Great advice for the DIYer who's not gonna buy the upgrade. Attaching the board to the standard guide and adding painters tape is great information.

I’ve been an active woodworker since about 1967. Last year i popped over $200 for a fancy miter gage. Wish i hadn’t. All those built in stops, scales, and a bezillion degrees notches are not necessary and seldom used. I got along without them for over fifty years; don’t need them now. KISS

@henryskinner1092

6 ай бұрын

KISS is almost always best.

@MR-si1eq

6 ай бұрын

I'm not far behind you. I started in 73. My digital gauge works just fine. Matter of fact I had to use it to set that gauge. 😂😅

@Aaron-nj4ou

6 ай бұрын

I agree but the stock one for that saw which I own is complete and utter garbage. I have blue painters tape on the bar to take out the slop. I haven’t been able to part with the money for an upgrade yet.

@a9ball1

6 ай бұрын

I have the same saw and also use painters tape. But I'd say it's not that bad for a cheap miter gauge. I also put a board on it. It's way better than the miter gauge that came with my belt/disc sander. It is made of plastic.

@donzero4944

5 ай бұрын

hahaha Same here….3 layers of blue painters tape

You're free "10 WORST POWER TOOL MISTAKES!!" was very helpful. Thank you.

Thanks for making this tutorial as I was wondering if I should invest in a different miter gauge and you gave a lot of great ideas. Thanks again for sharing your skills.

Absolutely agree about the mitre saw over a mitre gauge for DiY. For woodworking I think a sled is better for crosscuts than a mitre gauge if you are only worried about 90 degree cuts.

Always click on your videos. Your delivery is superb and never a wasted word! Awesome information and advice!

This was a very unbiased, informative video. Well done, Ethan. I have a Ridgid R4512 table saw. I used to have a hand-me-down Craftsman miter saw but once I made a cross-cut sled for my table saw, I ditched the miter saw, as I hardly ever used it anymore. I had a project re-doing our stairs and being able to get good variable angles (because we all know there is nothing square about a set of stairs) was a must. I bought a digital angle finder, which helped, but I really wanted something more solid to use on my table saw so I bought the Incra V27 miter gauge. I added a piece of Powertec extruded aluminum to use as an extended fence on my new miter gauge as well. It is 3" high x 24" long, and has T-track up and down both sides, on the top as well, and has an engraved ruler on the top. Suffice to say, I don't even use my cross-cut sled anymore. Your advice about what to do, based on experience level and where one would like to be, was very spot on. I knew I wanted more accuracy but I didn't have to break the bank doing it. An occasional DIY'er with a table saw doesn't necessarily need to upgrade their miter gauge and you showed great solutions to compensate for the shortcomings of stock miter gauges. For someone like me (DIY'er/hobbyist woodworker), I only spent about $120 and got an accurate replacement with a lot of features, which you also clearly explained. The solutions are out there, from painters tape and a piece of scrap wood all the way up to the Rolls Royce of miter gauges. This video did a great service to all levels of DIY'ers and woodworkers who are looking at miter gauges.

Thanks for the advice Ethan. I considered buying an aftermarket miter gauge but for now I think I'll stock with what I have. I do intend to build a sled which you didn't mention. It'll cost less than most add one anyway! I love your down to earth videos! 😊😊😊❤❤❤

Ethan, that's a great take on mitre gauges - particularly for DIY enthusiasts or newbies. The bottom line: most folks will get on just fine with a stock gauge if they tune it up and get an angle gauge, I did so for years. Still, as a woodworker, I would never give up my Jessem mitre gauge (accuracy + quality).

@dwalsh3469

6 ай бұрын

It seems to me that most DIY enthusiasts or newbies just don’t know what they don’t know. If I knew then what I know now, I could have bought cheap tools and made them work for the stuff I needed to just get done, accurately.

Great video. I am a DIYer / hobbyist and couldn't justify the cost of some of the miter gauges out there and although I felt an upgrade was necessary after retiring and increasing the frequency I was in my shop I didn't want to go into hawk, I decided on the Incra V27. I later added the 18" fence with the stop block making the total spent under $200.00. I'm happy with the setup and didn't break the bank. However, I absolutely agree with you on every point made in the video, from the stock miter gauge, how the miter saw is a better investment instead, assuming you don't have one, as well as the modifications that can be made to the stock miter gauge, which I did prior to getting the Incra setup. Thanks again for sharing and look forward to all your informative videos.👍

your channel is BY FAR the best for explaining stuff

I have a 10" contractor version table saw, It is about 8 years old. I bent the bar on my miter gauge. I thought about replacing it, but never did. My miter saw became my go to, and had fairly good luck with that. I think the digital angle finder sure would help me there. Thanks for this information Ethan

Thanks Ethan. Nice info to know. I have a few mitre gauges from different saws but I was never comfortable using them so I don't. Now I can try it.

