Had a day where every cut on the miter saw was off by 1/8 inch and I couldnt figure out why

Last Thursday I was trimming out a bedroom in a house over in Oak Park. Three separate cuts on crown molding, all of them came up short by the same amount. Checked the saw angle, checked the stop, checked my tape. Turns out the blade had a slight wobble from a bent arbor washer. Never seen that happen before. Has anyone else dealt with a tool issue that drove you crazy for half the day before you found the real problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.brooke2d ago

Oh man, "bent arbor washer" - that one got me. I had a similar deal last year with my miter saw where I was getting this weird 1/16th inch drift on every cut. I checked everything twice. The fence, the blade alignment, even replaced the blade. Turned out to be a tiny piece of dried glue stuck behind the blade flange that was throwing the whole thing off just enough to mess with me. I was about to throw the saw in the garbage. What finally tipped me off was when I took the blade off and the flange wobbled in my hand. You ever get one of those moments where you feel like a genius and an idiot at the same time? That was me. So yeah, always check the arbor and the flange area first when you get that mysterious half hour of bad cuts. Saves you from chasing ghosts.

jennifer_fisher1d ago

Genius and an idiot at the same time" pretty much sums up every tool problem I've ever had.