Just realized a trick for keeping a miter saw fence square after a frustrating day in my garage shop

I was fighting a cut on some oak crown molding yesterday and finally noticed my fence had a tiny bit of play, so I cut a shim from some scrap hardboard and tapped it in behind the mounting point, which fixed it completely, has anyone else found a better fix for this?

3 comments

3 Comments

milestaylor1mo ago

That set screw idea is a solid upgrade from a shim. On my old saw, I went a step further and added two set screws, one on each side of the fence pivot. It lets you dial out any twist along the whole length, not just take up slack at one point. Makes a huge difference on long cuts where even a tiny bit of bow in the fence will throw off your angle. A little thread locker on the screws keeps them from backing out over time.

butler.abby1mo ago

What kind of saw do you have? I had to do something similar on my old DeWalt. I ended up drilling and tapping the fence casting for a small set screw. That lets me adjust it if it ever gets loose again. The shim trick works but this feels more permanent.

sarah5311mo ago

Watched my buddy fight his fence for weeks. He tried the shim thing (like a folded up beer can label, honestly) and it kept slipping. After reading @milestaylor's two-screw tip, he drilled and tapped his own, and now that old saw fence is rock solid, no wiggle at all.