Help with B&Q Mitre saw

[Mark]

Hi,

I am having trouble with my B&Q mitre saw. It's one like this from screwfix

.It worked OK to start off with, but after doing about 3-4 cuts it started cutting at an angle to vertical. i.e. the mitre angle was correct but the joins have a gap at the top. I've put a trisquare against the end and it's way off.

I've looked at the saw and the blade does not look like it is aligned properly in the saw. There does not appear to be any adjustment.

Could this be a faulty product or maybe something I am doing wrong?

TIA, Mark.

[Lurch]

On or around Sun, 23 Oct 2005 17:31:49 +0100, Mark mused:

I think they all do that to some extent. If I'm doing a mitre without the chopsaw I tend to do it with a decent sharp saw. I suppose a mitre box would be better than a mitre saw such as you have.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

The tension rod needs tightning, but generally this type of saw does tend to go skeewiff and needs watching as its cutting.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[Cicero]

================ The Screwfix one is described as 'compound' and if yours is the same it will have some adjustment to alter the vertical angle as well as the horizontal angle. Check to see if you can move the blade vertically and if so look for some locking mechanism to maintain the vertical hold.

Cic.

[Mark]

If they all do this then aren't they the proverbial choclate teapot?

I only bought this saw because I expected it to be better than a mitre box and I wanted to cut larger stuff.

M.

[Mark]

I did tighten it up. Even when trying to cut with an opposite bias the joint is still out. :-(

M.

[Mark]

This one is not a compond saw.

M.

[manatbandq]

BAsically, they're a pile of s***e. Two that I tried fell apart as soon as I tried to tension the blade properly (you have checked that?). One from Homebase wasn't much better and has since gone to the tip. Take it back for a refund. I did once have a Draper one that was a lot better but eventually one of the castings snapped.

The only other thing is to check that the workpiece isn't creeping to one side as you cut. Make sure it's clamped *properly* and not with the clamps that come with the saw.

MBQ

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Another aspect for the blade to go skeewiff is if the wood is warped.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[Stuart Noble]

Like all flexible blades you need to apply minimum pressure. I think they're handy for small mouldings but I'd rather use a mitre box and handsaw for architrave etc.

[Lurch]

On or around Mon, 24 Oct 2005 21:01:46 +0100, Mark mused:

Yep, I had one for a while when I was younger and didn't know any better! Never again would I waste my time with one, I use either the mighty electrically operated whizzy saw or the hand saw. There is nothing inbetween that is worth using, except possibly a mitre box, sometimes.

Spend an extra few quid and get a cheap chop saw.

[M]

I've taken it back to B&Q (At least they gave me no hassle about this). Nowhere has any mitre boxes in stock with a 22 1/2 degree angle :-(

I've looked at some of these and none of them had any fine toothed blades available in store. I'm trying to cut MDF veneered cornice for bedroom furniture. I think a medium toothed blade would wreck the veneer.

TIA. Mark.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

You'll be suprised how fine a cut the standard blade that comes with the chop saws, I was in doubt at first so I tried cutting a piece of delicate picture rail and apart from splintering at the bottom it gave a clean cut, I got round the splintering by putting a piece of scrap wood underneath the picture rail before cutting. One nice clean unsplintered cut.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[M]

Thanks for all the replies.

I eventually found a suitable mitre box at a hardware store. Along with a fine toothed saw I managed to get a reasonable result with the remaining cuts. I still got a little damage to the veneer but it was patchable. It's a shame I scrapped so much of the cornice with the

***** B&Q mitre saw that I can't complete the job to my satisfaction.

M.