Though I have a speed sq and a miter saw, I confess I really had no clue how to do this. If you want to cut perfect miters with this set up, you’ll want to do some test cuts first. That’s because 43 degrees on a standard power miter saw gauge is really 47 degrees. It’s made for these kinds of projects and as long as you get your positive stop detents on the miter saw set up accurately, set up time is really fast and the cuts are consistent and very accurate. So in the diagram above, side 1 and 3 must be the same, and also sides 2 and 4 must match. After you have one comment approved, all of your subsequent comments will appear immediately. :). That scale always shows the angle left on the board and that’s why trim carpenters were never confused by it. Compound miter saws help to account for this by allowing you to adjust both the miter (the angle at which the pieces of material will fit together) and the bevel (the angle of the pieces relative to the mounting surface). Thanks, your above article today saved me some time in figuring how to miter my 135 degree kitchen crown moulding around a corner cabinet. i wish i had the way with words you have shown, i think we would both end up at the same point; but my comments would have been censored…lol. It was like what Dan said above, a light went on! Please note: Your first comment will be held for moderation/review by our staff before it appears. End angle refers to the angle on the end of the piece when it is laying in the horizontal plane (like on the top of a tablesaw). In fact, some miter saws even include roof pitch angles on the miter saw gauge. Thank You for the good article. 1 vertical and 2 horizontal. I am not a contractor, just a semi handy homeowner who enjoys learning new carpentry techniques. It will take you some time initially to build the sled, but when it’s done you’ll have a quick and easy miter cutting method. Now set your stop block up and make 4 identical miter cuts against the stop block, flipping the board each time. You can include an image in your comment by uploading it below. Thank you! This also works well for small, framed table tops. I actually use a shortcut to get my settings. Thanks and keep up the good work. I would just trial-and-error it. But not only is your angle of cut a critical part of cutting perfect miters. I’ve gotta spend some time on this one! I am a 61 yr old woman, a DIY, dreaded by guys like you, homeowner… who is learning all the time . :) If you are not dead on accurate, chances are no one would notice. :):) Those miters are really 67 1/2˚, but who in the world but a nut like me would describe them that way! He considers himself a 'Small Shop Woodworker' and practices his hobby in his garage. But the angles on a miter saw gauge are off 90 degrees to the angles on a protractor, which causes a lot of confusion. Love woodworking but angles gets me totally confused. You can’t cut that miter on a miter saw without an acute angle jig. To get the most from your your miter gauge, calibrate it first – read this. each, made with pieces mitered at 60 degrees. It was extremely frustrating, and I never understood what I was doing wrong…until I found ThisisCarpentry. Norm, As a basic article I think it is more important to teach the proper methods, not add crutches. I am a mechanic by trade and quite new to angles. Gary, GREAT INFO… thought I was losing my mind 92/2 = 46 but my Starrett said 44 and 180-92\2=44 but the miter markings didn’t show what I thought it should… Why did 46 work on the cut and all the math etc says 44…. To help others-perhaps eventually, even one of your employees. A dull blade does not leave a clean and flat cut consistently. He has worked in the construction trade for over 10 years, gaining experience in everything from movie sets to tile installation. If you really don’t cut miters all that often, or you just don’t want to go to the trouble of building a dedicated miter sled, you can still cut perfect miters by using your table saw’s miter gauge. Why don’t the politicians do something about THAT! By looking at the written marks he has in his miter saw. Nice job! Once you get this angle just right for cutting perfect miters, adjust your miter gauge stop bolt so you can easily get back to this angle next time. I am trying to build a bird house with a Japanese lantern design, consisting of curves and tapered angles. As to outside corners, the drywall bead & mud always puts the cut out of 90. Each time I did a new job I had to try and figure out how these mitres work. It takes longer to say than do, I either get it just right, or I get it close enough and I dress it up while joining. Unfortunately I have not been able to figure out the angle to make this dog ear cut. Gary, Hmmmn.. The miter saw is a fast method with very little set up time, assuming the 45 degree positive stop detent is just right. Now own a rather large off cut bin and growing fast. The rule in here is that there is no such thing as plumb or square. Half of 86 is 43 but how does 43 become 47 on the miter saw. I would recommend attaching an extended fence to your miter gauge for better board support. If your miter saw reads ‘0’ degrees when you’re cutting a butt cut at 90˚, then are two methods you can use to find the correct ‘protractor’ angle: you can subtract 180˚ from any angle you read with your protractor, or MUCH SIMPLER, you can correct the angles on your miters saw with a sharpie, so that they work easily with a protractor. I appreciate this sites comprehensive and inclusive wood working information! I never think of rafter angles and miter settings in the same sense. Now you’re ready to make your final miter cuts using this miter gauge setup. There is always someone more knowledgeable and skillful than ourselves. This is correct. Thanks Lenoard! Thanks, the results look great. In fact, some manufacturers include protractor angles on power miter saws: Jesper Cook was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1977. 45 degrees is still 45 degrees. I measure the corner with my bosch miter finder, “whatever happens to one side of 90 degrees, do the same to the other side” so if my reading is 92 degrees, that’s 2 over 90, so two from 90 is 88- miter setting is 44. Check it out here. I thought I had to go and throw my engineering degree in the trash, because I couldn’t figure this out readily. Unless of course you are one of those mystical wood wizards who NEVER had to learn ANYTHING from ANYBODY. :) Now the second paragraph, which you kept very simple and ‘on point’, is a much better example of effectively teaching to your audience! I am adding molding to my kitchen cabinets. I am extremely grateful. Little gems like this are invaluable. Here’s a picture of my Incra miter gage that has both reciprocal scales as Jesper’s mark up showed. If you’re cutting stock that is a mitered corner that wraps, like the base molding I did for my desk, the sled doesn’t really work for that. Those 2 angles always add up to 90 degrees, so the angles are always the reciprocal of one another. The cabinets above the micro are set at the same distance (12 in) off the wall, as the side cabinets. The category of audience was the first thing listed. Examining my miter saw it became clear that there was something missing between my recall of the protractor and the set up of the saw. Wow. Nice article. And the story wasn’t about cutting acute angles–though this article does play a part in figuring out the miter angles for acute angles–so you DON’T have to hunt-and-peck for the right miter/bevel angle! Lots of carpenters have trouble understanding angles–primarily because of the miter gauges on miter saws. What angle do I set bevel? On the job site today we all had an awakening when we took the time with the saw and what you described. Where it really gets interesting is those very acute angles at the ceiling where you have to run large, often multiple piece crown and coping is not an option. Put the pieces together like a picture frame, and check for gaps. Marc, i think you may have “hit the nail on the head” with your comments to “Mr.” Fred Stinard. I still don’t know how to make 3 right angles come together. Lay them out like a picture frame and check for gaps (the same Picture Frame method as above). Consider this explanation: The outside most (or lower if you prefer) scale shown on most miter saws starts at 0 degrees in the center.