Ulmia 348 Mitre Saw binding/stopping issue

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city17

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Hi all, have a question about my Ulmia 348 mitre saw. A while back I replaced the blade on it, but it seems to bind an awful lot. Never had this with any other saw. No matter how little force I put, it almost always binds in the workpiece (seems to grab it and stop the blade, as if making an extremely aggressive cut), making it very hard to use.

Only if I barely touch the workpiece with the blade does it move smoothly, but then there's almost no cutting action going on.

Was wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or if there could be another reason for the issue?

Demo of the issue (exaggerated due to one hand on the camera):
 
I have no real experience with these saws , but many frame saws are set up to cut on the pull stroke. Is the fact that it is a fairly new blade mean that the blade is grabbing the work and flexing the blade so causing it to jam. Perhaps with a not so sharp blade it's much easier to cut on the push stroke.
 
I have a hand miter saw but the top guides are a bit different. Blade tension may be one factor and those guide collars may be out of alignment or the nuts holding them loose. In fact check all threaded connections are tight. Bit of wax on the top rail would not hurt either.
Regards
John
 
I have no real experience with these saws , but many frame saws are set up to cut on the pull stroke. Is the fact that it is a fairly new blade mean that the blade is grabbing the work and flexing the blade so causing it to jam. Perhaps with a not so sharp blade it's much easier to cut on the push stroke.
Interesting, I've tried reversing the blade, and cutting on the pull stroke, but that didn't really work. From what I could find it seems these saws are meant to cut on the push stroke.
 
What's the set like on the blade? Or what's the width of blade compared to the kerf?
Don’t know how well you can see it, but here’s an image of the kerf. The blade is 0.75mm thick, kerf is bit hard to measure but maybe 1-1.2mm side to side.
IMG_4189.jpeg
 
Not sure it would count that much esp on the superficial strokes Could it also be racking slightly?
I noticed when you tilted the saw it seemed to be smoother amd there could be some chatter in the mount foe the saw?

Just spitballing I've no real experience BTW. Just wanna help understand it
 
Are you trying to force it down to cut quicker?

It seems to me that yer seemingly trying to force it to cut. I dunno how many times I've told hand-saw users to relax and just let the saw do it's work.
That ws advice from my grandfather and uncle whom were both cabinetmakers/contractors

Try ight/fast strokes, no downward forcing

But where did the replacement blade come from 348' mitersaws ain't common, and although yu have a later s348, I suggest that you consider that that blade was sharpened by a a neohyte sharpener

Strongly suggest you take mitre box and saw to a professional saw sharpening shop for diagnosis...
 
Not sure it would count that much esp on the superficial strokes Could it also be racking slightly?
I noticed when you tilted the saw it seemed to be smoother amd there could be some chatter in the mount foe the saw?

Just spitballing I've no real experience BTW. Just wanna help understand it
I'm definitely getting better results with better technique (not forcing it down, finding the right angle, letting the saw do the work), that makes it just about usable. Still much more finicky than any other saw I've used.

Don't know who made the saw blade, but bought it from a reputable source. I think there's only one company that makes these replacement blades (except for the Japanese one) since they seem to be identical wherever I look?
 
So a small update to this issue: I've found several reviews of this Ulmia blade where it is binding for other users too. Some complain that the TPI is too high for this application and the cause for the binding, so it might just be the blade itself after all?

IMG_4458.jpeg


On a related topic, I've also managed to buy an Ulmia 352 (large 550mm saw blade version) in great condition. Now I've managed to get a new issue: Initially it seemed to be cutting perfectly straight in all directions.

But then I filed the blade to sharpen it as it was dull, and now it's cutting slightly askew. As in the direction of the saw cut is not 90 degrees to the base, but slightly off. Could that be due to poor sharpening (I'm really new to this, so odds of me doing a perfect job are quite low)? I can't really point to anything else and it's basically the only thing that changed between it initially cutting straight and not cutting straight now.

I know that for normal handsaws if you do a poor job of sharpening it can start to wander or have a tendency to cut more to left or right (vertically).
 
Maybe it helps to see the teeth profile of both saws?

Here's the one of the smaller 348 (the one that's binding, this is straight from the factory):
IMG_4483.JPG


And this is the large 352 (the one that is no longer sawing straight vertically after sharpening):

IMG_4488.JPG


I can't really tell too much from this, other than that the saw pattern on my Spear and Jackson saw looks a lot more consistent, especially in the second picture (352 saw) the pattern is deviating a lot.

Also for the first picture (small 348 saw) it has a 'one-left two-right' pattern, is that unusual?
 
Last edited:
Hi,
The 348 Saw seems to be sharpened rip, with 0° fleam angle.
For that reason it can’t cut correctly in your video showing a crosscut attempt.
The 352 saw is sharpened with a negative fleam angle, something lire -15°.
It can’t cut with a negative fleam angle.
The usual sharpening angles for a miter saw are around 15° rake and 25° fleam.
I think the first thing to do is to check the sharpening angles.
Than you have to check the set with a caliper. The set must be around 20% more than the blade thichness.
Guy
 

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