Cutting Compound Miters; Cutting Crown Molding - Black & Decker BT1400 Operating Instructions Manual

desired. Once the desired bevel angle has been set,
tighten the bevel clamp knob firmly.
Bevel angles can be set up to 45 degrees left and can
be cut with the miter arm set between zero and 47
degrees right or left.
Quality of Cut
The smoothness of any cut depends on a number of
variables. Things like material being cut, blade type,
blade sharpness and rate of cut all contribute to the
quality of the cut.
When smoothest cuts are desired for molding and other
precision work, a sharp (60 tooth carbide) blade and a
slower, even cutting rate will produce the desired results.
Ensure that material does not creep while cutting, clamp
it securely in place. Always let the blade come to a full
stop before raising arm.
If small fibers of wood still split out at the rear of the
workpiece, stick a piece of masking tape on the wood
where the cut will be made. Saw through the tape and
carefully remove tape when finished.
Keep both feet firmly on the floor and maintain proper
balance. As you move the miter arm left and right, follow
it and stand slightly to the side of the saw blade. Sight
through the guard louvers when following a pencil line
Clamping the Workpiece
Turn Off and Unplug Saw
If you cannot secure the workpiece on the table and
against the fence by hand (irregular shape, etc.) or your
hand will be within 6" of the blade, a clamp or fixture
must be used.
Other convenient clamps such as spring, bar or C-
clamps may be appropriate for certain sizes and shapes
of workpieces. Use care in selecting and placing these
clamps and make a dry run before making the cut.
Support for Long Pieces
Turn Off and Unplug Saw
ALWAYS SUPPORT LONG PIECES
For best results, use an extension work support to
extend the table width of your saw. Support long work-
pieces using any convenient means such as sawhorses
or similar devices to keep the ends from dropping.
Cutting Picture Frames, and Other Four Sided
Projects
To best understand how to make the items listed here,
we suggest that you try a few simple projects using
scrap wood until you develop a "FEEL" for your saw.
Your saw is the perfect tool for mitering corners like the
ones shown in Figure 8, which shows a joint made by
setting the miter arm at 45 degrees to to miter the two
boards to form a 90 degree corner. To make this type of
joint, set the miter arm to 45 degrees. The wood was
positioned with the broad flat side against the table and
the narrow edge against the fence.
As the number of sides changes, so do the miter
angles. The chart below gives the proper angles for a
variety of shapes.
(The chart assumes that all sides are of equal length.)
For a shape that is not shown in the chart, use the
following formula. 180 degrees divided by the number
of sides equals the miter.
No. Sides
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Cutting Compound Miters

A compound miter is a cut made using a miter angle
and a bevel angle at the same time. This is the type of
cut used to make frames or boxes with slanting sides
like the one shown in Figure 8.
NOTE: If the cutting angle varies from cut to cut, check
that the bevel clamp knob (10) and the miter clamp
handle (4) are securely tightened. These knobs must
be tightened after making any changes in bevel or
miter.

Cutting Crown Molding

In order to fit properly, crown molding must be mitered
with extreme accuracy. The two flat surfaces on a given
piece of crown molding are at angles that, when added
together, equal exactly 90 degrees. Most, but not all,
crown molding has a top rear angle (the section that fits
flat against the ceiling) of 52 degrees and a bottom rear
angle (the part that fits flat against the wall) of 38
degrees.
9
- Examples -
Angle Miter
45°
36°
30°
25.7°
22.5°
20°
18°