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Miters reflected in saw blades…and …

| Posted in Construction Techniques on March 13, 2002 04:50am

*
I was pretty impressed today when…

I read that some carpenters, cutting mitered trim, watched the reflection of the stock in the saw blade to cut the miter. No bevel square, no nada.

go get a (shiny ?) saw and try this, it’s cool.

got me wondering, what other tricks and techniques have gone the way of the model T?

GO

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Replies

  1. Brian_Smith | Mar 08, 2002 08:38am | #1

    *
    building pyramids, raising stonehenge,...

    brian
    |:-)>|

    1. calvin_ | Mar 08, 2002 02:27pm | #2

      *George, would you explain this mitre reflection thing? Thanks.

      1. Rich_Watkins | Mar 08, 2002 08:42pm | #3

        *Got red teflon on my blade, can't see a damn thing!Rich

        1. Heck_ | Mar 09, 2002 01:24am | #4

          *All I see in mine is a good looking carpenter..

          1. Jeff_J._Buck | Mar 09, 2002 01:55am | #5

            *ok....I promise to stop looking over yer shoulder when ya cut! Jeff

          2. Bucksnort_Billy | Mar 09, 2002 03:05am | #6

            *George, I'm curious too...reflections on the trim sounds like an oprah kind of thing, dang I do this for a living, help me communicate with the wood...line it up on the short point and cut it...reflection is best done in the bar after work, but dang, I keep seeing that Heck guy :)...

          3. Ron_Budgell | Mar 09, 2002 05:06am | #7

            *You still have to mark out the mitre. When the edge of the workpiece and the reflection of it in your (hand)saw blade are SQUARE to each other then your saw is square to the surface of the workpiece. Also, when srosscutting, if the line of the edge of the piece and the reflection are in a straight line then the saw is square to the surface. But you must mark out the cut.These are just ways to align the saw vertically. If you don't mark the cut you will end up with a compound mitre.And if your handsaw isn't shiny enough to see a good reflection then you don't use it enough to bother remembering any of this.

          4. Jerry_Hill | Mar 09, 2002 06:00am | #8

            *handsaw...whats that?.........sorry...I couldn't resist!

          5. Dick | Mar 09, 2002 07:07am | #9

            *LOL

          6. GACC_DAllas | Mar 09, 2002 08:44pm | #10

            *George,I dunno........sounds like a tall tale to me.Ed.

          7. Novy_7 | Mar 09, 2002 09:08pm | #11

            *So Ron ? Do you use toothepaste to polish the saw or ..............

          8. Ron_Budgell | Mar 10, 2002 03:38am | #12

            *Did I ever tell you my partner's story about when he was apprenticing in England and he bought an old but good, though somewhat rusty handsaw. He took it to work and asked one of the old timers what was the best way to clean up his new saw. "Use it."

          9. Novy_7 | Mar 10, 2002 04:17am | #13

            *Ron, Too true, but the problem nowadays is paydays . On the other hand it vey much pays to use hand tools at times !

          10. Greg_Brown | Mar 12, 2002 10:11am | #14

            *When mitering I watch for the reflection of my pencil mark on the side of the blade- as you get your wood moved into position, your mark comes into the reflective view, when the mark on the wood & its reflection just meet your wood is in the sweet spot- gb

          11. Heck_ | Mar 12, 2002 03:43pm | #15

            *Ok,this thread really got me to thinking....so I polished up the side of my 25 year old skilsaw 77,and I went to work with it one day.After making sure that Jeff wasn't looking over my shoulder,I started cutting while watching the reflection......works like a charm!Crosscuts?No problem!Miters?Who needs a slide-miter saw?Rips?Awsome parrallelity!The crew is simply amazed at my new-found virtuosity,and the 10 alarm sunburn on my face!:-) jw

          12. Brian_Smith | Mar 13, 2002 04:50am | #16

            *rolling your own cigarettes, fixing your own car, drilling for your own water, plastering, door hanging (vs prehungs), ...brian

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