Best way to tight miters

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Jason

For a frame to be square and the angles tight....
*Every 2 opposite boards must be exactly at the same length
*The miters must be exactly 45° or, the sum of two angles must be 90°
*The miter itself must be cut vertically at 90°

To overcome small deviations, the best is to cut the miters on a table saw with a sled.

Use the Left/Right method and instead of putting the stop 4' behind, put the stop at the front.

I think that you will see the method on the next issue of WOOD Magazine but in the mean time have a look at my very first post on SMC...
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36590

Regards
niki

[Dan Henry]

After all of the good ideas before this and you still have a crack and you are using raw wood, save the sanding dust and use it with thin CA glue to fill the crack, the dust will take stain and finsh and the cracks will disappear.

Put the CA glue in the crack, rub in the dust, more glue and rub in more dust as the glue drys, you get on your fingers just don't stick them together. It is a good idea to buy some debonder when you buy CA glue. The CA glue is available at stores that sell wood turning supplies.


Dan

[Robert Mahon]

If the part I want to miter is less than 2" thick, I set the TS angle to 45 degrees with a Wixey. If it's greater than 2", I use an Incra miter gauge. Both work wonderfully.

I suppose I should try a sled but so far, I haven't needed it.

I only use my compound miter saw for rough work.

[Ray Knight]

I used to do a lot of photography and use a lot of prestained frames. A high end framer clued me in on a trade secret for prestained frames. A little bitty gap will show at the cut mitered corner with the light raw wood against the dark prestained/finished frame. He keeps a selection of colored magic markers, and darkens the 1/8 edge that might show if the joint isn't perfect. Really makes a difference. Ray Knight

[Gary Keedwell]

I have been getting perfect miters with my Dubby sled for 15 years.
Gary

[Earl Reid]

.I also use my Dubby to get perfect angles , first time, every time. I use the tiny biscuits,glue and spring clips
on picture frames.
Earl

[Chris Padilla]

Bessey band clamp and small biscuits are what I like to use. Of course, and it has been stated several times, cutting the miters correctly is #1.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=42603 Here is a very simple little mirror/frame I threw together over a few days.

[Eric Mims]

here's what I do to make absolutely perfect miters:

step 1: cut miters on radial arm saw, table saw, etc to rough length.

step 2: use miter trimmer (similar to http://www.grizzly.com/products/Miter-Trimmer/G1690) to trim the miter to perfect 45 degrees. Also check overall length of each piece and slice off until it is perfect with opposite side.

step 3: after dry fitting, slap some glue on and use a Merle band clamp
(http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/order.../merlclmp.html)

step 4: use my RAS blade turned sideways to cut deep groove out of each corner, then glue in 1/8" thick wedges (grain perpendicular to miter). then trim flush.

step 5: admire your perfect frame.

[Mike Jory]

Jason;
Of course I need to make sure I cut them right. I've tried a miter vise, and for most square and miter glue ups I use the Bessey band clamp. I recently tried this from Woodworker's Supply. I just did a pair of nested table tops and I think they came out better. The clamp puts even pressure all around, and keeps the unit square.
I figured, not to expensive, so I tried it.
Good Luck, Mike

[Jules Dominguez]

Jason, I have one of the clamps Mike shows, and it works very well. My first impression of it when I bought it was that it's too flimsy to do a good job, but it works very well. I've had mine for quite a few years.

[Mike Duffy]

Does anyone have plans for a miter sled? Thats one of the things on my short list. Thanks, Sean

Sean, if you buy an Incra miter slider, it comes with a detailed set of plans. (You'll need TWO sliders to build the sled.) Here's a link.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3178

I built one and rarely have to use my my shooting boards.

[Sean Troy]

Sean, if you buy an Incra miter slider, it comes with a detailed set of plans. (You'll need TWO sliders to build the sled.) Here's a link.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3178

I built one and rarely have to use my my shooting boards.

Thank you for the info. Sean

[Paul Johnstone]

I love spending other people's money, so I will second the nomination for a miter trimmer. I believe Rockler and Woodcraft also carry them.
Sure, it's about $100 (I can't remember exactly), but it does an excellent job.

Mine has 3 stops (45 on each side, and 90 degrees).

It also comes in handy because now you can use a bandsaw to crosscut and then use the trimmer to bring to a true 90.

I will also add that a miter trimmer is great for long pieces of trim, which might be a little difficult to handle on a tablesaw sled. If you are putting trim around doorways/windows, it will basically "pay for itself"

I use it a lot more than I thought I would.. If you can swing the cost, I highly recommend it. Also, keep an eye out for used ones. They pop up from time to time.

[Ron Kanter]

Amazon has the 18" sliders at a good price and you can buy 4 for 3 - a 25% savings.
Ron

[Bruce Benjamin]

I love spending other people's money, so I will second the nomination for a miter trimmer. I believe Rockler and Woodcraft also carry them.
Sure, it's about $100 (I can't remember exactly), but it does an excellent job.

Mine has 3 stops (45 on each side, and 90 degrees).

It also comes in handy because now you can use a bandsaw to crosscut and then use the trimmer to bring to a true 90.

I will also add that a miter trimmer is great for long pieces of trim, which might be a little difficult to handle on a tablesaw sled. If you are putting trim around doorways/windows, it will basically "pay for itself"

I use it a lot more than I thought I would.. If you can swing the cost, I highly recommend it. Also, keep an eye out for used ones. They pop up from time to time.

I've never used one of these miter trimmers but they look pretty slick. But how long can you expect the blades to stay sharp? I realize that the type of wood being trimmed will effect this. It sure does look like a very convenient way to sneak up on the exact length needed.

I have the Incra 1000SE miter gauge along with the Incra sled and, while I've only used it a few times the 45's I've made have been perfect right out of the box. The only issue I have is what you mentioned and that is that with longer pieces can be difficult to handle on the TS. But overall, I'm really impressed with the accuracy of the Incra gauge.

The Incra is miles beyond the Jointech Smart Miter I bought a few years ago. That was not only the worst tool I've ever bought but the worst customer service I've ever received. If anyone wants the long, detailed version of the story PM me and I'll send you a link to the review I did. I did manage to salvage part of the Jointech sled by removing the fence and adapting it to my Incra 1000SE gauge. After using both I've decided that the Jointech fence is a little easier to use than the Incra fence. It's the rest of the Jointech sled and the way it holds the fence that is so disappointing. The rest of the sled hangs on my wall to remind me to never again buy another Jointech product.

Bruce