Miters

[patlaw]

If you've seen a video or online tutorial for cutting miters, such as picture frame miters, please post a link. I worked on some tonight. They weren't bad, but they weren't perfect. It was getting late, so I didn't confirm it, but I think the detent on my Kapex might not be exactly 45 degrees.

 

[gmakra]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ypbvcxb-8M
Its for a chuting board which is a great way to detail your miters.

 

[danmart77]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ypbvcxb-8M
Its for a chuting board which is a great way to detail your miters.

I was thinking along the same line George but then.. does he have a good sharp plane to go with the PS shooting board? You can build a great shooting board but I seem to remember "Patlaw" as the author of an earlier thread titled Annoying Plane?

So for him to go from a chopsaw cut to a tight miter, a plane comes into the equation.

Mike has mentioned owning a TS by SS. Its time to build a sliding sled for miter work and using a crosscut blade for picture frame miters.

I think that would be a shorter route to take and allow for safe minute adjustments.

 

[JimD]

My issue has been getting both parallel sides of the frame EXACTLY the same length. You have to do that in addition to cutting the corners at 45 degrees to get good tight miters. A stop with a 45 degree face helps.

 

[bowman]

Here is a TS sled for making picture frames and precise 45 miters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6fUXRMJ0DI. Kind of fast paced, but good overall plan.

 

[gmakra]

I have a old Rockwell radial arm saw which is dialed in perfectly.
I have a Old Delta Unisaw with Incra miter sled and miter gauges which are calibrated with "MiterSet"
I cut the red oak for this picture this morning the long one has been trimmed on a shooting board.
I hope you can see the difference.

They can cut a very accurate 45

 

[Joe Scharle]

My issue has been getting both parallel sides of the frame EXACTLY the same length. You have to do that in addition to cutting the corners at 45 degrees to get good tight miters. A stop with a 45 degree face helps.

Cutting to a line almost guarantees a variance in length. Stops are necessary to cut consistent lengths, whether on a Kapex or Sawstop or any other brands. So, if you can cut 2 sample opposing miter 45s, and the result is 90 deg (exactly), then if there is a gap in a miter, your lengths are unequal.

Thanks Dan, but I could swear that segment was there before!

 

[danmart77]

Cutting to a line almost guarantees a variance in length. Stops are necessary to cut consistent lengths, whether on a Kapex or Sawstop or any other brands. So, if you can cut 2 sample opposing miter 45s, and the result is 90 deg (exactly), then your lengths are unequal.

Unequal?

 

[Jeff]

There's a good table saw miter jig video by Gary Rogowski, "Picture frame jig that masters the miter" (FWW, October, 2005). All pieces are first cut on the left side of the blade and then flipped to the right side and the other cut is made. The angles are then complementary and will add up to 90 degrees (i.e., 44.9 and 45.1).

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/10/25/picture-frame-jig-that-masters-the-miter

I've made several picture frames using this method and it works pretty well without a shooting board and plane.

 

[patlaw]

Thanks for the input so far. I'm following every link posted. Upon further investigation, it turns out that one side is slightly shorter than the other...and I do mean slightly. In the process, I discovered that William Ng released a new miter sled video in February. (I thought had had stopped making videos.) For what it's worth, William Ng and Matthias Wandel are two of the most brilliant woodworkers on YouTube. We're lucky they take the time to share their expertise.

If you're interested, here is William's approach to a miter sled. If you're not into measuring error terms by thousandths, you might not want to watch it.

[video=youtube;AgVthkUE4AU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgVthkUE4AU[/video]

 

[FredP]

Or just stack cut.

 

[danmart77]

Or just stack cut.

Watch out now.. that ain't a youtube approved method. That's more like a Tage Frid technique.

 

[Dave Richards]

The best tool I've ever used for cutting miters was this. Absolutely clean, perfect miters. Some day I'm going to have one of my own.

 

[patlaw]

The best tool I've ever used for cutting miters was this. Absolutely clean, perfect miters. Some day I'm going to have one of my own.

Back in the eighties, I owned one. (I owned a picture framing shop.) It's a no-brainer. The miters are absolutely perfect if you don't let the frame stock slip. Plus, the frame stock is generally milled quite precisely.

 

[junquecol]

The answer for me was breaking down and BUYING a Dubby from Jerry Cole over at In-Line Industries. I watched him demo it for many years before breaking down and buying one. One of the best purchases I ever made.

 

[patlaw]

The answer for me was breaking down and BUYING a Dubby from Jerry Cole over at In-Line Industries. I watched him demo it for many years before breaking down and buying one. One of the best purchases I ever made.