Recently I got a little tablet laptop which led me down the path of eGPU’s, which led me down the path of aluminum extrusion which led me to looking for a mitre saw. Now that I have it and have been learning more about what it can do I’m super excited!
How many fingers do you have? :)
On which hand?
Probably best to get a count of both, and I’ll check back in a week. :)
They are very intense tools, certainly gives me the sweats when I have to use mine. Use clamps where possible.
That looks like a mitre saw, but you mentioned you want to cut aluminum. Be careful, I believe mitre saws are for wood only and spin much faster than a chop saw which is designed for metal and spins slower.
I cut aluminum with mine (and professional aluminum sellers cut theirs with their saw, but it likely costs thousands), but I will second the “be careful” part.
Aluminum can snag your saw blade (especially if you use a blade meant for wood, which I don’t recommend because it also produces messy output). Snagging can have dangerous results (saw jumping upward and losing teeth or more in the process).
Ensure the work piece is clamped down very well. Ensure that the saw is either on a large level surface or better yet - bolted or clamped down. Ensure that the saw jumping cannot hurt you in any way.
When cutting aluminum, push very gently. And when the raw material gets too small, don’t try cutting the last little piece. Small working material will increase the chance of accidents. I set my limit around 20 cm.
When cutting aluminum, push very gently. And when the raw material gets too small, don’t try cutting the last little piece. Small working material will increase the chance of accidents. I set my limit around 20 cm.
This. So much this. Even when cutting wood properly on a mitre be careful with little pieces. You simply cannot control or hold really small pieces. Almost lost some fingers and scaring the hell out of myself making that mistake.
Ahh the ol’ stubinator. These things have a long history of being EXTREMELY uh… “finger removal-y”. So uh. be careful.
Are you saying that because of the sliding function or are you saying it about miter saws in general? My non-sliding miter saw doesn’t scare me as much as even a handheld circular saw, let alone my table saw.
That’s the Ryobi, right? Be very careful to wait until the blade has spun down after every cut before letting the blade up.
I’ve used the low profile Bosch for years; it’s got an extra safety that takes some of the prayer out of making safe cuts. I still let the blade spin down with each cut though. And always use a proper clamp to hold the pieces down, including a sacrificial piece when needed to prevent chip out.
Why let the blade spin down before lifting it up?
Because otherwise you can have it kick up a piece of something that flies out and embeds itself in the nearest barrier (likely you), or you might do something stupid and let a finger cross paths with the still spinning blade before the guard gets in the way.
[edit] it’s not that it is absolutely necessary, and if you watch YouTube videos you’ll see pretty much everyone make the cut and then raise the blade before it is spun down.
BUT
There are all sorts of unexpected things that can go wrong, and the risks are almost nil if you have a consistent habit of ALWAYS letting the blade spin down. Otherwise, you’re likely to eventually make the wrong call and have to deal with the consequences.
Also, it’s in the operating manual.
Oh okay. I have this model of saw and that hasn’t been an issue but I suppose that’s a thing that could happen.
