panic,it csn be intimidating to use,so just take it slow,do dry runs to get use to it,don't clamp both ends of the wood,make sure it's on firm stable ground! When I got one a few yrs ago,I was intimidated by it,but,when you get use to it,you'll find it's a great asset to your workshop!

 

[squib]

And don't worry too much about the finish of the cut as that can be cured ,after you have become confident,with a better aftermarket blade.

 

[TRITON]

Don't touch the whirly spinny thing while its whirling and spinning.

Important stuff.
Sleeves up above the elbow - this is a general machine rule. clothing caught in machinery makes up a large part of the most serious accidents
Use the material clamp, thats what it is there for.
The guard must spring back and completely cover the blade as you release the trigger and lift it back to start position
its not a hot butter knife, so take the cut slowly.

Above all keep concentration on the job at hand. Accidents happen and are over in the blink of an eye.

 

[ILikeGarages]

Hi and welcome to ukw - 1st thing to do is read all the relevant safety info especially the do,s and don’ts . Next with the saw not plugged in follow the set up info -it might be under the heading ( before you use the saw ) you need to confirm it cuts at 90 deg and 45 deg respectively. Then following the instructions you have just read give it a try - ensure kids pets etc are not in the work area - and you are not tired , under the influence or seriously distracted. Make sure you’re wearing suitable ppe and make sure you’re not wearing loose / long clothing. Tie back long hair and remove any jewellery. Try a test cut in a straight ,nail free piece of timber- if it doesn’t cut as per above then refer back to the instructions and recheck everything assuming it’s all good then consider a new better quality blade . Never be tempted to cut small pieces of timber and only cut to the limits of your saw .the most important advice is to keep your fingers away from the blade at all times.

Thanks, all good advice, I particularly like the last on bolded (by me) not to cut too small a piece.

as per bingy man above but also once you get used to it don't get too comfortable and get complacent, care and caution will save your fingers.

also use dust extraction or use it outside, they create more sawdust than you can ever imagine

Good point about the dust extraction. Will use outside whenever possible.

Mark your cutting line and place the wood in position against the fence.
Without starting the saw, release the locking catch and bring the blade down to the wood.
Tap the timber left or right until the correct edge of the blade is lined up with your mark.
You can position a cut to a fraction of a mm this way.
Lift the blade and if you have a clamp with that saw, without moving it, clamp the wood so that it can't move.
Now, pull the blade fully toward you without pulling it down.
Pull whatever trigger there is to start the saw and let it come up to full speed.
push or pull the safety catch that lets you hinge the saw blade down, and do this in a controlled manner.
Ideally, if the wood isn't too wide, the spinning blade will come down into fresh air and the safety guard will retract as you bring the blade down. The blade will be spinning in a narrow slot in the tablenof the saw.
Keeping the blade "down", push it away from you steadily and through the wood from the near edge to the back edge against the fence. That is your cut. Push slowly and steadily without jerking. Go slow at first while you find out how easily your saw and blade cut any particular piece of hard or soft wood.
Release the trigger and let the motor come to a stop but keep the blade hinged downwards while this happens.
Finally raise the blade out of the wood. The safety guard will cover the blade and the latch will lock the blade in the up position as you let go of it.
Unclamp the wood.

Whatever you do, keep your holding hand out of the blade.

Dry run this whole process a few times first with the wood pulled to the side so you don't cut anything.
Get used to the sequence. Repeat, repeat until you have it down pat. Once you know it, it only takes seconds to do.

Some saws don't have a clamp to hold the timber and rely on you holding it.
Some people prefer to hold because it's quicker.
Just be aware that the risk is having your holding hand bitten by the blade so keep it well back from the blade at all times. If you have a clamp, use it. If you don't, then you need to squeeze the wood tightly back against the fence and down on the bed of the saw.

I'm right handed so I hold / clamp the good piece of the wood on the left of the blade and the piece to the right is generally my waste / offcut.

Don't brush anything out of the way until the blade is stopped.

Hope this helps.

Great walkthtough for my first cuts. Will re-read before I use it. Great bolded (by me) point... No spinny, no hurty!

My simple advice is to take it back & get your money back, when you've moved house, reconsider your needs and purposes.

Thanks, but my needs/wants won't change, so I'll keep it.

If the timber isn't sitting firm and square across the fence your cut won't be accurate so clean of the sawdust from fence and base regularly

Nice...I like it. Thanks for pointing this out. Easily missed by a newbie.

to quickly test your cuts are square cut a long scrap piece, turn one piece over and but the cut edges together, your two pieces should sit in a perfectly straight line.

similarly to test a 45 degree cut fold the two pieces together, cut edge to cut edge and you should have a perfect 90

Nice way to test, thanks for this.

