Miter box- this is a tool device in the form of a tray U-shaped with side slots for the saw, designed for sawing slatted material at a given angle.
When installing floor or ceiling plinths, door frames, laying electrical wiring in cable ducts or manufacturing furniture, it becomes necessary to saw the material into pieces of a given length at a right angle or a 45 degree angle. You can, of course, cut the material along the line drawn using a square. But in this case, the work requires care and it is easy to make an irreparable mistake.
To increase the productivity and quality of sawing, a simple device called a miter box was invented. The photo shows an industrial plastic miter box, with which a hand saw can be used to cut slats, bars, corners made of wood, chipboard, MDF, plasterboard, plastic and other soft materials at an angle of 45° and 90° with sufficient accuracy.
It is enough to mark one point on the rail that needs to be adjusted to size, insert the rail into the miter box so that the mark is on the line of the guides, and hand hacksaw, insert the blade into the slots, cut the strip. The miter box will not allow the saw blade to move to the side and the end of the rail will be the required one.
Industrially produced plastic miter boxes have a significant drawback: due to the larger width of the guide slots and their rapid wear by saw teeth, the accuracy of the angle is low and gaps up to one millimeter wide often remain at the junction of the baseboards or platbands. There are high-precision miter boxes on sale, which even provide the ability to change the angle within any limits, and there are clamps for fixing the material being cut. But they are very expensive, and for one-time repairs in an apartment it does not make sense to purchase such a device. Moreover, a high-precision miter box can be made with your own hands in a couple of hours from scrap material.
To make a homemade miter box you will only need a couple of metal ones, preferably aluminum plates 1.5-2 mm thick and a board for the base of the miter box about 10 cm wide made of wood, chipboard or plywood.
Making a miter box with your own hands
The dimensions of the parts are not important. But the wider the board, the more accurate the cut will be and the ability to cut wider slats. The width of the miter box should not exceed half the length of the hacksaw blade, otherwise sawing will be inconvenient.
Making a miter box begins with cutting out the parts and marking them. In the middle of the board of the base of the miter box, a straight line is applied at right angles to the side walls. A perpendicular line can be drawn using a special square or taking any sheet of paper folded twice.
From the ends of this line, at a distance of half the width of the board along its length, marks are drawn, which are connected by line segments with a marker. The result was lines located at an angle of 45˚ and 90˚ relative to the longitudinal side of the board. But the main one on the base is the perpendicular line, relative to which they will be oriented during installation. side walls miter box.
On both side walls, in the middle, as well as on the base, first apply along one perpendicular line. From them, at a distance of half the width of the base, for me 5 cm, two more parallel lines are drawn. Marking is done using a ruler or caliper. Here you need to try to draw the lines accurately, since the accuracy of sawing the material will ultimately depend on this. It should be noted that the wider the base board, the higher the cutting accuracy will be.
Next, you need to draw a section of each wall that will be adjacent to the base of the miter box. Since my basis is from Chipboard thickness 18 mm, then you need to draw a strip 18 mm wide. Draw a line in the middle of this strip and mark points on it at an equidistant distance from each other for drilling holes for self-tapping screws.
To prevent the drill from running away at the beginning of drilling, small indentations are made at the designated points with a core, then holes with a diameter of 4 mm are drilled and if the screws have a countersunk head, then it is better to make a countersink, although this is not necessary.
The next step is cutting grooves in the walls of the miter box. The strip must be fixed in a vice or using clamps on a table and cut along the marked lines with a hacksaw. The middle line is sawn at an angle of 90˚, and the outer lines at an angle of 45˚. High precision is not needed here, but it is advisable to do this work carefully. The cut should only reach the line where the walls are attached to the base of the miter box.
Since the chipboard base is soft material, then self-tapping screws with a rare thread pitch are best suited for fastening the walls. Although you can use any that are on hand, 25-50 mm long.
After making the base and walls, you can proceed to the next step, assembling the miter box. To do this, you need to accurately align the middle cut in the wall with the perpendicular line on the base of the miter box, pierce the hard wall of the side edge of the chipboard with an awl and tighten the screws. It is better to drill a hole in plywood with a diameter equal to the diameter internal thread self-tapping screw to the depth of its length.
It is convenient to assemble the miter box by securing its base with clamps to homemade table for repair. Thus, the lower end of the side wall can be easily aligned with the lower surface of the base of the miter box.
During a test sawing in a miter box at an angle of 45˚, it turned out that the hacksaw blade moved tightly and rubbed against the walls of the cuts. I had to sharpen them a little with a flat file.
