Hi Andy, I have never had much luck cutting to a mark although there are some here who do apparently use an awl or other scratch tool to mark and cut, I find that even using a finger nail to locate the mark against a tool or jig is too inaccurate for me. I don't know how they make it work for them however I will tell you how I work.
My advice on buying a compound miter saw is first to buy the best you possibly can. They are getting better all the time of course, mine is a 10 inch Makita sliding compound miter saw, these days they are as much as 14 inches and with a slide they can cut a very wide board. New ones will tilt left or right for a bevel cut each way, this is not essential but if you get one be sure it has a positive stop at 90 degrees vertical and preferably at least one stop at 45 degrees to one or other side, preferably both. My saw has a raised scale and pointer for setting the miter left and right but I find it difficult to use this exclusively to set precise angles, the pointer must line up very directly with the raised mark on the scale, a sighted person will stand in line with the two but my fingers, though they can get me close are usually off a degree or two when I actually make the cut. My saw though does have detent stops at 15, 30 and 45 degrees in both directions and of course at 0 degrees so those are very easy and convenient. Some now have other detent stops, you want as many as is reasonable or practical, stops will save you loads of time locating very accurately the most commonly using angles. You will prefer a fairly high fence. It is very helpful to be able to lay one 2 by 4 of a known and desired length on top of another to duplicate it and it will be much easier to line them both up if the fence is high enough. Because of the depth available it is often very helpful to lay out two boards and cut them simultaneously by cutting through the double thickness which makes it easy to get two very exactly the same length and a fence high enough to do this will be satisfying. The last thing that occurs to me is to get as long a bed as you can. This makes it easier to use. If you can get a purpose built stand with extensions to hold long pieces you may be able to attach blocks against which you can push a series of boards to cut many of exact length. I have built a cabinet to hold my saw with a dust hutch behind to catch as much as I can. I had a pair of extensions but they were not to my satisfaction, I will try again some day to have extensions which I can raise into place with a back fence and block I can run out and lock into place for making several pieces of precise length. The old table I had built for house building is way too big, it now rests in the back lane where it may disappear any day but where I can still use it if I again need to cut lengths up to about 20 feet. Most of these saws have at least one hold-down clamp, mine does, it can be located on either side of the saw, I should have had two, it gets a bit frustrating to move it though I don't often want it on the right side of the saw. As for measuring, I lower the saw to the work and measure that way. Usually I am in a hurry so I find myself using my chin or forehead to hold the saw down while I measure with both hands. Pushing the saw down retracts the blade guard. The start requires a button to be held while the trigger is squeezed but probably one should take the additional safety measure of unplugging the saw when doing this. Because I have this cabinet with three drawers for storing tools I also have an 18 inch or so bungie cord which I loop around the handle and hook to one of the drawer handles. This only just balances the spring which raises the saw so I can pull it down to the work and it pretty well stays where I leave it. I can then slide my measure to the end of the board and then slide the board until the blade just touches the measure. Double check that the work is snug against the fence then clamp the work down and remove the measure, release the cord so the saw rises then grab the trigger and make your cut. Remember that the teeth of a carbide blade are a little thicker than the blade and the pitch of a conventional blade too is a little wider. This is only millimeters but it can make a difference. If using a single piece as a measure for multiple pieces keep the first one as a master and use it as your standard. Small errors can compound and become significant. This is not just true for blind folk, I notice that the television cabinet makers do precisely the same thing for the same reason. I am not as careful as probably I should be, I don't always clamp my work but hold it with my free left hand much of the time however if you clamp your work and put your left hand in your pocket before you grasp that handle you and you listen for that saw to spin fully down before you let go, you will be hard pressed to find a way of getting hurt. Take the additional step of unplugging the machine before you bring the blade to measure the work and I don't see how you could ever get hurt. Even my way would be tough enough. I hope this is helpful to you. In my mind, a miter saw is about the most useful tool a blind wood worker can own even if all you do is some framing or decking. You will soon want a table saw, I don't know which is more desirable, I got the table saw first and did a lot of pretty sophisticated work with it but that miter saw is also pretty darn helpful. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "wd1q" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 6:00 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] compound miter say? > Hi, I am sorry if this has or will be coming along as a message again, > but I can't seem to get my messages out for some reason..... > Well, for my question, I am interested in purchasing a table compound > miter saw and have never used one. Can someone give some wisdom in > looking for a good model for someone like us being blind.? I would > like to know how I would go about to setting the saw blade that is > under the safety guard to cut at the correct location which I have > marked. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Andy. > > > > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > Visit The New Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From > Various List Members At The Following Address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > Visit the new archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.5/425 - Release Date: 22/08/2006 > > To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The New Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following Address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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