So, I have a Rigid brand chop saw on a mobile chop saw cart. It has served me well for a long time, but for some reason now I can't get a square cut on any kind of stock. So I go through an alignment with my speed square, truing the blade vertically to the saw table, and truing the bade 90 degrees to the fence. After making the cut, I check the stock with my combination square, and the cut is not square, not even close. I check the blade again, and it did not budge, it's still square with the table and the fence.

So, my guess is this is not easily fixable. Maybe there is/are some worn out components - motor mount, motor bearings, saw arm hinge to body wear etc.

So what say you guys ? Time for a new saw, or is this something that happens all the time and I'm not doing the right thing ?

It's weird I know. Yes, my squaring tools are square, I checked them against each other.

Any ideas appreciated.

Do you have a cheap blade on it? Cheap blade or dull blade can raise havoc.

Could the saw’s base (table) have a crack in it you haven’t spotted that doesn’t open up until you’re forcing the blade down through the wood? Might allow accurate angle setup measurements when not running, but inaccurate results. Just a thought.

Blade or fence flex? Compare the cut ends of the wood to see if they match up to each other 45 or 90 degrees, or another angle.

If you want a really square cut, use a band saw.

Chop saws are for rough and quick. The blades can flex far too easily. Slowing down can minimize this.

My first thought was also old or cheap blade.

Edit to add: If the saw is very old and seen much use, sometimes there’s slop in the arm mechanism of hat allows for a bit of drift and could cause cuts to be off. More true for sliders.

Well, since it's not running a cheap blade (Diablo carbide), and I still get bad cuts when I push the blade into the stock very slowly, and the saw has seen lots of use, and the initial quality was not that high (Rigid, Home Depot house brand), so far based on everything said so far, it's sounding like a new saw.

But, if I want to increase capacity to get though a larger piece of stock in one pass, I don't know if I should get a chop saw with a bigger blade, or a track type saw with a smaller blade. However Mr. Leemur above says that sliding saws have more potential for slop than a chop saw, so now I need to decide about that, since it seems those are my only choices, since I'm won't be getting a table saw nor a band saw.

Whether it's a chop or slider saw, it seems a higher quality brand would be more appropriate, without any bad vibes against Rigid. I've seen pros using Rigid stuff, though I think Dewalt and Makita have better materials, engineering design, and build quality.

What say you guys for a replacement. Only requirement is it will cut bigger stock (more than 12 in chop saw blade im using now), and it will hold square cuts as long as possible on a mobile rig.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Whether it's a chop or slider saw, it seems a higher quality brand would be more appropriate, without any bad vibes against Rigid. I've seen pros using Rigid stuff, though I think Dewalt and Makita have better materials, engineering design, and build quality.

I have a Milwaukee chop saw. This thing is very heavy-duty. Not battery powered, but old school corded. It's about twenty years old now, so I don't know how new ones are made. It seems like the world is insane for cordless. Every cordless tool I own is Milwaukee, but when it comes to plug-in tools, everything I own (aforementioned chop saw excluded) is yellow. Dewalt makes great plug-in shop tools. That is their roots, I suppose, with their beginnings in miter boxes and radial arm saws, pre B&D.

Is there much play in the arbor/blade connection?

For years I used a 10" Makita sliding miter before swapping it for a considerably lighter Dewalt sliding miter.

I don't suspect the blade. A low quality or damaged blade, you will feel when it spins up.

I think something is wrong with your fence alignment, I don't think you said which way it was off.

Make sure everything is clean, no dust built up against stops. I could go into more, but it depends on the saw.

Not to be a pedant, but a "chop saw" has uses, and a mitre saw has uses, whether portable or not.

I still have the last saw I bought, light for its size, a 12" Dewalt sliding compound miter. Either that or the Makita I'd recommend. Light, but capable of high end moulding and other precise work.

Check for gunk in your stops, get something very rigid and straight to check across the fence.

Yes Arc, I was using the wrong name of my saw, it's a miter saw. 45 plus degrees left or right. Yea I already checked for build up and cleaned everything out with compressed air. Then reset the blade perpendicular to the table and the fence, still getting bad cuts.

