Mitre saw work holding

[Windows]

What clamps do you use with your mitre saws? Currently using a screw clamp that came with the Bosch saw, but it’s not great. What kind of work holding are you all doing?

 

[AJB Temple]

I also use Bosch 12" mitre saw. I use the clamp it came with sometimes (slow and limited reach) a quick release variant (better) https://www.rapidonline.com/bosch-26080 ... 12-60-5443 and a black plastic long handled tripod holder which is very simple and works well (once you glue the rubber feet in) but now can't find anywhere in google searches.

 

[Trevanion]

I've got the clamp for my saw somewhere, no idea where though :lol:

However, for someone who isn't well-versed and comfortable using the machine I wholly support the use of them, dodgy cuts on the mitre saw is possibly one of the largest causes of DIY-related A&E visits where the work pivots and drags the operator's hand into the blade in fractions of a second. Although, many clamps are very poorly designed and simply exist as a token gesture to satisfy safety regulations and often only can grab what a hand could comfortably and safely hold onto anyway so it is worth seeking out better alternatives.

A vast safety improvement particularly when cutting smaller pieces is the use of a timber secondary "false" fence attached to main fences and cut through with the saw, this reduces the opening behind the blade to only the width of the saw kerf and reduces the chances of a smaller workpiece pivoting when being cut to near-zero. If you're doing a lot of repeat cutting and you cannot get a clamp near enough to the saw, you could screw a piston-type toggle clamp to the false fence and use that as your clamp.

 

[AndyP]

Festool Capex and the clamps that came with it.

 

[PAC1]

For small stuff This https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/fastc ... lar-stick/
For medium stuff the clamp supplied and for large stuff no clamp at all

 

[AJB Temple]

Ah, Peter has found the link to the same tripod I was referring to. :text-+1: I had to glue the rubber feet in on mine as they easily come out otherwise.

 

[Doug71]

I've had and used quite a few mitre saws over the years and the Festool Kapex is the only one I ever really use the clamp on. It's so fast to use, all the others seem to involve screwing things up and down but the Kapex one is just a single lever operation, really quick, I can't understand why the other manufacturers don't just copy the design. Think I remember seeing someone had altered the Festool one to work on a different saw, that might be an option?

I also have the FastCap 10 Million Dollar stick that other people mention for when I'm tempted to put my fingers too close to the blade, it does work okay but I think it would be better if the feet were a bit softer giving more grip, maybe the design has changed but the feet on mine are more hard plastic than rubber. Before I got the FastCap stick I would use a push stick or offcut to hold the piece which works okay.

And just in case you end up with two clamps don't clamp both sides at the same time, it probably won't end well!

 

[Windows]

Thanks for all the info. Yes, the screw clamp that came with the saw is slow to adjust and doesn’t reach very far so not ideal for smaller pieces and trench cuts, but I’m making it work by using it to hold additional pieces of wood that stretch across the piece being cut to hold it down. I am currently using temporary backer pieces against the fence to close the gap, but will replace with a zero clearance fence for vertical cuts and will experiment with some toggle vertical hold down clamps to supplement the provided clamp and see if I can get a Festool clamp working with the saw. The 10 Million Dollar stick looks interesting, but I’m currently clamping every single time and don’t plan on changing that soon and it looks like the stick is more of a handheld tool?

 

[AJB Temple]

The stick is only used for small items that you can't clamp. In general, if I think there is any risk, I don't use the mitre saw. The hand held stick does work, but it does need the long end to rest on something, so your saw table needs to be suitable. It works fine on the 12" Bosch as the table surface is adjustable. That said, I rarely use the stick.

I just about never use the clamp - for wide boards (which is what I cut most) I just hold them down by hand (well away from the blade - I have a "hand clear" mantra that I go through every time I turn any cutting tool on). If the work is hard against the fence on both sides of the blade, then it is not going to get dragged anywhere. The risk really arises with work that is not touching the far side fence. Then the blade can grab the work.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

In general, if I think there is any risk, I don't use the mitre saw.

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