Miter Cuts for Dummy Woodworkers

DeWalt miter saw

You gotta love self-appointed freelance writers who are willing to tackle any subject (as long as they get paid). Well, actually, you don't... mainly because some of the utter bullpuckey these people have published is a stain on the internet about equal to so-called fake news. Yet these people still consider themselves "professional writers"! Take history graduate and "lifestyle" writer Tracie Harris, who we caught mangling the use of power tools in a HomeSteady.com post, "How to: 45-Degree Cuts Using a Miter Saw."¹ Pity the fool who thinks he or she will get useful information there...

It's not so much that Tracie's instructions are wrong, it's just that... they're lousy. Like most people, we'd rather get information about how to use dangerous power tools from someone who actually knows how to use them, not from someone who just reworded an instruction manual like Harris did. After all, what experienced woodworker would introduce miter saws like this:

"A common home improvement project using a miter saw is putting up crown molding that requires alternating 45-degree angles, which interlock to form a 90-degree angle."

We spotted three errors in those two sentences:

1. Putting up crown molding is not a "common home improvement project"; and it's definitely not a project for a beginner who doesn't know how to cut a miter!
2. We have no idea what "alternating 45-degree angles" might mean, but it sure doesn't look right.
3. Miters, Tracie, do not "interlock": miters are simply butt joints that aren't at 90 degrees. 

Tracie goes on to tell us that "For more complicated projects, there are more complex miter saws. For example, a compound miter saw allows for beveling." In fact, Tracie, a compound miter saw allows for simultaneous miter and bevel cuts. So there... anyway, Harris proceeds with her instructions, number 1 of which is "Choose the correct blade for the material to be cut." Really? Tracie makes a habit of changing blades on her miter saw? We doubt that... after which she explains how to set the angle:

"Adjust the miter latch to a 45-degree setting on the miter scale. The latch is located on the bottom of your miter saw. The scale is a circular ruler style mechanism with radial settings from zero to 90 degrees."

Ummm, no, the latch isn't "on the bottom" of a saw; otherwise you'd have to turn it upside down to adjust the angle of the cut. No to mention that you don't "adjust the latch," you rotate the cutting head with respect to the fence (a word left unsaid by this n00b). Oh, FYI, Tracie, that scale is much more likely to be 45° left to 45° right... and finally, Harris says to,

"Cut a scrap piece of wood to check the accuracy of your angle before beginning your project."

Really? she has so little experience with miter saws that she doesn't know they have detents to stop the rotation at the most common miter angles – such as 45°?

And she had the unmitigated gall to collect a stipend for writing this sort of bullshit, and Demand Media's vaunted "content editors" allowed it through and the site published it. Sometimes we wonder just who it is that should receive these Dumbass of the Day awards.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_7573297_45degree-cuts-using-miter-saw.html

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