Always informative and easy to watch!

Always enjoy your show, your advice, hints and ideas are spot on with a diyr like me. 👍🏼

I'm a man of few words. I like your mindset, and appreciate your knowledge. Thanks!

Thank you for sharing.🙏

Good video, I ironically cover this exact miter gauge upgrade in my video setting up a table saw. I would highly recommend upgrading the miter gauge even for a DIY’er. I do think you can get a great miter gauge for under $100. 👍

Thanks for all the info and tips.

I bought an Incra V27 about 10 years ago and can't think of any reason to upgrade. It is accurate with easily set angle stops, and comes without a fence, allowing me to use my own (like you suggested, a piece of plywood does a great job, and can be replaced without a thought.) An added benefit for me is that I don't need to worry about running an aluminum fence into the blade on my Sawstop, causing an expensive and unnecessary brake activation.

Great honest information as always. Thanks and well done!

The Dewalt miter gauge was perfect fit for my Bosch Router Table. I too attached a sacrificial fence on it, for when I needed to shape the ends of a work piece. It was cheaper than buying a fancy coping sled from Rockler.

I'm new to table saws. Bought an 8" Dewalt. This works very good for most of my needs. It came with one miter. To make it better, I bought a second miter from Dewalt. Connectef an 18" x 4" high wood board to both miters. Now, i have a push sled.

as an occasional DYIer thank you for this video. i have a ridgid jobsite table saw with a flimsy miter gauge so i don't use it. you showed us that it can still work by simply modifying with a piece of wood and a angle ruler! what a great idea. save me $$$ ❤❤❤

Nice practical advice, thanks

I used the stock gauge with a supplimental fence for years. I recently splurged on an Incra 1000, and realized that I should have done it years ago. It’s been a tremendous upgrade

Great stuff! I ended up getting the Incra v27.

thanks Ethan

Excellent. Thank you.

Thanks for great tips as always!

Great advice. Thank you!

Thank you so much! That was soooo helpful!!!

Thanks for this video. I think I'll modify my included miter gauge first and get that angle finder.

some real insights here as always and excellent advice - many thanks...

Excellent tip. Thanks!

That is very smart about adding a board and tape. And sounds like the angle finder might end up in my stocking this Christmas!

good one. thanks for the simplistic though vastly improved ideas. much appreciated

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

Thanks cool!

Thanks Ethan, good advice.

Fantastic video. Will gladly follow the link when purchasing. Thank you

As always good advice sir 😊

Thanks much for these wonderful ideas. 👍

Your videos are some of the best I have watched. I ended purchasing the hitachi miter saw, makes work so much simpler. I have a good system now using both saws.

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 ай бұрын

That’s awesome to hear, smoke stack! I really appreciate the support 🙂

🤗 THANKS ETHAN,GREAT ADVICE FOR THE NEW AND EXPERIENCED 👍💚💚💚

To solve the accuracy and adjustability problems Ethan talks about, roughly six months ago I opted for an Incra V120 miter gauge for my DeWalt 7491. ($104.95 directly from Incra.) The gauge provides 120 one degree positive stops, an adjustable T-bar and tremendous accuracy. To that I added a glulam sacrificial fence with a pair of T-tracks dadoed in, one on top and one on the face. They carry 1) a brutally strong and stable Katz-Moses stop on the top rail and 2) one or two clamps on the front rail when needed. I have found that I so seldom use clamps on this rig that the next time I replace the sacrificial fence I probably won't bother with the T-track on the face. Using straight, flat glulam stock for the fence I get all the accuracy the Incra miter gauge can provide, but I can replace it when it gets too chewed up. And as Ethan notes, the wood doesn't mar the table top.

Good video, thanks

I just watched your 10 most dangerous power tool mistakes. I am very glad that I’ve watched it. I’m new to wood working, this weekend I was working on a project with lots of miter saw cuts. I’ve cut 5.5 inches on a 45 degree multiple times and every time I cut it was very scared. Thanks to your video I would never this again 😅.

