What Is a Compound Miter Saw?

A compound miter saw is a bench-mounted power tool with a tilting circular blade. They are most often used to cut wood, although metal, masonry, and plastic can also be cut with a compound miter saw. This article will explain further what is a compound miter saw.

Furthermore, compound miter saws are used to change the angle of the face of a board relative to its edge.

Different blades may be installed on the machine in order to meet the cutting requirements of different materials. A blade guard is essential safety equipment for a compound miter saw, but accidents can happen even when blade guards are installed.

Types of Compound Miter Saw

There are three types of saw that fall under the compound miter saw category; a standard compound miter saw, a dual compound miter saw, and a sliding compound miter saw.

Standard Compound Miter Saw

Compound miters saw blades swivel along the vertical axis and tilt along the horizontal axis. The blade of a standard compound miter saw tilts only in one direction, usually to the left. To cut bevels in the opposite direction, you must change the way the board is presented to the saw by flipping it end over end.

Dual Compound Miter Saw

Dual compound miter saw blades also swivel along the vertical axis, but they tilt in both directions along the horizontal axis instead of just one. You do not need to change the way the board is presented to the blade in order to make bevels in opposite directions.

Sliding Compound Miter Saw

A sliding compound miter saw blade is mounted on rails, and can be moved closer to you to accommodate wider pieces of stock. It can perform crosscuts as well as make miters and bevels.

Speaking of bevels, miter saws also come with options for single bevel and double bevel.

Compound Miter Saw Sizes

Compound miter saw size is communicated by the diameter of the blade. The most common sizes for compound miter saws are eight, ten, or 12 inches.

Smaller models are fairly portable, but may be limited in the material they can cut. Larger miter saws become heavier and less portable, but have the power to saw through larger, denser lumber.

Larger compound miter saws tend to have more features, such as positive stops and electric brakes. Most dual compound miter saws are at least 12 inches.

What Can You Do With a Compound Miter Saw?

A compound miter saw can make crosscuts, miters, and bevels.

Crosscuts

When you cut straight across the grain, you are making a crosscut. Crosscuts can be made with handheld saws, but a power miter saw will be much more accurate.

Miters

When you angle the blade and cut across the grain, this is a miter cut. Any miter saw, including a compound miter saw, can make miter cuts.

The blade of a compound miter saw can pivot vertically, allowing it to cut across the wood at an angle.

The most common miter cut would be when cutting baseboards at a 45 degree angle.

Bevels

When you cut a slope into the face of a board, you are making a bevel cut.

The blade of a compound saw can also tilt to the left side along its horizontal axis, creating a sloping ramp in the face of the wood.

To create a ramp that slopes the opposite direction on a compound miter saw, you must flip the board end for end.

No flipping of the board is required if you have a dual-compound miter saw. This kind of a compound miter saw tilts horizontally to both the left and the right sides.

Compound Cuts

When you cut a slope into the face of the board and cut across the grain at an ankle, you are making a compound cut.

Compound cuts produce a bevel and a miter with a single slice.

Compound miter saws are able to make compound cuts because of their adjustable blades. The blade rotates in two directions: vertically and horizontally. Dual compound saws require less adjustment of the board.

Sliding compound saws can handle wider material compared to non-sliding options.

What Is the Difference Between a Miter Saw and a Compound Miter Saw?

The difference between a miter saw and a compound miter saw is that a compound miter saw can safely cut bevels into wood, while a regular miter saw cannot.

Regular miter saws can swivel from side to side, making angled cuts through the face of your board.

A compound miter saw can also swivel from side to side, but it has an additional capability that the regular miter saw does not. Compound miter saw blades can tilt along their horizontal axis, presenting an angled blade to the face of the stock.

This allows compound miter saw blades to cut bevels, miters, and make cross cuts. A miter saw can only make crosscuts and miters.

The best miter saw for beginners probably doesn’t need to be a compound version, as you can get started with just miters and cross cuts. But as you start to need to make bevel cuts, you’ll need a more robust miter saw that is a compound version.

Conclusion

A compound miter saw has a blade that swivels and tilts. It is used to make angled cuts into the face of wood. It can also be used for metal, masonry, or plastic, but you must choose the right kind of blade. A compound miter saw differs from a miter saw in that it can make bevel cuts, which the standard miter saw cannot.