How to safely cut small wood pieces on a Miter Saw while keeping your fingers safe. Plus an easy hack to recut small pieces without a jig.
Safely Cut Small Wood Pieces With A Miter Saw
Today, I have 4 Tips and Techniques for How to Safely Cut Small Wood Pieces on a Miter Saw.
Including, an easy way for cutting small pieces of wood even smaller without making a jig.
This is how I safely cut small pieces of wood when making my own DIY scrap wood wall art. I always end up needing small wood triangles, squares, and lengthwise cuts for my designs.
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These are handy tips for any beginner woodworkers still getting used to safely using a Miter Saw.
Before we get started, always remember to follow the safety guidelines in the manual on your Miter Saw too.
And, always let your Miter Saw have a couple seconds to get up to full speed before cutting. Then, lower the blade arm in a clean, steady motion.
Now, let’s get to those tips for How to Cut Small Wood Pieces on a Miter Saw. 🙂
Table of contents
Cutting Small Pieces of Wood Safely with a Miter Saw
Safety is key when cutting small pieces of wood. The safest way to cut small wood pieces is to figure out how to make the small wood cuts while it’s still attached to a longer piece of wood.
This is a lot easier to figure out when you can use a pencil to mark your angles and cuts before making any cuts on your Miter Saw.
Then the final cut to get your small piece of wood will cut the piece away from the larger piece of wood.
So, if I need a triangle piece, I cut my first angle on the end of a long enough board to keep my hands safe. Then I finish the triangle with the second angle cut that removes the small piece from the longer board.
How To Make A Small Piece of Wood Smaller
Sometimes you need to cut a small piece of wood even smaller with a Miter Saw.
This can be tricky and dangerous if you don’t know how to safely hold the small wood piece down without putting your fingers need the blade.
There are a bunch of different ways to safely cut small wood pieces smaller. Some people like to build jigs, some will use hold down sticks. Both work.
But, this is the one I use most often. Just because I can generally set it up quickly.
Start by taping the small piece you want to cut to another longer board with the same thickness. Use painters tape so that it doesn’t leave residue and removes easily.
You might need to cut a matching angle on to the longer board to completely secure the small piece with tape.
Once the long board is taped to your short board, place a second long board over both pieces. That top board will let you hold the small piece safely in place when you cut it into a smaller wood piece with your Miter Saw.
You can place the top board over the line you need to cut on the bottom board. But it will be harder to line up the cut, if you can’t see your pencil marks. I usually prefer to keep that top board slightly to the side so I can still line up my cut.
Make sure that the part you will cut OFF is the smaller side of the cut. That way you can hold down the largest side of the wood piece with the top board.
How to Cut Small Pieces on a Miter Saw – Video
If any of the tips and techniques for How to Safely Cut Small Wood Pieces on a Miter Saw are confusing, I highly recommend watching this video.
Hopefully seeing how I do each of these techniques can help clear up any confusion. You can find my Dewalt Miter Saw here on Amazon.
How to Cut Arrow Points or Pointed Ends
This one is easiest when you use pencils to mark your angles and cut lines too.
To make a centered point on the end of a board, mark a straight line across the board with a pencil and a square. Make sure it’s far enough from the end to make your point.
That straight line you cut is your guide for lining up your cuts.
Start with a 45-degree angle on one side of the saw. Once that cut is made, switch to the 45-degree angle on the other side of the saw OR flip the board to make the next cut.
If you use the pencil mark guide, you should have a perfectly centered point.
Can you Make Lengthwise Cuts with a Miter Saw?
Yes, you can make lengthwise cuts on short pieces of wood with a miter saw.
You can set up a quick safe cut using painters tape and 2 scrap blocks of wood. Just make sure the scrap wood blocks are large enough to keep your hands safely away from the saw.
The bottom block needs to be the same thickness as the piece you want to cut. And, it will be easier to do a lengthwise cut when the 2 scrap blocks are also similar length to the wood you are cutting.
So, if you want to cut lengthwise on a 6″ long piece, use 2 pieces of 1×6.
And, don’t forget, the one on the bottom should be the same thickness as the piece you want to cut. So that the top board can apply even pressure across the piece you want to cut.
Recap Of The 4 Tips For Cutting Small Pieces of Wood
- It’s safest to cut small wood pieces off of the end of long boards. So plan the piece you need to be the off-cut on the board.
- You can use painter’s tape and 2 scrap blocks to set up a way to safely cut a small piece of wood even smaller.
- Pencil marks and squares make cutting arrow points and off-center arrow points easier.
- You can cut short pieces of wood lengthwise with a Miter Saw using painters tape and 2 scrap blocks.
That’s it for this tutorial on how to safely cut small wood pieces with a Miter Saw.
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And, if it is time to Stain your Front Door, check out these steps for how I restain a front door without stripping it or removing it. 🙂
Feeling inspired? Now that you’ve read these tips for How to Cut Small Wood Pieces on a Miter Saw, you can do it too. Let me know if you have questions.
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