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

Thank you! There are ways to create hold-downs for the miter saw, but I'll have to do full videos on that. It's such a tricky topic. Best to cut from longer stock if no safety apparatus is present. I appreciate you watching!

Miter saws are to cross cuts as table saws are to ripping. Great video!

Totally agree with is post! Pithy, on topic, and, ...wait for it.... honest. Thanks, buddy!😀

Very helpful. I have the same table saw. It's not a $1K+ model, but it does a very good job for us non-professionals.

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

I love this table saw, Richard! Best job site saw on the market 🙂

good info

You are good teacher I will listen to you all day everything you is so clear and very accurate back in the days when I was in Colombia college never see those things please make more videos is good thanks my friend I said hello from London 🙏

@TheHonestCarpenter

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, Diego! Will do 😄

Very interesting. I said right off the bat to use your chop saw, and then you said the same thing. As for accuracy, if I need something more accurate than the chop saw, I will set a sine bar on my mill. Perhaps the sine bar could set up on the saw. Don’t know, never tried it. But then I must admit I think more like a machinist than a woodworker. It is fun to work with the wood at times. Good excuse for a whole ‘nother line of tools.

Great advice on mitre gauges. Basically, don’t spend your bucks on the upgrades unless/until you can really benefit from it. Keep in mind that you can easily get sucked in with all the features of an upgrade, but it’s important to really think about what features are actually necessary for the way you work.

Amazing and multi dimensional comparison 👏 👌 🙏

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

Thank you, Renovator! 🙏

I took the stock model miter gauge with a sliding miter fence, using a t-track to attach it. Works like a champ. The trick was dialing in the angles - that took some trial and error with a tri-square and protractor.

@carterscustomrods

5 ай бұрын

A digital angle gauge is your best friend!

@Erik_The_Viking

5 ай бұрын

@@carterscustomrods Yeah - that's on my list of tools to buy in 2024!

@carterscustomrods

5 ай бұрын

@Erik_The_Viking money well spent. Just know that I have 2 of them one was $45 with a name brand and the other $15 from GemRed on Amazon and they're identical lol. Also, the exact type of tool I'm talking about is called a "Digital angle Protractor" it's basically 2 rulers joined together, and it measures the angles between the two rulers. I didn't want you to be mistaken for a "digital angle finder" which is just a box that measures the angles if things. Both are great tools, but the protractor one either the two rulers... that's a godsend!!!

@Erik_The_Viking

5 ай бұрын

@@carterscustomrods Yes I know which one you're taking about. Definitely a step up.

I have a DWE7491 and found that just adding a piece of painters tape to the under and letting it come up the sides of the miter gauge helped a lot to begin with. I do have a question, can I use a dado blade in this saw. The arbor looks like it is too short to securely hold the blade and you sure don't that bugger coming out of there. I know where the blade comes through the deck would have to be changed. Hope you have a great break and look forward to your future videos.

Good stuff…

At 4:18 on this DeWalt model (and others, I'm sure) you have to sand the miter slot for slop free operation. I made a short video on how I did it using a piece of plywood and some sandpaper. Now I have ZERO slop when using an incra miter gauge.

Hi, how about nail guns? Which is the must have and most universal...

I added an out feed table. I used a 4' folding pvc table. To get the desired height, I added 1/2" pvc pipe that i cut to the right height. My out feed table saw is now the same height as my table saw. I use bungee cords that I attached to the bottom of the legs. One bungee cord is stretched tight between the short side legs. Do this for both the front & back legs. This takes the "wobble" out of the folding table. I use clamps to snap up and attach my out feed table to my table saw table. My garage is my workshop, so once I've finished, everything needs to be put away so my wife's car can come back in the garage. One has to do what one needs to do to make it work.

Great tutorial -Ethan. As always. You really do such a great thing by these videos - esp. safety which I always appreciate. Now, one thing you didn't mention is this -> those wooden fences you can attach to a built in miter gauge, well, you know. Wood warps. Expands, etc. So it's accuracy is always questionable with time. I have always had to deal with this with cross cut sleds. They ALWAYS lose their accuracy with time no matter how good a job you do with a protective finish. The curse of wood. Still, even with frustrations that's my go-to tool for cross cutting on a table saw. You can do dado cuts and so on so it has a lot of versatility - but, I also agree, unless you build furniture -> don't waste your time. It's a hard thing to get really super accurate and it never stays accurate with time. But, as you say, woodworkers are obsessed with accuracy. It's SO true.

