Miter saw for segmented cuts

[Matt Meadows]

Team, I appreciate all the help I've gotten lately. I forgot I had Tibbet's book on segmented turnings but remembered that he prefers using a compound slider instead of a tablesaw. I was asking around about a tablesaw jig and really had forgotten about the miter saw option.

I have a 12" Hitachi non-slider that is just a common Lowes saw but has served me well running crown molding.

I feel like this will suffice. I have PLENTY of MDF at my disposal to make sacrificial miter fences with.

The segments obviously will never be so large that the 12" won't suffice for width. Is there any reason a slider is necessary in your experience?

My goal is to begin learning how to do segmented turnings, so I'm only going to be cutting simple ring layers for now, not complex symbols or patterns.

 

[Ron Solfest]

Make sure you're careful and NEVER put your fingers near the spinning blade. I have a friend that just learned this lesson clearing a small piece (not segmenting related) on his chop saw. Fortunately for him it just cut the pad of the index finger off and they were able to reattach it...still lots of pain and expense, and no feeling in his that finger for at least quite a while

 

[Matt Meadows]

Make sure you're careful and NEVER put your fingers near the spinning blade. I have a friend that just learned this lesson clearing a small piece (not segmenting related) on his chop saw. Fortunately for him it just cut the pad of the index finger off and they were able to reattach it...still lots of pain and expense, and no feeling in his that finger for at least quite a while

Totally understood! I've made some iffy cuts running crown before. The older I get, the more careful I get lol.

Shot fireworks last night with a good friend. Reminded myself how fortunate I am to still have all 10. I was pretty much a daredevil as a kid.

 

[Richard Coers]

I consider miter saws as construction tools. A lot of people who use miter saws for segmenting also bump the segments on a disc sander for accuracy. A 12" miter saw can have a fair amount of flex in the blade.

 

[Walter Mooney]

Matt, if you can run crown molding (my absolute favorite trim item. I love doing crown molding)), you can certainly make a Wedgie Sled (for your table saw), for segmented rings. MUCH more accurate, and quite simple to use

 

[Steve Bonny]

Team, I appreciate all the help I've gotten lately. I forgot I had Tibbet's book on segmented turnings but remembered that he prefers using a compound slider instead of a tablesaw. I was asking around about a tablesaw jig and really had forgotten about the miter saw option.

I have a 12" Hitachi non-slider that is just a common Lowes saw but has served me well running crown molding.

I feel like this will suffice. I have PLENTY of MDF at my disposal to make sacrificial miter fences with.

The segments obviously will never be so large that the 12" won't suffice for width. Is there any reason a slider is necessary in your experience?

My goal is to begin learning how to do segmented turnings, so I'm only going to be cutting simple ring layers for now, not complex symbols or patterns.

Note that Malcolm Tibbets uses a Festool Kapex. Known for very good accuracy and a high price. I also heard rumours that he has been experimenting with a wedgie sled and table saw recently, but I dont know how true this is. His book is 20yrs old and things have changed. Sanding segments is not common practice. The wedgie sled and table saw is inherently more accurate by its design and would be the recommended path by many segmenters these days... but there are still many who use a miter saw too. Accuracy and repeatability of angles is key. Sliding is not critical for a miter saw setup for segmenting imo. Zero clearance fence and hold downs for the small segments are also pretty important. I used to swear by a miter saw but converted to a wedgie sled and table saw and never looked back. My 2c.

 

[Dave Hulett]

I also have the Hitachi mitre saw but I would never consider it for cutting segments. the reason is why? Wedgee sleds for table saws are easy to make, extremely accurate and your fingers needn't get close to the blade. Also with a table saw the blade is only exposed as much as needed for the thickness of the piece your cutting. With a mitre saw the entire blade is exposed and the motor is very big and heavy while with a table saw it's entirely below deck. (think about that for a bit) I actually don't have a wegee sled. I use an Incra mitre gauge as it's laser cut and accurate to within 3 decimal pts. Very happy with it.

 

[Russ Braun]

Note that Malcolm Tibbets uses a Festool Kapex. Known for very good accuracy and a high price. I also heard rumours that he has been experimenting with a wedgie sled and table saw recently, but I dont know how true this is. His book is 20yrs old and things have changed. Sanding segments is not common practice. The wedgie sled and table saw is inherently more accurate by its design and would be the recommended path by many segmenters these days... but there are still many who use a miter saw too. Accuracy and repeatability of angles is key. Sliding is not critical for a miter saw setup for segmenting imo. Zero clearance fence and hold downs for the small segments are also pretty important. I used to swear by a miter saw but converted to a wedgie sled and table saw and never looked back. My 2c.

The challenge for me on the miter saw is if I happen to get the saw exactly set for say 16 segments, I never want to change it. Imagine having a sled set to 16 segments and you just lift it off your tablesaw, back to a saw ready to rip! Want angles again? Set the sled back down. I’m currently cutting angles of 1 degree (180 segments per ring). That is not happening on the “chopsaw”. Pete Marken’s sleds are the best IMO; I have cut 100K plus segments on these sleds, they are spot on!! You do not need wedgies with these sleds. He is now creating sleds for wider stock. You will not be disappointed with these sleds. I am not a paid spokesperson for Pete, just a happy customer!!

 

[Steve Bonny]

The challenge for me on the miter saw is if I happen to get the saw exactly set for say 16 segments, I never want to change it. Imagine having a sled set to 16 segments and you just lift it off your tablesaw, back to a saw ready to rip! Want angles again? Set the sled back down. I’m currently cutting angles of 1 degree (180 segments per ring). That is not happening on the “chopsaw”. Pete Marken’s sleds are the best IMO; I have cut 100K plus segments on these sleds, they are spot on!! You do not need wedgies with these sleds. He is now creating sleds for wider stock. You will not be disappointed with these sleds. I am not a paid spokesperson for Pete, just a happy customer!!

I'm using one of Pete's sleds too. No complaints from me! Super accurate and repeatable, pinned arm positions. Pete, you owe us $5 each

 

[BobCoates]

I made some segmented vessels with embeded crosses between the wedges. The material used was too tall to cut on the table saw so I made a zero clearance fence and use a wedge temple to set the angle. I set a stop on the exit side of the cut to make them the same size. It was use for only 12 segments cut at 15 degrees. It worked.
Care needs to be made since sometimes the cut off woud be throne out, there should really be a method to hold them in place. One help was to make sure the blade was held down until the saw stopped.

 

[Matt Meadows]

Ok gents this is a great help, thank you all!

Let me look closer at the wedgie sled then.

 

[Russ Braun]

I consider miter saws as construction tools. A lot of people who use miter saws for segmenting also bump the segments on a disc sander for accuracy. A 12" miter saw can have a fair amount of flex in the blade.

With current saw blade technology, sanding segments is pretty much passé. I would note that sharp saw blades are an important part of the process. I can tell you how amazing it is to put a sharp blade on the saw but it’s not the same thing as experiencing it. It’s always a pleasure! If you think your blade is dull, it’s been dull for a long time, lol!! Bloodwood and Purpleheart will kill the sharpness of a blade quickly!!

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

This is my jig for cutting segments and it would not need a sliding saw but that is what I have. The Destaco clamp is a big help because it keeps the segs from flying into the saw dust pile and you can utilize the entire piece of stock. The accuracy is I think better however the saw must be tuned and the blade sharp. The pieces in the first photo were all cut by flipping a single strip. The lines on the stock are used to maintain the same grain orientation. The segs shown were assembled/glued and clamped with a hose clamp all at once and didn't have any poor joints. Note: I never use a disc sander like Russ B said a sharp blade will make an excellent joint.