As useful as miter saws are, sometimes their capacity falls short. There’s a limit to which you can cut a material. But what if you need to cut a wide piece that’s out of your miter saw capacity? How to increase the capacity on a miter saw?
You can use a small hack to increase your miter saw capacity. Simply raise the base of your miter saw by placing a sacrificial board over the kerf. If you need the capacity increased for repeated cuts, you can clamp the board permanently in place.
You must need more details about how to work this procedure. So, stay tuned to check out the process.
How To Increase The Capacity On A Miter Saw?
You can easily increase the capacity of your miter saw by raising the base of your miter saw. Along with offering a wide cut by the same blade, it can also give you a zero clearance kerf as a side benefit.
As a temporary solution, you can place and hold a sacrificial wooden board on the miter saw base to increase the height. But if you need the solution to be a little more permanent, you need to either clamp the board or use bolts.
To make this adjustment to your miter saw, you will need a board that comes with a thickness of 1 ¾ inches. If you want to bolt the board, you will have to remove the fence. Use the proper tool to remove the fence from its place.
Then, place the board on top of the miter saw base and measure where the bolt holes of the fence are. Use your drill to make holes in the sacrificial board. Now, place the board on the base again and make sure that the measurements are accurate.
Bolt the board in place using the same bolts as your fence. Now, cut the kerf. You can get a zero clearance kerf with this method.
Raising the height of the base will allow your blade to cut wider pieces. Moreover, you won’t have to flip the material board and cut it in two turns. If you want to see this procedure and understand it more clearly, check out this video from Winky’s Workshop.
You can also cut more degrees using your miter saw than it was originally intended for. You can check this video from 731 Woodworks for a better understanding.
Why Increase Miter Saw Capacity?
There are several benefits to making this adjustment to your miter saw. Let’s take a look at them.
Clean Cuts
It’s usual to come across situations where you have to cut wider pieces than your miter saw’s capacity. You can cut wider pieces without making this adjustment, but you will have to cut it in two turns by flipping the board.
Flipping the board and cutting it can cause chipping and damage to the material. The measurement may not be accurate either. When you add a sacrificial board to your miter saw, it allows you to cut the piece in one turn. So, you get a clean cut.
Zero Clearance Kerf
You may have heard that a zero clearance kerf can be useful in many situations. It prevents kickbacks and allows your miter saw to be more accurate. As a side benefit of making this adjustment to your miter saw, you get a zero clearance kerf.
If your previous insert was causing any inconvenience, it would get fixed if you make this adjustment. You won’t have to pay any extra money to get a zero-clearance kerf plate for your miter saw.
Versatility
The primary goal of increasing the height of your miter saw base is to increase versatility. Your miter saw is already a versatile tool that you can utilize in different ways. But it does come with a few limitations. By making this DIY adjustment, your mitre saw can overcome one of those limitations.
For instance, if your miter saw can only crosscut pieces measuring six inches and you need to occasionally cut eight or nine-inch pieces, you can do it using the same miter saw. This hack can increase the boundaries and make your miter saw more creative than it already is.
Easy To Do
The procedure is very easy to do. If you don’t want to increase the capacity permanently, all you will have to do is to place the board and keep it in place. You can use clamps to secure the board in place. Even that’s not mandatory if you’re cutting one or two pieces.
Moreover, even if you wish to make the board permanent on the miter saw base, it’s an easy process to do. There are no meticulous measurements that need extreme accuracy except for the holes for bolts. You can also take the board according to your comfort and preference. Moreover, this will certainly be an interesting fix for you if you are into DIY adjustments.
Saves Money
Last but not least, doing this certainly saves you money. First of all, making this edit to your miter saw does not cost you anything at all. It’s not a time-consuming process either. Besides, you won’t need another tool whenever you have to cut a wide piece that exceeds your miter saw capacity.
Instead of investingin another powerful tool for cutting wider pieces, you can use the miter saw you already have, which certainly saves you money.
Some Tips To Remember
- Don’t forget to recheck whether the miter saw is accurate before securing the board in place.
- Avoid making the change permanent unless you need to make repeated cuts.
- If you don’t want to remove the fence to bolt the board and don’t have clamps either, you can use double-sided tape to temporarily secure the board on the miter saw base.
- No matter what adjustments you are making to your miter saw, do not compromise your safety. Make sure the blade guard is in place, and always keep your hands out of the way.
- Make sure you are not altering any internal components of your miter saw. This can cause permanent damage and mess with the accuracy of your miter saw.
- If you are cutting larger pieces of wood, make sure that the piece is sufficiently supported. Otherwise, you may experience kickbacks as well as inaccurate cuts.
- Don’t forget to clean your miter saw internally every now and then. Dust inside the miter saw can reduce the capacity of your miter saw by preventing the blade from cutting all the way through. You can check my article on why is my miter saw not cutting all the way through for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a bigger blade on my miter saw?
You shouldn’t install a bigger blade on your miter saw than it was made for. It’s not only about a bigger blade fitting the miter saw. The blade won’t spin efficiently because the miter saw is not made to spin a bigger blade. To sum up, if you want to get the most efficient result without compromising your safety, you should never put a bigger blade on your miter saw.
Can I use a 7-inch blade on a 10-inch miter saw?
A 10-inch miter saw will be able to accommodate a 7-inch blade because of its larger blade capacity. However, the result may not be favorable to you because that’s not the blade size your miter saw was made for. Nonetheless, if you want to use a smaller blade occasionally because of the smaller kerf, you certainly can.
What is the cutting capacity of a 12-inch miter saw?
A 12-inch miter saw certainly offers a better cutting capacity than a 10-inch miter saw. If you are cutting at a 90-degree angle, you can get a maximum of 8-inch crosscuts. At a 45-degree angle, you can only get as wide as 6-inch crosscuts with a 12-inch miter saw.
End Notes
It’s surprising how simple the answer is when you wonder how to increase the capacity on a miter saw. Your miter saw has endless potential if you know how to utilize it the right way. Simple things like increasing the height of the base can lead to increasing the original capacity of your miter saw. So, make sure that you’ve exhausted all other options before deciding what your miter saw can and cannot do.
