How To Use A Mitre Box

This Skill Builder is excerpted from Charles Platt's book Make: Tools, available at Maker Shed and fine booksellers. — This Skill Builder is excerpted from Charles Platt'due south new book *Make: Tools*, available at Maker Shed and fine booksellers.

A miter box helps you to make straight, correctly angled cuts. You lot tin can think of it as being similar training wheels on a bicycle.

In your local retailer, you may see a miter box and a tenon saw sold in one bundle. Notwithstanding, in the combination that I tested, the saw was of poor quality. Buying one separately costs extra, but is worthwhile. Wait for a tenon saw, back saw, or miter saw with hardened teeth, greatly reducing cut effort. Stanley FatMax 17-202 is ideal.

CLAMPING YOUR Work

Many people will tell you that you can saw wood by placing it on a sawhorse and belongings it there with your foot. I've worked this way myself, only accurateness is difficult to achieve when you lot are continuing on one leg, anchoring the forest with your other leg, and working at arm'due south length.

For the projects in my new book Make: Tools, you will need to make precise cuts. The all-time style to achieve this is to clench your work to a solid bench or tabular array.

Figure 1. A trigger clamp is essential to stabilize your work. — Figure one. A trigger clench is essential to stabilize your work. Photography past Charles Platt

A trigger clamp is the easiest to apply, equally shown in Figure 1. It is as well known as a bar clamp. The small-scale metal lever is the trigger, which releases the jaw of the clamp, allowing it to slide up or downwardly the bar. Let get of the trigger, and the large black plastic lever closes the jaws of the clamp when you squeeze information technology repeatedly.

Figure 2. Your miter box should have provision for you to clamp it in position. — Figure 2. Your miter box should take provision for you lot to clamp it in position.

If you are using a miter box, Figure 2 shows how to clamp it to stop it from jumping effectually. Someday y'all are not using a miter box, you can employ a clamp directly to the wood that you're working on.

CUTTING A USABLE LENGTH

Long pieces of wood are hard to control precisely. If your piece of woods is longer than 36″, reduce it to about 36″ or slightly less.

Place the forest in the miter box — I used a square dowel in Figure 3.

The miter box that I accept is equipped with a couple of pegs, described as "cams." You insert a peg in a hole close to the wood and turn it to lock the woods in place, as shown in Effigy four.

Figure 4. Some miter boxes provide cams that you turn to hold the wood in position. — Figure iv. Some miter boxes provide cams that y'all turn to hold the woods in position.

If your miter box doesn't have this feature, y'all can concord the woods in the miter box with your left hand, as shown in Figure five. (If you lot are left-handed, hold it with your right hand.) Be careful not to put your hand too close to the saw. I do recommend that you clothing work gloves while using a saw.

Figure 5. Hold the wood firmly against the opposite fence of the miter box. — Effigy five. Hold the wood firmly confronting the contrary debate of the miter box.

Beginning a cut can be difficult, considering the saw tends to dig in. Describe the saw toward you a few times, to create a shallow groove in the forest. Now when you push the saw, information technology should cut more easily. If y'all still have trouble, drag the saw toward you a few more times. Go on your costless hand at least 4″ abroad from the saw bract, as shown in Effigy 6.

Don't press also hard when you lot are cut the woods. You lot shouldn't be fighting a boxing. The saw should do most of the work for y'all.

YOUR FIRST MITERING EXPERIENCE

The best style to learn is past practicing, so I propose you use some square dowel to make a pocket-size frame measuring six″×5″ along the outside edges.

First, depict two vertical lines 6″ apart on your dowel (Figure A). (Movie frames are usually sized by their inside dimensions, so that you know if your picture show volition fit, simply for this project it'due south easier to outset with the outside.)

In Figure B, the dowel is in the miter box, and the saw is in the slots angled at 45°. A cam could be used to concord the woods in identify, just I presume you may not have one, as many boxes are supplied without them. You lot can use your thumb to hold the wood, merely continue your fingers away from the saw blade. Cut carefully down the exterior of the vertical pencil marker, while pressing with your pollex as hard as you tin can, equally the saw will tend to push the wood effectually.

Check the length of your work, equally in Figure C. Yous may be tempted to polish the fuzzy sawn edges with some sandpaper, but sanding will tend to spoil the accurateness of the cut.

At present the skilful news: cutting your first piece at 45° automatically creates a 45° bending on the remainder of the dowel, and so that it tin can be used for the next section of the frame. This is shown in Figure D. Just make a new measurement, and cut that section, turn it around to fit the get-go, and go on until yous have a full of 4 (Figure Eastward).

Check that the angles fit correctly. To secure the corners, use carpenter'south glue and wrap a ratchet strap effectually the frame, or use heavy nylon rope with a skid knot. Tighten well, wipe abroad glue that squeezes out, and let dry.

Tagged make54 Skill Builders Tools woodworking

By Charles Platt

Charles Platt is a contributing editor to Make magazine, which has published more than 50 of his articles. Six of his books are available from Brand: Books

Make: Electronics, an introductory guide, now available in its second edition.

Brand: More Electronics, a sequel that greatly extends the scope of the first book.

Encyclopedia of Electronic Components, volumes 1, 2, and 3 (the tertiary written in collaboration with Fredrik Jansson).

Make: Tools, which uses the same teaching techniques as Brand: Electronics to explore and explain the utilize of workshop tools.

View more than manufactures by Charles Platt