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Miter Saw Zero Clearance


Kev

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After finishing up the glide storage this morning, I was cruising the internet a bit and a new (to me) channel came across my YT feed.  He's a little hard to understand but, he's very detail oriented and has some cool ideas.  I went and checked out his channel and he had a unique idea for a zero clearance fence on the miter saw.  Essentially, replaceable inserts for the center.   So, I went ahead and built my version of it and filmed it..  I'll give him full credit in the video and link his channel below for you guys..

Here's my version..

1887239950_MiterThumb.thumb.jpeg.20279daa043c50e59268f014adc8f6e9.jpeg

And here's a link to his YT channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvjeMfKGqSoYc32Xk5MLfQ

 

 

 

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Kev, this didn’t take me directly to the video you mentioned but to many of his YouTube videos. Was it “Miter saw upgrades you’ve never seen before”? If so, I’m having a hard time uploading it. I’m curious about the, in your case walnut, pieces are added and replaced. 

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49 minutes ago, Coop said:

Kev, this didn’t take me directly to the video you mentioned but to many of his YouTube videos. Was it “Miter saw upgrades you’ve never seen before”? If so, I’m having a hard time uploading it. I’m curious about the, in your case walnut, pieces are added and replaced. 

Yes, my link just took you to his channel..  I didn't locate the exact video..  I'm sure it's in his library though.

If you can't locate it, let me know and I'll find it for you..

33 minutes ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said:

I watched a few of his videos awhile back and did some nice work.  He did an assembly workbench and had some good ideas.

First I had seen him..  Pretty impressed with what he's done in such a small shop!

 

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  • 1 month later...

Does having zero clearance like that were it is closed off for the most part behind the blade reduce you dust collection?

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;  remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus

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5 hours ago, Chet said:

Does having zero clearance like that were it is closed off for the most part behind the blade reduce you dust collection?

This is a "loaded" but fair question because we're talking about DC on a miter saw to start with and this one is also a Kapex.

The short answer is that it's actually slightly improved because that block helps force the saw dust through the kerf in the block.  Almost like a funnel if you will.

The longer answer is all around DC in general when it comes to miter saws.  In my opinion, regardless of brand, they are all horrible at DC, even the Kapex!  I see so many posts about how great the Kapex is and I completely disagree with that statement.  It might do a little better than the others but, it's still not good!  Even with a dedicated CT, the area behind my saw is still full of saw dust each day.  There is also a fairly wide dust field both to the left and right of my saw each day.

At some point, I will add a drop on my big DC to this area to (hopefully) improve the DC on this tool.  In reality, I think everyone is going about DC on this tool all wrong!  All the gizmos and gadgets people come up with for DC on the miter saw is geared around collecting dust at the source.  I think "we" as a community have proven this to be an impossible task!  Just my opinion but, I think we need to try and contain it in a larger general area and then collect the dust from underneath.  Instead of collect at the source, we need to control, contain, and then collect because we've pretty much proven the last step doesn't work well without the first 2 steps.

I'm thinking about a project in the future to insert my HCM into the top on my miter station.  If/when I do this project, I may add a drop from my DC into this area (since the top will be off the bench) and hard pipe under the back of my miter saw to cut down on the amount of clean up I need to do each day.  Pretty much treating this entire area like a down draft table.

Sorry for being long winded but, this is always a hot topic of conversation.

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Thanks Kev,  I should have worded it differently.  What I was really looking for was it any better/worse than what you had before.  I know that Miter saws are repeat offenders for the most part.

I don't know if you remember Mike (estesbubba) from WTO but he built a hood like a lot of people do but if I remember right he had two ports from his DC in the hood, but the thing that I have in the back of my mind about his is that he did some tests with the port placement and something makes me want to say that he got the best result with the two ports up high in the hood.  Or maybe he had two high and two low.  I tried finding it on the forum were he posted it but I failed.  it wasn't WTO.

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;  remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus

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45 minutes ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said:

I liked the end result, and see the merits in having replaceable inserts for different angled cuts.  However if you predominantly just do 90* cuts then making the sacrificial fence across the entire opening and creating the kerf should provide enough support and prevent tear out. 

Agreed!  This option definitely works better for those that are changing angles more frequently than I am.  But, when I do want to change that angle, I'm not agonizing about what it's going to do to the fence.  Like many, I get lazy and avoid what I "should" do because it creates more work.

7 minutes ago, Coop said:

Kev, did you determine that a thick backer block was needed from experience or was it suggested by the guy you got the idea from? 

I wasn't spelled out well in the original video but, after making the first one, it made perfect sense!  If you don't make the thicker one, the kerf will go all the way through which is detrimental to the entire process.  

8 minutes ago, Chet said:

I don't know if you remember Mike (estesbubba) from WTO but he built a hood like a lot of people do but if I remember right he had two ports from his DC in the hood, but the thing that I have in the back of my mind about his is that he did some tests with the port placement and something makes me want to say that he got the best result with the two ports up high in the hood.  Or maybe he had two high and two low.  I tried finding it on the forum were he posted it but I failed.  it wasn't WTO.

To be honest, I don't recall his post but, I do believe the theory is correct!  I think you need some collection at the source but, collection on the saw just doesn't work.  My theory is that if you control the dust to a general location and then collect it from there, you'd have a better overall DC ability at this particular piece of shop gear.

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8 hours ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said:

Kev, I think the replaceable inserts would definitely help ensuring the angle is correct over multiple uses.  You can use the kerf and blade to confirm.

Indeed!  Especially if there was something you make often that had a strange angle.  

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34 minutes ago, Coop said:

I see now. So the block is thick enough so that the blade does not go all he way through it. I’m just a tad slower than most! ?

All good..  I obviously should have done a better job explaining it in the video..

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