Miter saw acting weird (re-titled thread)

[Steve in Nova Scotia]

Not me.....



This whole thread has a sunk in it...somewhere.....

[Stwood_]

 

...................

[KingwoodFan1989]

I'd rather fix it (20 minute fix?) than deal with boxing the darn thing up, getting the del man to get it picked up, then have to await another saw, unbox and set that one up.
Now if it was totally foofoo'ed, yea I would send it back.

Yes, it isn't exactly a small item to re-box, lol. I'm not sure what I'll do if the second fence doesn't end up right. I will be surprised if it isn't, and moreover, very disappointed. I can still try forcing the fence to bend into flat and locking it down, but I hope to not have to.

I know many on here will probably consider me a bit off my rocker for thinking this way, but on a personal level, for some reason I can't quite identify, there's just something that bugs me on a very deep level about having to do surgical mods just to get a tool to do a basic operation that is used on a nearly constant basis with that tool. I almost feel principled against the idea of having to do it outside of special setups...I know one or two people have pointed out that the standards for the framing industry aren't up to par with what more precise woodworking requires, but even if rough construction is the industry these companies cater to most, I don't think they should use that as their bullseye...there are plenty of us, amateur, professional, and everything in between, who depend on these saws for great accuracy (including myself), and I don't know how anyone could sell tools with any pride if their aim is just to be within the tolerances of rough construction, if indeed that is their aim. 

Maybe I need to get over my pickiness a bit, but at the end of the day, I like to have tools that not only work well for me, but that I can recommend to others unreservedly. If I'm having to mod something like that for what, in my opinion, should be a basic function, I'm not going to get both of those. I know this does require more time and energy, but it's worth it for me. I hope I don't sound like TOO much of a snob here (haha), but it's just how I feel for some reason.

[Stwood_]

Very understandable. I like tools that work *out of the box* also. And most have over the years.
But, I've been a mechanic/machinist/welder/fabricator most of my years also, so I have that *fix it* tendency.

[KingwoodFan1989]

Very understandable. I like tools that work *out of the box* also. And most have over the years.
But, I've been a mechanic/machinist/welder/fabricator  most of my years also, so I have that *fix it* tendency.

Thanks for the understanding...I can be a pretty difficult person at times, so it's nice to see I haven't rubbed too many people the wrong way, hahaha.

And I know the method of getting a part to work without mods isn't the most time efficient method if it doesn't do so right out of the box (since you have to wait for the new part to come vs. machining it in a day or two), but if this new fence that comes works well, I can safely tell others that although I had to get a replacement part sent, I (and they) can be pretty confident that it was just a fluke. Plus can use the words of others (such as you, the one earlier who said their Milwaukee with the same style fence worked well, etc.) in conjunction with that to show that it's a solid tool in and of itself. Thus, others will feel safe in buying it (or something like it) as well and likely have it be good out of the box! I can even share my experience to help others solve their problem instantly rather than having to wait a day or two to figure it out, provided they do experience the same thing I did. That's all worth spending the extra time on this to me.

[daddo]

I would offer to mill that down but finding a way to properly clamp that fence down would involve more than I'd want to handle and a surface grinder is a better machine for this.

If you don't return it, I would find a machine shop with a good surface grinder to get it done, then it would be within .0005"

[EdL]

Cutting a fence in half isn't rocket science, nor is it  major surgery.

If I didn't tell you what I did on mine, you would never know it.....make the cuts so you leave a cast wall on each side, clean up with a file, done.

You can clamp, pull, tighten and adjust all you want, it won't hold long term.

Ed

[KingwoodFan1989]

Cutting a fence in half isn't rocket science, nor is it  major surgery.

If I didn't tell you what I did on mine, you would never know it.....make the cuts so you leave a cast wall on each side, clean up with a file, done.

You can clamp, pull, tighten and adjust all you want, it won't hold long term.

Ed

Sounds like my best option for me, then, based on that last statement, is to try to get a new fence sent and go from there. And as I said in a previous post, it's more the principle of having to do a mod like that than the practicality of it that's my issue (though it's worth saying that I'm not trying to judge those who do decide to do these types of mods). It should have been in the right shape (literally and figuratively, haha) out of the box. I know stuff in shipment happens and flukes happen, but it seems most miter saws other than the newer Hitachi and Bosch ones use this same fence design (including the ever-expensive Kapex by Festool), so I'm beginning to think more and more that I just got unlucky. Yeah, the one piece fence isn't the most adjustable thing in the world, but if that shape works for Festool it can't be all bad. 

Sorry to be so stubborn about this, and I'm not trying to throw anyone's advice back in their face, I promise. The main point of this thread was trying to see why I was experiencing the problem I was, and that's been solved. From the beginning, I was principled against the idea of doing any sort of mod like that, easy or not. I just care about the quality of the tool in and and of itself, and this, in part, is a quality control test on my part, both for my own mind's ease and for the sake of helping others find a saw through my own recommendation(s). The question I'm asking myself at this point is this: did I just happen to get a flukey fence, or is it something that's too widespread to be counted on a majority of the time. The quality of the replacement fence will at least point me towards one of those answers.

[CLETUS]

Cutting a fence in half isn't rocket science, nor is it  major surgery.

I had that same thought. I see 2 options, have the fence surface ground or cut it in half.

[Stwood_]

Temporary fix until he can obtain a new fence.
 

It ain't like the clamp/bolt idea is trying to push a 15 ton block of iron.
It's only to keep the fence in square so you can tighten the screws back down.

If you don't know, you can loosen 2 screws on one side or the other and push that fence into square with your thumb.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.