Why does nobody talk about how often miter saws drift out of square

Had a rack of crown molding to install at my cousin's place over in Oakdale last Saturday. Set up my old Dewalt 12 inch, checked the square, everything looked good. After the first four cuts I noticed a gap. Checked again and somehow it was off by almost 2 degrees. Tightened the detent plate screws and it fixed it but man, I've been doing this for like 7 years and I still forget to check mid-job. Got a story like this or am I the only one?

3 comments

3 Comments

blake32212d ago

You ever have one of those days where your tools gaslight you into thinking you're losing your mind? Because that's exactly what happened to me last month. I was cutting some baseboards for a buddy's living room, checked square once, felt confident, and then about twelve cuts in I'm staring at a four degree gap like it personally offended me. I actually tightened everything down, set the blade, pulled the trigger, and still had it drift while the motor was spinning. That was a fun moment of existential crisis in my garage. Now I keep a little square in my apron and I check every time I set a new board down. Call it paranoid, call it obsessive, but at least my miters don't look like they're trying to escape from each other anymore.

lindamartin12d ago

Fifteen years of carpentry and I've learned the same lesson applies to everything, not just tools. My truck, my coffee maker, my garage door opener. They all work perfect until the moment you trust them completely. Then they break your heart.

the_tessa13d ago

Kicked myself in the head reading this because I literally did the same thing last month cutting shoe molding for my mother in law's bathroom. I mean, I checked square twice before starting, got halfway through, and was wondering why my returns looked like they were fighting each other. Tightened the whole detent plate assembly and it was fine after that but man I felt like a total goof. Now I check after every five cuts like a paranoid person. Maybe it's just me but I think the vibration from cutting just slowly loosens stuff over time.