So it sounds like I should replace it with a Dewalt or Makita sliding miter saw. If those guys can do detailed moulding cuts precisely, then it sounds like that's what I need, since this saw also gave me recent trouble with inaccurate cuts on moulding when I replaced the floor in my laundry room.

I have both Dewalt and Makita corded tools, and I've thought Makita was a little better quality, though I've never had any issues with Dewalt of any kind.

If you were to replace your Dewalt, would you go with Dewalt or Makita, or on relative pricing given similar performance and quality ?

Ignore Lowes:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWAL...Miter-Saw/5013817811

This looks like my saw. You need the cradle pieces and the stand for the whole portable package.

The comparable Makita was steel deck at the time. This saw has proved very capable, and while only "light" if you're a professional... It's got everything you need and nothing you don't.

Makita cordless lithium tools all day every day.

They discontinued the portable Makita table saw I like, so I'd go Dewalt there too.

I know I linked lowes, but take a close look at the tools offered by big-box stores and those offered by vendors. Buy that miter from a vendor.

If your 90 degree cuts are good and it’s your 45 degree angles that are off then it’s your angle gauge/selector/lock/whatever you call it that’s out of adjustment. I never realized that those were adjustable until I had a similar issue with mine.

Did you try turning it off and on again?

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
Did you try turning it off and on again?

Sure. This has been going on for a while, it just got so bad during my current project that I realized this is the problem I started having with it in recent previous projects, with unstable cutting angle results.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
If your 90 degree cuts are good and it’s your 45 degree angles that are off then it’s your angle gauge/selector/lock/whatever you call it that’s out of adjustment. I never realized that those were adjustable until I had a similar issue with mine.

The problem is, even if I set it manually with angle tools, the stock doesn't reflect the blade angle that was set before I spun up the blade and made the cut. I can't depend on any markings for acceptable precision.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
Ignore Lowes:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWAL...Miter-Saw/5013817811

This looks like my saw. You need the cradle pieces and the stand for the whole portable package.

The comparable Makita was steel deck at the time. This saw has proved very capable, and while only "light" if you're a professional... It's got everything you need and nothing you don't.

Makita cordless lithium tools all day every day.

They discontinued the portable Makita table saw I like, so I'd go Dewalt there too.

I know I linked lowes, but take a close look at the tools offered by big-box stores and those offered by vendors. Buy that miter from a vendor.

Very good Arc. That saw looks like a good one. Regarding buying from a vendor, in this case, what exactly does this do for a customer buying from an authorized dealer, vs a big box store. Subtle differences in model numbers and quality, vendor expertise with the tool, post-sale support, or all of that more or less ?

This may have nothing to do with your issue, but a finish carpenter friend (neighbor down the street) had a Rigid saw that the bearings went out on. When he'd start the saw, the blade would wobble like those adjustable dado blades. I don't know how those saws work, but maybe it could cause imprecise cuts like you describe.

I had a guy working for me with a similar problem with a circular saw.

The bearings had worn just enough to wobble under load. If you looked at it just spinning it was fine.

He replaced the assembly that held the main spindle and bearings (no idea if these are the correct part names) and the problem went away.

He had to fight with the repair shop to get the part.

They kept saying there was nothing wrong.

Could be that or something else that just moves under load.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Very good Arc. That saw looks like a good one. Regarding buying from a vendor, in this case, what exactly does this do for a customer buying from an authorized dealer, vs a big box store. Subtle differences in model numbers and quality, vendor expertise with the tool, post-sale support, or all of that more or less ?

Model number and quality. I'm not saying don't buy big box, just take note of price and model. I bought mine from HD, and it's been solid.

I have a lot of opinions on tools. I would say this:

If only you use a tool, you might be able to keep certain tools running. If you have a crew or coworkers, regardless of what they say they will gangbang your tool. Certain brands simply won't take the abuse, because they are not actually priced for professionals. Brands that are, keep an eye on model.

If you do work with people, tell them it's not a chop saw. It's a slicer at a Jewish deli.

The products to buy from RIGID are their vacuums and pipe threaders, Bosch or Dewalt for portable table saws, Dewalt or Makita for compound miters, Bosch or Dewalt for routers excepting the Porter Cable laminate trimmers, Dewalt for portable planer, Makita for circ saws except for Skilsaw worm drive, Milwaukee for sawzalls, portaband and angle drills, Makita for cordless. And more...