Importance of technique

[Ken Weaver]

My son is re-habbing the fixer-upper he and his wife recently bought (they're living with us while they get the job done - hurry, hurry). As a result, my belt sander, compressor, nail guns and mitre saw have all migrated to the job site. I'm in the middle of building a small deacon's bench for the new parson and as a result of my mitre saw being gone, have been using the BT for everything on the project, including the cross-cuts that I usually use the mitre saw for.

This has given me a chance to use the SMT a lot more than I usually do, and for everything from large panel cuts to mitres on the trim. I'm impressed and glad I bought the saw - its done everything advertised.

It occurred to me yesterday that my use of the SMT improved a lot when I internalized the thought - "Slide the SMT, not the wood." In other words when I thought about securing the work on the SMT and then instead of putting force on the work, put the force (lighter the better) on the SMT, the setup really does extraordinary accurate stuff. That's when the design really works. I haven't had problems in the past with the SMT, but when I started using my brain this way, I got better.

By focusing on the SMT instead of the wood, I greatly reduced (eliminated?) any shifting of the work. The key is to set the work to the SMT fence and then let it ride the SMT.

This may be second nature to most, but once I internalized it, my newbie mind went "Oh Yeah! - That's it!" Thought I'd pass the tip along, someone else may think like me and maybe this will help.

[LCHIEN]

I agree, that's what I do, I guess I never verbalized it, though.

[Tom Miller]

This may be second nature to most, but once I internalized it, my newbie mind went "Oh Yeah! - That's it!" Thought I'd pass the tip along, someone else may think like me and maybe this will help.

It wasn't second nature to me, either. I had the same kind of "Eureka" moment when I was having trouble with my SMT creeping away from the 90 degree stop a while back.

Good post, Ken, hopefully others will take notice and prevent everything from headache to heartache.

Regards,
Tom

[bhbuster]

Thanks for pointing this out. This will be something that I will keep in mind.

Brian

[Black wallnut]

Perhaps this is why for many that have learned to use the SMT they have not felt at a loss without a miter slot.

IMHO with the right technique most of the BT3 saws shipped are capable of extremely fine accuracy. Setup and technique are the keys.

[JimD]

My main problems with the SMT have been when trying to cross cut large heavy pieces of wood (like the rails of our queen sized bed). Maybe it's me but I have not been able to get good accuracy with these big pieces. With smaller stuff, it works well (once I put the plastic piece on the fence correctly). I also typically rip a square edge on large pieces of sheet goods with a portable circular saw (often my 18V Ryobi) even when they are within the SMT's capabilities. For fairly small pieces of wood, the SMT works well for me.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

My main problems with the SMT have been when trying to cross cut large heavy pieces of wood (like the rails of our queen sized bed). Maybe it's me but I have not been able to get good accuracy with these big pieces. With smaller stuff, it works well (once I put the plastic piece on the fence correctly). I also typically rip a square edge on large pieces of sheet goods with a portable circular saw (often my 18V Ryobi) even when they are within the SMT's capabilities. For fairly small pieces of wood, the SMT works well for me.

Jim

For me cutting bigger pieces is a matter of getting the balance correct.
Ideally it will be balanced across the SMT so pushing the SMT itself will not cause it to want to twist. This also requires that the cut be good enough (slice like butter and not require a lot of force to feed at the blade). Also positioned so the cut won't cause a serious imbalance after the cut. All this means the SMT might have ot be positioned quite a ways from the blade. If it doesn't come together, you probably should be doing it on a miter saw (moving blade instead of moving wood).

[Ken Weaver]

For me cutting bigger pieces is a matter of getting the balance correct.
Ideally it will be balanced across the SMT so pushing the SMT itself will not cause it to want to twist. This also requires that the cut be good enough (slice like butter and not require a lot of force to feed at the blade). Also positioned so the cut won't cause a serious imbalance after the cut. All this means the SMT might have ot be positioned quite a ways from the blade. If it doesn't come together, you probably should be doing it on a miter saw (moving blade instead of moving wood).

That's what I end up doing. I really like the sliding rails and have started using them more. I will move them all the way to the left and put the SMT further away from the blade to get to the "balance point". Really long stuff - like the bed rails, I would use the mitre saw. The longest I've cross cut on the BT has been about 5 ft.

[Shipwreck]

Nice post Ken, Experienced the same thing myself. I did not like the results from a few miter cuts that I had made. and tried your technique. It resulted in perfect miters.

I need to keep reminding myself that the BT3100 is not a TANK, it does require some finesse.

[Ken Weaver]

Nice post Ken, Experienced the same thing myself. I did not like the results from a few miter cuts that I had made. and tried your technique. It resulted in perfect miters.

I need to keep reminding myself that the BT3100 is not a TANK, it does require some finesse.

Glad it helped - don't know why it took me so long to realize what was going on - but it felt good to put the pieces together.

[kano32]

I've used my dad's cheap miter saw with less than desirable results. I haven't used my new BT3 for miters and I am now looking forward to trying this. Thanks

[scorrpio]

My usual procedure is using left hand to 'clamp' work to miter fence, while the right hand slides SMT. When I need it to be real precise, I'll use an actual clamp instead of my left hand.

[leehljp]

Not to get a religious post started here, but as a former pastor, the same thing often has to be said over and over, each time in a different way before a concept or truth is finally understood by all.

Thanks for posting this! It gets to the point of where the problem usually is. By trying to force the board to stay straight and focuing on that, the wrong forces are created. It is kind of like bowling - for most people, the key is not the focusing on the pins, but the lane markers. Seems strange but that is how it works best for most people.

What Loring said is just as important too - for the larger pieces.

[Joe Lyddon]

I'm new here and haven't read everything on this site & I'm sure this has been covered... BUT,

Does anyone glue high value grit sandpaper to the face of the miter fence to keep the wood in the same place & not slip?

[Ken Weaver]

Heard that some do - I haven't personally - so far haven't felt the need. Maybe some of the other guys can chime in with thier experience.