Why won't my miter saw cut all the way through my work piece?

Question

I have a cheap miter saw. When I saw something the blade does not go all the way through. The blade does not reach entirely between the fence and the bottom, leaving a part uncut. Is this a known problem? Can I adjust some settings on the saw to solve this? Is my saw blade too small?

In this picture, the blade does not reach the red part:

I also made a video of me sawing.

miter saw power tools

In this picture, the blade does not reach the red part:

I also made a video of me sawing.

Sjoerd · Accepted Answer

I couldn't figure anything out from inspecting the saw on the outside, so I opened up the saw. It turns out that the saw did not go all the way down because there was a lot of saw dust on the inside:

Graphus · Answer

Is this a known problem?

I can't say but the simplest workaround is probably to install a sacrificial fence to hold the pieces being cut far out enough that the teeth will exit the bottom inside corner. Like this:

WhatRoughBeast · Answer

You are not dropping the saw all the way. In your video, look at the underside of the movable arm. See the little tit sticking down on the left? That should make contact with the frame of the saw. Try looking at the position of blade with no wood in the saw and the arm all the way down.

Answered by WhatRoughBeast on December 29, 2020

JollyGoodTime · Answer

It almost looks like the fence that your board sits against while you cut, could be moved more towards the centre. It looks like there are holes for the fence to move forward. So you wouldn't have to make a sacrificial fence.

Answered by JollyGoodTime on December 29, 2020

Why won't my miter saw cut all the way through my work piece?

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