I made the side walls of the miter box from aluminum alloy, but they can be made from plywood or any other dense sheet material. The thicker the side walls, the longer the miter box will last.
Examples of work using a miter box
The miter box constantly helps me cut slatted material efficiently. For example, when laying electrical wiring, it may be necessary to cut the cable channel at a right angle and at an angle of 45˚.
To do this, it is enough to place the cable channel on the base of the miter box, resting it against the far wall and, using a hacksaw for metal, accurately saw off the required section.
After removing burrs from the walls at the cutting site, the parts fit together with virtually no gap.
The miter box is also great for sawing foam ceiling plinths. Thanks to the fine teeth of a hacksaw file, the end of the plinth is ready for joining without additional processing.
In the same way, the ceiling plinth is sawn at an angle of 45˚. It can be rotated in any way and create a tight fit, both on the inside and external corners walls
A miter box is also indispensable when installing floor plinths. You can not only saw off the required lengths of the plinth, but also, when adjusting, shorten the plinth even by one millimeter, which is almost impossible to do without a miter box.
As you can see, the miter box is necessary equipment to achieve high quality work with minimal effort. I advise you to definitely buy or make a miter box with your own hands; it will be useful not only when renovating an apartment. Using a miter box, you can make a frame for a photograph or painting, or saw through a plastic pipe when performing plumbing work. It’s even difficult to list all the cases of using a miter box by a home craftsman.
Miter box is carpentry tool, designed for sawing material at a certain angle. The use of this device greatly facilitates the work of cutting skirting boards.
The tool is fixed on a workbench or table, pressed with a clamp, and is completely safe and easy to use. In this article we will look at how to use a miter box, how to make a tool with your own hands and its types.
Types of miter box
A tool used for sawing wood, polyurethane and plastic skirting boards at an angle has a simple design.
It consists of a tray with through slots made at an angle into which a hacksaw fits.
Classification:
The last two types are professional tools capable of sawing materials in two planes.
Terms of use
Anyone can cut material using a miter box. However, before starting work, you need to study the rules for using the tool and prepare materials that will help you in your work.
You will need:
- a hacksaw with a tooth spacing suitable for the specific type of material being cut;
- to cut foam baseboards you will need a mounting knife;
- to mark the material you will need a pencil and a ruler;
- After sawing, you need to smooth out any rough edges and burrs with sandpaper.
Basic rule of work:
- the plinth can be fixed in the tool on the right, and the corner can be cut off on the left side of the product;
- We fix the left product on the left side, and cut off the corner on the right side of the product.
To prevent damage to the product when cutting, you need to purchase a hacksaw suitable for the material used.
Sawing material
When sawing, it is important not to mix up the sides
Let's look at how to properly use a miter box for sawing skirting boards. If you need to cut the material at an angle of 45 or 90 degrees, you need to secure it in the body and rest it against the end wall.
Then we cut the material with a hacksaw. Using a professional tool, you can adjust the size down to the millimeter.
Templates must be made for each section, leaving a margin of 50 mm. The walls in the room are not always smooth, so before cutting the material, you need to check how they fit together. 
Cutting rules:
- Mark the cut line with a pencil.
- Laying the product front side into the miter box body so that the cut line mark is a continuation of the slot in the tool.
- We press the workpiece from the end of the body wall, insert a hacksaw into the slot, and cut off the material along the mark.
- We insert the second blank into the slot with the other side.
- We clean the unevenness with fine sandpaper.
Before installing the plinth, you need to attach it to the wall, align both parts with each other and check that the cut angle matches so that there is no gap between the parts.
Often the walls are not connected to each other at right angles, and the sawing has to be adjusted.
You can do this in two ways:
- using a homemade cardboard template or thick paper. If the baseboard is hollow inside, it is difficult to keep it upright. In this case, you need to make a corner in which you can place the product, like in a wort. We lay the corner on a pre-made stencil so that it matches the template, cut the product according to the mark;
- We make marks on the material with a pencil. To do this, we cut both products at an angle of 90 degrees, apply them to the wall and mark the connection line. We find the point of contact between the skirting boards and transfer the markings to the material and cut them off.
The quality of the junction of the skirting boards to each other depends on the correct marking of the product. It is recommended to cut the corner first and then adjust the product to length, this will make it possible to redo the discrepancy if the material was cut incorrectly.
