Shoutout to the old timer who showed me the right way to set a miter saw fence

I kept getting slight gaps on my crown molding joints because my fence wasn't perfectly square to the blade. He had me check it with a machinist's square, and mine was off by about 1/32 of an inch over 6 inches. Anyone else have a go-to method for dialing in their saws?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_jenkins2mo ago

Thought I knew better, but that trick fixed everything.

rowan_anderson2mo ago

Yeah, I was totally in the same boat. I used to think those little life hack things were pointless, like restarting your router or putting a damp towel under a door draft. But @william_jenkins is right, that trick actually works. I had a squeaky door I was ready to replace, and a bit of cooking oil on the hinge fixed it in two seconds. Felt pretty dumb for almost buying a whole new door.

mila_jones391mo ago

Honestly that machinist square thing seems like overkill for a wood shop. My miter saw fence has been off a hair for years and I just tweak the molding by hand when I put it up. A little caulk hides everything anyway. Spending an hour to get it perfect is time I could be using to actually finish the project. Sometimes good enough really is good enough.