Don't touch the whirly spinny thing while its whirling and spinning.

Important stuff.
Sleeves up above the elbow - this is a general machine rule. clothing caught in machinery makes up a large part of the most serious accidents
Use the material clamp, thats what it is there for.
The guard must spring back and completely cover the blade as you release the trigger and lift it back to start position
its not a hot butter knife, so take the cut slowly.

Above all keep concentration on the job at hand. Accidents happen and are over in the blink of an eye.

Good, sound advice, thank you.

Like others,don't panic,it csn be intimidating to use,so just take it slow,do dry runs to get use to it,don't clamp both ends of the wood,make sure it's on firm stable ground! When I got one a few yrs ago,I was intimidated by it,but,when you get use to it,you'll find it's a great asset to your workshop!

I'm sure I will be very happy, looking forward to putting it, and me, through our paces.
May I ask why you (and others, please chip in) say I shouldn't clamp both ends?

 

[recipio]

Miter saws have one serious flaw - the gap left in the fence to allow miter cuts on the bevel. Invariably you are tempted to hold a short piece of wood on the left side to trim a piece off. The piece has little support and the blade catches and the piece explodes out of the saw - hopefully not taking your fingers with it.
I urge people to forgo bevel cutting and insert a false fence and a new zero tolerance baseplate. 12 mm ply or MDF is ideal. Small pieces now have support on both sides of the blade and can be held about two inches away from the blade. MIter cutting can also be done with the piece in the vertical. 12" saws excel at this usually giving about 4" of vertical cutting height.
Another problem is dust collecting. Try and stand the saw with 360 degree access as it throws dust everywhere. Better still consider building a collection hood with extraction around it.

 

[Spectric]

Don't forget that there are mitre saw blades with a tooth angle to suit so don't just use any blade that fits.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Only thing I can add is that with long bits of wood, the fence and table are too short to provide proper support.

It is worth considering getting at least one (ideally two) Roller stand to support the wood. IMHO it is definitely worthwhile for anything over 1m - improves accuracy and safety.

 

[Bingy man]

Thanks, all good advice, I particularly like the last on bolded (by me) not to cut too small a piece.

Good point about the dust extraction. Will use outside whenever possible.

Great walkthtough for my first cuts. Will re-read before I use it. Great bolded (by me) point... No spinny, no hurty!

Thanks, but my needs/wants won't change, so I'll keep it.

Nice...I like it. Thanks for pointing this out. Easily missed by a newbie.

Nice way to test, thanks for this.

Good, sound advice, thank you.


I'm sure I will be very happy, looking forward to putting it, and me, through our paces.
May I ask why you (and others, please chip in) say I shouldn't clamp both ends?

If the timber releases tension as you cut it can close up on the blade trapping it . To this issue I only have 1 clamp which can be fitted to the left or right (dw 708 ) one thing I’ve not seen unless I’ve missed it is when cutting at 45 deg is to make sure your blade doesn’t foul the fence . Not sure on the features of your saw but this tends to be an issue on a compound mitre cut .. I don’t wear gloves . There is a good shout above regarding using a roller stand as long lengths of timber can be difficult to control so when you make that cut always think about where the off cut is going to end up ..

 

[Agent_zed]

Something worth learning in general with tools like this is to overcome the urge to grab something that is falling or moving. If you are cutting and the offcut is about to fall off the table or your tape measure has vibrated to the edge of the desk the best course of action is to release the trigger but don't move anything, just let the blade come to a stop. If bits or tools fall on the floor they can be replaced, it's not worth risking trying to reach out and grab it.

Similar thing is if someone comes and tries talking to you or get your attention. Just release, wait and then see what they want. When a power tool is on, that should be your focus until it is no longer moving.

If you've got kids you might also want to think about buying or making a shut off switch. I made a simple extension lead with an emergency stop button. If i need to turn my back for a second I hit the switch so no one can come up and turn the tool on. Also very useful for things like tablesaws where your hands might be guiding the wood and it's quicker to stand on a stop button than try and reach for the off switch if things start going wrong.

 

[Diver Fred]

This :- https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis36.pdf

 

[Sideways]

Something worth learning in general with tools like this is to overcome the urge to grab something that is falling or moving.

I have an instinct to stick out a foot and break the fall of things I knock of a worktop.
I've saved quite a few pieces of crockery this way, not to mention tins and jars.
I have a bad feeling that one day I may look down and find a kitchen knife where it shouldn't be !

 

[Doug71]

I have one of those 10 Million Dollar Stick things, I generally avoid gadgets but can recommend this, it keeps your fingers out of the way when cutting small pieces.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/f...-Sz4H1Bfm5YWNirq4TJfXgP-uz6jGtVY-J9XFoUhX0LBF