To saw off internal corner you need to follow the rules:
- we install the miter box for baseboards on the table parallel to the master;
- We press the product to the side opposite from the master;
- We place the right plinth on the right, install the left one on the left, and cut it off from the opposite side.
We combine both parts of the plinth, we get an internal corner with the apex away from us.
Sawing off the outer corner of the floor plinth
Rules for sawing the outer corner of the product:
- We place the miter box on the table parallel to the master;
- We press the baseboard from the master's side;
- we place the right product on the right, the left one on the left, bring it to a line that is located diagonally, saw off from the bottom up;
We connect the parts, we get an outer corner with the vertex towards us. We take into account that the ceiling plinth is cut according to a different pattern.
We make a miter box with our own hands
Use a 20cm board to make the tool. Making a tool for forming an angle with your own hands is quite simple.
When manufacturing technology is carried out, the miter box will not be inferior in quality to store-bought models.
To carry out manufacturing work, you need to prepare materials and tools:
- board, when using pine wood its thickness should be 20 mm, if we use oak or ash material, a thickness of 10-15 mm is sufficient;
- hacksaw for wood and metal;
- vice or clamps;
- sanding paper or narrow needle file;
- confirmants and hexagon;
- drill and drill bits for confirmations and wood;
- Using a protractor, ruler and pencil, we will make markings before sawing. To learn how to make a miter box with your own hands, watch this video:
After preparing everything necessary, we begin manufacturing the product.
Box manufacturing process
The height of the side should be from 30 to 50 mm First you need to make the side walls and bottom of the miter box. To do this, we first prepare boards of certain sizes:
- the height of the sides will depend on the width of the product being cut, varies from 30 to 50 mm;
- the optimal length of the side walls is 15-30 cm.
Manufacturing sequence:
- We cut out two parts of the same size, they will serve as sides, and the bottom is 150 mm wide.
- We sand the workpieces and align the corners at 90 degrees.
- Place the pieces next to each other and check that they are the same size.
Let's start marking the cuts on the side parts. More detailed instructions To learn how to make a miter box with your own hands, watch this video:
Marking the cutting locations
To avoid errors when working with a miter box, you need to correctly mark the location of the slots:
- At the end of the sides we draw two lines, perpendicular to each other.
- We measure the width and thickness of the box, step back from the drawn lines by the size of the width of the box and make two marks to make a square.
- On two opposite sides we measure an angle of 45 and 90 degrees.
- Once again we check that the markings are correct, and only after that we cut the diagonal cuts. To make the cut perfectly even, we start sawing with a hacksaw for metal with fine teeth, then connect hand saw on wood. The depth of the cut should be up to the top level of the bottom of the tool.
- Then we make a second cut perpendicular to the first cut, which is needed for even cutting of the baseboards.
- We clean the sawing areas with sandpaper.
- We connect the blanks together with glue and fix them with confirmants. We clamp the box with a vice, remove excess glue and leave for 24 hours until completely dry.
If you want the tool to be dismountable, then we fix it with screws without using glue.
We looked at what a miter box is and how to use it. This tool is an indispensable assistant in execution repair work, it does not take up much space, but you cannot do without it if you need to cut the product at an angle.
Manual circular saw In the standard version, it is extremely difficult to make precise cross-cutting of the board. Getting the perfect cut in accordance with the markings allows you to simply homemade device, easily made from scraps in your home workshop.
The saw is designed for perpendicular cuts of boards ranging from 100mm to 250mm wide in 50mm increments, but can be easily modified to suit your needs.
How does a handheld circular saw attachment work?
The device in question is extremely simple and consists of only a few parts: a base for the saw, a guide rail, a thrust block and an eccentric clamp that ensures reliable fixation even on lumber that has been loosened with slight deviations in width.
The homemade product is very easy to use. First, markings are made on the board.
Then a homemade device is installed on top, the lower stop of which is pressed against the edge of the workpiece, and the right edge is aligned with the mark.
Now all that remains is to place the circular saw on the base and make the cut, pressing the edge of the sole against the guide side stop.
The result will be perfect smooth cut, exactly repeating the markup.
With this device it is convenient to make many cross cuts when you need to frequently move the tool to a new cutting line, for example, when making grooves in beams. It is also useful if it is necessary to reduce the length of the workpiece by several millimeters, and it will cope with this task no worse than a miter saw.
How to make a device with your own hands
The cutting device is manufactured for specific model power tools. On your circular saw, measure the distance from the engine to the bottom plane of the sole and subtract 5 mm. The result obtained is the height of the guide stop.
