How to Cut a 45 Degree Miter on a Table Saw

Cutting a 45-degree miter angle can seem like a daunting task if you only have a table saw. Miter cuts are needed to fit corners of baseboard, crown molding or finishing trim around windows and doors. A miter saw is the ideal tool for those projects, and you may choose to rent one. But you can cut a perfect 45-degree miter using your table saw, and fashioning a jig using a miter gauge and a drafting triangle.

Safety glasses
Gloves
Miter gauge
Drafting triangle
Rip fence
Small clamp
2 by 4 block

Instructions

- 1
  Set the blade of your table saw all the way up so you can square the widest part of the blade.
- 2
  Attach a miter gauge to your table saw. Carefully align the gauge to make it square. Place one side of a 45-degree drafting triangle against the blade. Align your miter gauge to the other side for a perfect 45-degree miter.
- 3
  Lower the blade to the correct height you need to make the cut.
- 4
  Attach an auxiliary rip fence onto the miter gauge by screwing it into the two holes of the miter gauge. Use short screws so the ends of the screws do not penetrate all the way through the wood. The right side of the fence should run a few inches past the saw blade. This keeps the wood from slipping if you need to make multiple cuts.
- 5
  Clamp a small 2 by 4 wood block onto the fence so that one end of your wood piece rests against it. This helps to stabilize the wood to keep it from slipping.
- 6
  Measure and mark the piece of wood you need to cut. The bottom edge of the wood is placed close to the blade.
- 7
  Turn on the saw and allow it to warm up for a few minutes. Push the wood piece through the saw blade until the entire thing is cut.
- 8
  Turn off the saw and wait for the blade to completely stop before removing your wood piece.

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