I've been at this a while and you've said a few things in only 10 minutes that feel like eureka moments.

As a machinist, I don’t see a need for serious accuracy for woodworking, unless you’re a very niche woodworker. Construction work for sure doesn’t require that much accuracy & most DIY stuff, like mentioned in the video is good to have .0156” (1/64”) is perfectly fine & about the most accurate needed. If you need smaller tolerances than that, you’re likely using the wrong medium for the project or you just get close & sand down to where you need, I favor the former as .015” is stupid accurate for woodworking. Get a good miter saw all the way; it will be simpler & more efficient.

I just beef up the stock gauge with t-slot extrusion. $20 in materials and you can get the quality functions of the higher priced gauges.

Why didn't I think of adding some painters tape to the cruddy miter gauge that came with my Skil tablesaw???? Thanks again Ethan! another great video.

Great ideas! Can you please do a video on a good miter saw and what to look for or avoid. Thank you

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

Thank you, Outdoor! I’ll definitely try to cover that topic in the near future 🙂

Due to lack of space I can't have a table saw so I purchase a sliding compound mitre saw. At the time I had to get a low end budget one which doesn't have the detents set for the common cut angles and that is a massive pain in the argh sole. I would suggest to *never* get a mitre saw that doesn't have the indents you can just click into especially the 0° cut. I have had to purchase a digital inclinometer and a set of engineer squares so I can return the blade back to 0° each time. The extra I have forked out would have allowed me to purchase a sliding compound mitre saw with the indents at a Black Friday sale. _Caveat emptor._

its the tight fit your paying for. and the selector notches. i spent 47 quid for one off bangood that had great reveiws from using it on a dewalt 7845 table saw. i found that there was plenty of slopppy play in the mitre t track and on the right t track there was little play, and with the right t tracks little play the angle was off by 2 degrees

Great content.

I haven't touch mine since I made a cross cut sled with rails for stops, guides and clamps.

Really enjoy your channel. Thank-you very much. A suggestion for your store: a Tshirt that says something like “NOT a Carpenter” for those of us who are less gifted or less skilled. Frankly, I’d wear that, but I would not presume to wear one that says ”Carpenter”.

👍👍👍.Thanks

Angle finder. Gotcha. Getting a new Skil, Tuesday!

That Dewalt is a ton better than the one that came with my Dewalt. Mine is loose in the slot and terrible plastic. I have sleds and jigs I mainly use. Have been considering an upgrade.

I just bought a miter guage for my dewalt 7480 and I just realized I only have 6 inches in front of the blade to start cut. So frustrating that the dewalt has such a short table in front of blade

I don't own a Miter Saw (Too expensive) so I wouldn't have much use for a Gauge but I appreciate the video, since it never hurts to learn something new. 👷🏿‍♂️

@jasoncarey2092

6 ай бұрын

The miter gauge is for a tablesaw

@user-em6ie2be7x

6 ай бұрын

@@jasoncarey2092 I saw a Miter Saw in the video too.

@jasoncarey2092

6 ай бұрын

@@user-em6ie2be7x yes he was saying instead of spending big money on an elaborate miter gauge to just get a miter saw

A lot of pro wood workers make their own cross cut table slides almost or entirely out of wood, basically a second table that completely slides over the table saw. They're cheap, super simple to build and can be adjusted for accuracy very easily.

Buy that nice model for the adjustment system and ditch the metal plate for a piece of sacrificial wood. That would give the benefits of the angle presets and being able to see the cut line.

To be fair, the DeWalt miter gauge you have is far from the worst of the included ones. You might get away with upgrading the DeWalt; however, there are some that defy any kind of improvement. They have way too much slop in the track, unreadable increments, and move easily even when supposedly tightened down. A miter saw is fine if you're doing basic crosscuts. However, for dados, rabbets, groves, and finger joints a quality miter gauge is invaluable. These are basic to simple projects like drawers, night stands, boxes, or cabinets which is not advanced woodworking. Some of these cuts are possible on a sliding miter saw, but those cost twice as much as that Metabo. The cut capacity is also much more limited The Incra is excellent for the price. Wnew has a very nice one in that price range.