Prepare a plywood base with right angles and wooden slats with parallel edges.
Measure the distance from cutting disc to the edge of the sole.
Add an allowance of 6–10 mm and install a guide rail at this distance from the right end of the plywood. Secure the plank with countersunk screws, ensuring its strictly perpendicular position.
Screw with reverse side thrust block and fix the device on the workbench.
Cut the plywood to the final width with a circular saw, creating a reference edge for precise positioning of the jig along the markings.
Draw a template for the cam clamp cam on paper.
Mark the piece on 10mm plywood and use an awl to mark the center of the drill hole for the bolt.
Cut the workpiece with a jigsaw.
Make a washer with a diameter of 50 mm from the same plywood using a ballerina extendable wood drill.
Sand the workpieces and select an M6 or M8 furniture bolt with a mustache (or with a square headrest), a handwheel nut, a washer and a bushing. The latter can be made from a tube of suitable diameter. The length of the sleeve is the total thickness of the base, lever and plywood washer.
Make holes in the base with a drill according to the diameter of the bushing, which serve to rearrange the eccentric clamp according to the width of the board being cut.
Assemble the eccentric mechanism: insert a bolt with a sleeve on top, and install a wooden washer, the cam itself and a steel washer from below. Tighten the parts with a nut.
Stick with inside stop strip sandpaper to prevent slipping when the eccentric is locked, which can occur when the device is fastened to a smoothly planed workpiece.
The clamping system of this device has a stroke that ensures fastening on boards with a spread of approximately 10 mm in width. If you need to cut or trim pieces of a different size, simply place a wooden block in front of the stop beam.
If desired, the potential of the considered device can be expanded by adding a cutting angle of 45°. To do this, you will need to slightly increase the dimensions of the support platform and install a second thrust block at a given angle.
A miter box is a hand-held carpentry tool for accurately cutting boards and other lumber at the required angle. Doing wooden frame When installing platbands and skirting boards or performing any other work related to cutting boards, you will definitely be faced with the need to create a perfect corner cut - the so-called miter joint. In order for the joints of the parts to fit tightly and have no gaps, the cutting angle must be as accurate as possible. Here a miter box becomes an ideal assistant.
There are several design options for this device. In our article we will dwell in detail on the main types of miter boxes, tell you how to choose and correctly use this hand tool to create a flawless burr.
The box-type miter box is the classic and most simple design, which is a box with saw grooves located at strictly fixed angles. The tool is used for cutting wooden and plastic blanks at the required angle and creating miter joints.
Modern box-shaped models are made of impact-resistant ABS plastic, less often wood and metal. They are equipped with adjustable clamps for fixing the workpiece, and they also often have a mount for installation on a workbench. The tool is universal. With it, you can make cutting angles in both vertical and horizontal planes. The standard model of a box miter box has grooves for creating angles of 22.5°, 45°, 90°, 135° (in the horizontal plane) and 45° (in the vertical plane).
Advantages: affordability, possibility of fixing on any surface, small sizes and weight, ensuring ease of transportation and the ability to cut corners in two planes.
Flaws: the dimensions of the sawn workpiece are limited by the width of the miter box; The accuracy of the bevel is very mediocre, the smoothness of the cut also leaves much to be desired; it is not possible to set the required cutting angle value; Sawing occurs in short movements, which is why the blade often jumps out of the guides, and the work itself takes a lot of time.
Despite all its shortcomings, it is advisable to choose such a tool for household purposes: repairs, household work in the country, etc.
What saws are best to use with a miter box?
Complete with a miter box, a special axing saw is usually used. Thanks to the steel backing, the saw does not bend during operation, which contributes to a more accurate and accurate cut. In this case, the saw blade itself acts as a limiter for the cutting depth.
You can cut with a regular hacksaw, but the quality of the cut in this case will leave much to be desired. The cleanest and most accurate cuts are provided by blades with fine teeth, a large number TPI (teeth per inch) and minimal setting (or no setting at all).
Rotary mechanical miter box
When there is a need for high precision cutting at any angle in the vertical and horizontal plane, the capabilities of a box miter box become insufficient. In this case, it is advisable to purchase an adjustable mechanical miter box - a precision hand tool for high-precision sawing of wooden, plastic and even metal workpieces of small and medium thickness.
