the_sam•3mo agoProlific Poster

Finally figured out why my miter cuts were always a hair off on my old saw

Last month I was building a picture frame and kept getting a tiny gap. My buddy came over and showed me how to check the saw's fence for square with a dial indicator, not just a speed square. Turns out it was out by like 0.5 degrees. Anyone have a good method for tuning up an older miter saw fence?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_thomas1mo ago

My old Craftsman had the same drift. I used feeler gauges to shim the fence until a machinist square showed perfect alignment, then locked it down with blue threadlocker. That kind of tiny error is exactly what @spencera77 is talking about, where a small thing ruins the whole project.

quinn_reed173mo ago

Wait, only half a degree? That's enough to throw everything off?

betty_carter3mo ago

Yeah, it sounds small but adds up fast. What part of it messing up are you most worried about?

spencera773mo ago

Honestly, the part where I have to explain it to my boss. Trying to say "a tiny math error snowballed" without sounding like I just forgot how to do my job. My brain just short circuits when numbers don't match up, and then I'm stuck rechecking every single step for hours. It's that panic of knowing something is off but having no clue where you lost the thread. Feels like my own personal gremlin hiding in the spreadsheet.