@fernard8985

5 ай бұрын

Can’t you simply do dados,rabbets on a crosscut sled?

@ST-0311

5 ай бұрын

@@fernard8985 You can if: 1. You take the time to make an acccurate sled. 2. The sled is deep enough fro the stock you want to use.

My DWE7492 (EU version) has an adjustable fence on the miter gauge. Yours looks like it is missing that.

I was looking for a miter gauge for my second hand table saw and I was shocked by the price. Its just a compass on bar. But, you turned me on to the crosscut saw. I don't really want to buy more tools, but I need to make 45 degree cuts. They have a Delta chop saw with laser for 166 bucks. Grandpa used to swear by Delta.

Purchased a Kreg many years ago. Love it !

Stock mitre gauges are often out-of-square -- not 90 degrees between the gauge fence and the rail. This should be one of the first things you check when you take your new saw out of the box. And unfortunately, this is usually not fixable because it is based on the holes drilled into the rail and fence that screws them to each other. You can sometimes workaround it if you use a sacrificial (wood) fence that you carefully shim into square, but this is not ideal.

I would love to see you come up with an infeed table for the dewalt!! I would buy those plans!!! 😉

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 ай бұрын

I’ll give it a shot if I get a chance, Lisa! 😆

I got the same Fulton miter gauge for the same reasons. It's excellent, can be used as accurately as any Incra, has a nifty fence & stops, and is reasonably priced. A strip of UHMW tape on the bottom lets it slide easily without scratching. Highly recommended.

@keith7630

6 ай бұрын

I have the Fulton miter gauge, too. It’s very accurate and priced right.

Oh wait... Something not mentioned here is storage. My DeWalt has a really handy place to store the stock one. If I bought one (I won't but) then I'd have to figure out where it will live in the limited space I have.

I am a little confused! Which is not normally the case after your pieces. Kindest Bob England

I would say....the upgrades to the cheap freebie pay for themselves allowing you to spend the money you would have spent on other tools that can't be DIY duplicated on the cheap. I'm even thinking of adding some T Tracks to some hard board so you can use the same backing and replace the sacrificial wood on the front OR to set aside pieces that you will use from time to time again and just mark where the t track position is.... like a go to jig. I'm on a shoestring budget and there are times where I have tried to duplicate a tool and have spent more time than it would have cost me IF paid per hour at my job to just buy the tool outright and have it....instead of using all the remnant wood pieces to make something that didn't work out...😅🤣😂 But this is how we learn sometimes... We learn the hard way....that somethings just don't turn out the way we think it should...

I would stay with my oem miter gauge if it has a usable lregth guide bar.

Crosscut sled - am I dead to you?

a good carpenter can use the supplied miter gauge with a few tweaks just fine. Your best tool is 6" behind your eyes.

The price of an after market jig...

thanks for saving me at least 50EUR :D

I hardly ever use those so no I'm good. I'll use miter saw instead for those cross cut as I use that alot more then table saw.

I calibrated my miter saw, as soon as I got it.

@billm.8220

6 ай бұрын

I did this as well. It was off by a couple of degrees. Now It makes perfect cuts.

@Normal1855

6 ай бұрын

@@billm.8220 The one I bought, had reviews saying that it was difficult to calibrate. I didn't find it hard at all. It took about 15 minutes. But in the long run, it was worth it.

Its kinda absurd that a construction site saw & the included miter gauge don't fit perfectly. Being a basic accessory is understandable, but it should be well complemented/machined.

@TheHonestCarpenter

6 ай бұрын

It’s not too bad, karma! Probably wouldn’t even throw you off half a degree. Probably just their tolerance so it’s unlikely to stick, which can cause bigger problems 😬

You can also make a table saw sled. The DeWalt saw is such a puzzle because they really nailed the design of the fence - it is being copied by competitors - so why not nail the design of the mitre gauge too? Why are their design engineers so uninspired?

If I get cuts within.032 I’m happy

If the"tool companies" were smart, they'd market their tables saws sans "mitre gauge" (I'm Antipodean; so my spelling of "mitre" is correct for my zone), with a range "add-ons" from low to expensive. The low cost (with better quality and functionality than their current "recycle bin junker") & (extremely) high cost versions would be their best sellers (supermarket maxims)

better yet- build a sled.