How many of you Brethren use your compound miter saw to cut down splits?

CameOutSmokin · Oct 10, 2021

Wife wanted ideas for for my Christmas list ...and I have nice spot picked out on the work bench. Looking for good, but not to expensive, as I don't do a ton of wood work. Is the Harbor Freight Admiral line worth looking at?

55Drum · Oct 10, 2021

I tried it with a 12" HF compound miter saw....didn't work out to well....hard to secure the splits...blade would occasionally catch and snatch to workpiece out of your hand.....

Callahan-que · Oct 10, 2021

Any old miter saw will do but you need to be real careful as 55Drum stated the blade can catch and kick back the split. Might want to look at something safer.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

I use a $100 Hitachi miter saw.

The trick to avoid the kickback's, is don't cut all the way through the piece, leave maybe a 1/4" , then break it apart by hand or use a handsaw to finish. The kickback occurs when using irregular shaped pieces of wood, and when the cut goes all the way through, the piece you're not holding moves into the blade.

I've made hundreds of cuts and had maybe four or five kickbacks.

Also, move the saw outside, which you would want to do anyway due to sawdust. The kickback will throw the piece in the direction of the blade.

Wear eye protection, no matter what.

But I use a combo of saws ........... chain saw, reciprocating saw, Kindling Cracker, along with a maul and an Estwing Fireside Friend which may be the best tool I own, its well worth the money.

bowhnter · Oct 10, 2021

I use a bandsaw to cut mine down for the pizza oven. A lot less chance of sending that wood back at you.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

bowhnter said:
I use a bandsaw to cut mine down for the pizza oven. A lot less chance of sending that wood back at you.

My experience is , it doesn't come back at you. It goes the other way, but it could deflect off something and come back.

Its also best to stand to one side when making a cut. But the sure thing, is don't cut all the way through the irregular piece.

But that's just my experience.

And oh yeah, go slow with the cut.

sfisch · Oct 10, 2021

Used to use my compound saw until a split did catch, smashed 2 of my fingers back into the back wall of the saw cutting them almost off and smashing them open like stomping on a hot dog. Sewed back on but have no feeling in them, that was about 7 yrs ago.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

sfisch said:
Used to use my compound saw until a split did catch, smashed 2 of my fingers back into the back wall of the saw cutting them almost off and smashing them open like stomping on a hot dog. Sewed back on but have no feeling in them, that was about 7 yrs ago.

How large a piece was it ? How irregular was it ?

I keep the size of the pieces at a minimum.

And another tip would be to use another piece of wood to hold the piece being cut.

txsmkmstr · Oct 10, 2021

Miter saws work well with a bit of forethought..... When positioning the piece you'll want to make sure the cut line can't move forward - no gap between the wood and fence. This might mean one or both ends aren't touching the fence. I'm lucky enough to have a 12" band saw with resaw capability and that's my go to method. As previously posted - wear eye protection and pay very close attention to your work.

cdhbrad · Oct 10, 2021

When I cut splits, which isn’t often, I use my Dewalt 12” Miter Saw with a coarse blade, 30-36T. I try to position the split with a flat side against the fence and feed the blade into the piece slowly to avoid it grabbing the piece. The fine tooth blade I usually have on the saw will bind up in the splits.
IF I had a bandsaw, that would be my choice.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

cdhbrad said:
When I cut splits, which isn’t often, I use my Dewalt 12” Miter Saw with a course blade, 30-36T. I try to position the split with a flat side against the fence and feed the blade into the piece slowly to avoid it grabbing the piece. The fine tooth blade I usually have on the saw will bind up in the splits.
IF I had a bandsaw, that would be my choice.

I've wondered if I should be using a different blade, thanks for that.

jzadski · Oct 10, 2021

Band saw now after a couple of incidents with miter. Last one broke a sizeable chunk of the fence off and that was it for me

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

This type of band saw is new to me, how would this work for splits

https://www.harborfreight.com/power...p-deep-cut-variable-speed-band-saw-64194.html

Or how about this Ryobi at Home Depot

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-2-5-Amp-9-in-Band-Saw-BS904G/205503634

ModelMaker · Oct 10, 2021

You WILL smash or remove fingers, just don't know if it will be your 3rd or 300th cut.
Get a band saw.
Ed

PaPaQ · Oct 10, 2021

I sure like my large kindling cracker and my fingers.

https://www.kindlingcracker.com/

Mike Twangzer · Oct 10, 2021

I have heard of people using one of these although I can't vouch for its effectiveness.
Seems safer ... https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER...ocphy=1026361&hvtargid=pla-340483406524&psc=1

SirPorkaLot · Oct 10, 2021

PaPaQ said:
I sure like my large kindling cracker and my fingers.

https://www.kindlingcracker.com/

Yea kindling cracker is the way to go. I have the XL model

Eckie · Oct 10, 2021

Miter saw works very good, but like everyone else has said things can move fast. Not sure the brand I have, bought it pretty cheep at a flea market.. I'm usually cutting on pieces that are roughly soda can size or smaller to make hunks for the kettle or MB 1050. I have had several kickbacks,, which so far have scared me more than hurt me. Mine is not on a stand, usually pull it out of the garage onto the concrete floor in front, so I'm kneeling. In this position, watch the jewels!

The piece of wood being against the fence/rail is key, and I've also found that most of the kickeback I've encountered happens after the cut, when I'm bringing the blade back up, and it's usually on.pieces that aren't straight/flush on the rail or floor of thesaw, so the piece moves after being cut. Most of the time I will hold the blade carriage down, and use a helper stick to clear the cut piece away, then proceed. It works great and is quick to do what I need. I just have to remember to not try to go too fast, that's usually when the problems happen.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

SirPorkaLot said:
Yea kindling cracker is the way to go. I have the XL model

But that's for splitting.

I need to cut 16" splits to 8" to 10" length, after they've been split.

And I don't want to spend $300 to $1000 for a band saw.

Lynn Dollar · Oct 10, 2021

Mike Twangzer said:
I have heard of people using one of these although I can't vouch for its effectiveness.
Seems safer ... https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER...ocphy=1026361&hvtargid=pla-340483406524&psc=1

My brother has one of those and I think its for pruning. IDK how to hold a split to use this on it.

I have a $40 Harbor Freight 14" electric chain saw and its really over matched by some of these cuts I have to make on larger pieces of wood.

I've been shopping for a quality 16" battery powered chain saw, or maybe gas powered.

How many of you Brethren use your compound miter saw to cut down splits?

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