A mechanical miter box consists of a metal frame, a rotary carriage and a saw, precisely fixed in the guides of the rotary assembly. Sawing occurs according to predetermined parameters. The clamping system rigidly fixes the workpiece to improve the convenience and accuracy of sawing operations. Precision miter boxes are equipped with back saws or bow saws, with the ability to adjust the blade tension. Provided that high-quality saw blades are used, a mechanical miter box provides a cut no worse than a miter saw.
Advantages: accuracy of sawing operations; long blade stroke, increasing the quality and speed of cutting; the ability to adjust the depth of cut and make cuts at any angle; ability to work with workpieces of various lengths and thicknesses; Cut quality comparable to that of a miter saw.
Flaws: By the standards of mass production, sawing operations on such a tool take a lot of time.
Compact magnetic miter boxes
Simple and functional cutting devices wooden boards at a given angle. They are plastic or metal guides that can be adjusted. Magnets built into the guide attract the saw blade, ensuring its fixation during operation. How to cut a corner with a miter box like this? required quantity degrees – clearly shown in the photo.
Advantages: cheap; compactness; accuracy not inferior to a box miter box; possibility of cutting at a given angle; minimum division step.
Flaws: working with boards of limited width; poor quality of cut compared to a rotary miter box; low productivity.
Despite all their shortcomings, such devices are optimal for domestic use. With them you can always accurately cut trim, ceiling or floor plinth, without the need to purchase a full-size miter box.
Miter boxes for creating dovetails and straight tenon joints
A set of simple metal guides, fixed with a screw clamp, will help in creating a perfect design. The devices allow you to make smooth and precise cuts much faster and with less effort. Magnets built into the body of the product keep the saw in contact with the guide surface, ensuring convenience and precision of cutting.
There are two types of such miter boxes: with an inclined guide surface for creating joints “ dovetail» and with a right angle for cutting straight tenon joints. The wood between the tenons is removed manually using a sharp chisel.
If you need to do a neat gusset two wooden parts, you need to make an angular cut at their ends.
Miter box
The cheapest solution for making angled cuts is a simple miter box. It is usually made of plastic or wood and has slots to allow a saw to make a 45° or 90° cut. In addition, there are miter boxes with a large number of holes for different angles. Use a fine-tooth, wide-blade hacksaw and press the piece of wood you want to cut against the back of the miter box. The relatively narrow miter box shown in the picture is suitable for working with small parts, for example to cut wooden strips for a picture frame or other small wooden parts.
Miter cutting with fixed guide
When using this tool, the saw is fixed in a horizontal strip or guide. The angle between the workpiece and the saw can be precisely set to 22.5°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°. The saw blade is easy to replace when it wears out.
Electric miter saws
The most convenient and quick way Making bevel cuts is using an electric saw to cut at an angle. With a saw like this, you are not limited by the width of the workpiece. The rotation speed of these saws can be continuously adjusted and they also have a connection for a vacuum cleaner to collect dust.
Working with a miter saw
If you want to cut a beam or baseboard, first accurately measure where you want to cut and mark it with a pencil by drawing a line.
Place the saw on desired angle and clamp the workpiece; You can, for example, use a gluing clamp. If you're not sure what angle you need, first make a test cut on a piece of scrap wood.
Before making a cut, check that the saw blade is sharp enough - otherwise the material will split severely and you will have to apply additional force. Fine tooth blades give the best results.CLUE!
If the saw often gets stuck, rub the saw blade with the end of a candle. Candle paraffin will allow you to cut without jamming.
Cutting width
The maximum width or depth of cut when using an electric miter saw depends on the diameter of the blade. The maximum cutting width is equal to the disc diameter, which is usually 250 mm. An electric miter saw may have two guides. They allow you to move the saw towards you and get a larger cutting width.
Sawing
Measure the cutting angle, for example using a measuring stick. If two pieces of wood are at right angles to each other, then the angle is 90°. In this case, each of the two angles at which you need to make a cut is 45°. Using a miter box, you can make a cut at a 45° angle to the left or right. For the best appearance make sure the same sides of the workpiece will be visible from the inside and outside of the completed joint. If you have learned how to make miter cuts, you can also make a straight join with a bevel edge to join two pieces of wood to add length. In this case, two planks or two plinths will be neatly connected to each other.
Variable cutting angles
By using different cutting angles, you can make the connection at the desired angle. For odd angles, you can make a neat joint by measuring the required cut angle using an adjustable jig or contour gauge. Set the grinder exactly at half of this angle and make corresponding marks on each workpiece. After this, set the grinder at the same angle and you can make a neat connection.
