My miter saw fence shifted a quarter inch mid-cut on a big crown molding job

Happened yesterday while cutting a 12-foot piece. I'm debating if it's smarter to just replace the whole saw now or try to shim and re-square the fence permanently. What would you do with a 5-year-old saw that's starting to slip?

4 comments

4 Comments

lisa511d ago

Wait, it shifted a quarter inch on a 12-foot piece? That's a massive error, not just a little slip. I'd be furious. Honestly, if a five-year-old saw is doing that after you tighten everything, it's probably junk. I wouldn't trust it again on important work. Just replace it and save yourself the headache.

jamie10111d ago

Ugh, had that happen with my old saw too, right?

elizabethn5614d ago

That sounds incredibly frustrating, especially on such a long piece of molding. A shifting fence on a miter saw can really ruin your day and your work. I'd be pretty annoyed with a five-year-old tool acting up like that. My first move would be a very careful check to see if the bolts holding the fence have simply worked loose over time. If tightening everything down doesn't fix it for good, then I'd start looking at a replacement.

lee92614d ago

Actually, it's usually the bolts on the saw base that hold the fence, not the fence itself. Those are the ones that work loose.