An exception to the blade-width rule is the sliding-arm miter saw, which comes with a handle that can be pulled outward while the blade is spinning to make a longer cut-up to 16 inches long. The wider blades are necessary for cutting wider material, such as siding planks and large crown molding. Miter saws come in eight-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch blade widths.

Since a miter saw is operated by lowering a spinning blade, it cannot make a cut that’s longer than the width of the blade. The width of the blade defines the length of cut on a miter saw. Cutting bevels on a table saw is an advanced carpentry technique woodworking newbies will be more successful using a miter saw. The blade on a table saw can be adjusted from beneath the table to cut on a bevel as well but, like cutting angles, cutting bevels is also more challenging on a table saw. Beveled cuts are used mainly in trim work to allow for seamless transitions when installing trim in corners. In addition to cutting off the end of a board on an angle, the head of a miter saw can be tilted laterally to cut a bevel at the same time, creating a sloped edge instead of a flat edge. Photo: Miter saws are great for cutting bevels. RELATED: 7 Strong Types of Wood Joints Worth Knowing

For this reason, miter saws are a staple of the trim carpentry industry, as they cut the complex angles necessary for installing trim and crown molding It’s more difficult to cut angles with a table saw because the user must position the wood at the correct angle and hold it steady while feeding it through the spinning blade.

The head of a miter saw can be swiveled from side to cut any degree angle necessary. The verb “miter” means to join two pieces at a 90° angle, such as the way the corners of a picture frame meet, and a miter saw makes cutting angles a snap. With a miter saw, the user places a strip of wood, such as a trim board or a siding plank, on a narrow base at the front of the saw, and then manually lowers the spinning blade (via a handle encased in a moveable head) to cut off the end of the strip. The user controls and pushes the wood, feeding it into a spinning saw blade in the center of the table, making it an excellent tool for cutting large pieces, such as four-foot-by-eight-foot sheets of plywood. Photo: Table saws are better at cutting large pieces of wood.Ī table saw features a flat table that supports wood as it’s being cut.

Dewalt miter table saw combo