My Craftsman Power Miter Saw Cuts Off While Cutting

Power Surge

• If you’re using the Craftsman power miter saw during a thunder or lightning storm, it’s possible that a power surge has tripped the circuit breaker. A circuit breaker prevents power surges from flowing through connected electrical devices and causing damage. When a large surge of power attempts to flow through the breaker, the breaker automatically trips, causing the electrical circuit to open and stop the flow of electricity to the saw. The breaker can be reset to restore electrical flow to the outlet that powers the Craftsman. When you locate the tripped breaker, the breaker switch will be in the “Off” or middle position. After the switch is flipped back over to the “On” position, the Craftsman is ready to receive power again.

Amperage

• A Craftsman miter saw that constantly loses power during a cut might not be supported with the correct type of wiring and breaker. A breaker and its wiring can handle only a set amount of electricity. If the breaker’s amperage grade isn’t high enough to support the electrical demand imposed on it by the miter saw, then the breaker will trip and the miter saw will lose power. For a permanent fix, you should contact an electrician to install a breaker that can handle more amperage for the miter saw.

Hot Wires

• The Craftsman power cord and the wires connecting the outlet to the breaker are covered with insulation to prevent live wires from touching each other. Should two live bare wires touch each other, the power load increases and causes the circuit breaker to trip. This situation is also very dangerous, as it could potentially start a fire. If you see damaged wires at any point from the miter saw unit to the circuit breaker, immediately shut off the circuit breaker and contact an electrician for repair.

Multiple Outlets

• Unplugging other electronic devices from outlets supported by the same breaker will temporarily fix the problem of a Craftsman miter saw that loses power during operation. Sometimes circuit breakers support more than one power outlet; they can each support a whole section of the home, in fact. If several tools are plugged into the outlets supported by the breaker and are in use, then the breaker’s power load will be exceeded and the breaker will trip. You can unplug items for a temporary fix, or call an electrician to divide the power load and install more breakers.