How to Cut Angles in Carpentry

Cutting angles in carpentry is done using a variety of different tools, but the most common is a miter box. A miter box attaches to your work bench and has grooves in the sides that guide where the saw, called a miter saw, goes. Miter boxes are extremely accurate tools that allow you to cut angles in practically any direction in a variety of sizes of wood. They are most often used for creating the precise angles necessary for doing trim woodwork.

Miter saw
Miter box

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the angle necessary for the cut. For instance, if you're attaching two boards at a 90-degree angle, you need to make two 45-degree-angle cuts. When the two cut boards are attached, the angles add up to 90 degrees. Some miter boxes give you a much wider range of cutting options.
- 2
  Place the wood to be cut at an angle in the miter box, and align the piece of wood with the cutting guide for the miter saw.
- 3
  Lock the wood in place with the clamps on the miter box. This may be a screw-type clamp or pegs that fit into holes in the base of the miter box.
- 4
  Place the miter saw into the necessary angle guide for your cut with the handle of the saw close to the miter box. Draw the saw back toward you, avoiding putting pressure on the saw. The blade teeth will cut the wood without additional pressure on the blade.
- 5
  Cut through the wood until the miter saw bottoms out. It won't cut through the bottom of the miter box. Release the clamp and remove the cut wood from the miter box.

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