Miter
saws are one of the most useful saws
in the home shop or the job site. The mitre
saw is different from the table saw in a
couple of important respects. First, the
table saw is designed with the saw head beneath
the cutting table. The blade comes up through
the table. Stock is pushed into the spinning
blade. The saw
blade is adjustable up and
down to match the thickness of the stock.
The miter saw head is suspended from a stationary
arm behind the cutting table. The head moves
up and down, lifting clear of the cutting
table when at rest. It is pulled down to
the level of the table to make the cuts.
The head can also be turned right or left
up to 45 degrees on the horizontal axis to
make miter cuts. Some models of miter saw
also have heads that are adjustable on the
vertical axis.
The miter saw is generally mounted on a stand
to bring it to a convenient height for use. The
stand is also designed to hold wood stock a few
feet in length. Roller stands can be placed at
a convenient distance from the feed end of the
cutting table, providing support for longer boards
or trim stock.
The
miter Saw Stand Can Be As Versatile As The
Saw
While
the miter saw is a versatile tool that can
be used to cut dimension lumber, trim, moulding,
siding and other materials, the panel
saw is
a single purpose tool. The panel saw is a saw
head mounted on a frame designed to hold sheets
of engineered lumber. This includes interior
panelling, plywood and other engineered sheets.
The frame will commonly hold 4 X 8 foot sheets
or 4 X 12 foot sheets of material. The saw
makes a straight line cut across the 4 foot
end of the frame. This saw is used for cutting
engineered sheets of lumber down to smaller
dimensions.
Like the miter saw, the radial
arm saw has a
head with the saw suspended above the saw table.
The radial arm saw can be locked into many more
positions than the miter saw. The saw head can
be pulled forward or pushed backward. It can
be swivelled from side to side to make miter
cuts. It can also be adjusted to the desired
depth of cut. If you could have only one saw
in your workshop, it would likely be a radial
arm saw.
One of the advantages of a miter saw is that
it can be easily removed from its stand and moved
to a worksite. An expedient stand of boards laid
across the top of saw horses at the job site
can serve as a temporary stand
for the miter saw.
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