Cut a board 3 times and it's still too short syndrome

Had to frame out a weird angled wall in a basement remodel near Cleveland last Tuesday. I measured twice, cut once, and somehow the miter was still off by a full 1/8 inch. Turns out my old miter saw was slightly out of square because the base had a tiny burr from dropping it. Lesson learned: check your tool calibration before blaming the tape measure. Anyone else ever fight a bad cut for way too long before realizing the saw was the problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_patel1915h ago

Wait, how do you know it was the miter saw and not just user error on the second cut? lol. I've definitely blamed my tools before, but every time I dug into it, turns out I was the one rushing or holding the material wrong. That 1/8 inch could easily be from the board moving when you start the cut, especially on a weird angled wall. Maybe check your stance and how you're clamping the piece first, because I've saved more money by fixing my technique than buying a new saw every time something feels off.

briannguyen9h ago

Honestly, just slowing down my cuts fixed most of my issues too.