Miter saw not cutting straight

Possible reasons why the miter saw is not cutting straight

The fence and blade are misaligned

Check the alignment between the blade and the fence. Unplug your saw, and place a speed square between the saw blade and fence. Align with both. If these are not square, every cut you make will be off. The fix is easy since it is in your user manual. Sometimes you need to adjust the screws in the back of the fence.

The Miter saw blade is warped or damaged.

Some inaccuracies in the cut with a miter saw can be caused by the saw blade itself. If you have been using the mounted saw blade for a long time, it might be the cause of the miter saw not cutting straight. Due to long-term use, the saw blade has large fluctuations in temperature and stress from the blade’s speed and the wood’s resistance. After some time, that causes the blade to warp and develop a wobble. If the wobble is severe, it can result in uneven cuts on the workpiece unevenly.

If that is the case, replace the blade with a new one. That way, it restores the accuracy of the cut for your miter saw. Check first if the saw blade is warped, and unplug the saw. Make sure it is visible enough. If the saw blade is warped, there will be inconsistency in the shadows on the saw blade as it turns.

If the blade has not been installed, or not tightened enough, the blade wobbles as it spins, allowing it to wobble on the saw hub. That will cause the blade not to spin true, resulting in inaccurate cuts. To avoid this, re-install the saw blade correctly.

The Miter saw bevel gauge is misaligned.

When the saw blade is angled to make the bevel cuts, you rely on the accuracy of the bevel gauge on the saw for the correct angle for the cut. The bevel gauge alignment can be inaccurate due to the movement of the machine or if the miter saw has sustained an impact.

The gauge can be inaccurate in a new machine out of the box. The saw gauge may be misaligned if the miter saw had a rough time during transit. The saw tool has a procedure detailed in the manual on how to realign the bevel gauge to restore accuracy in the angle of the cut. Since all saws are different, consult the user manual to establish the correct procedure for your miter saw.

The Miter gauge Is misaligned.

The bevel gauge of your miter saw can become misaligned, causing inaccuracies in these types of cuts with your saw. When making miter cuts to build frames that need to be squares, such as picture frames, window frames, or other framing work, you can notice the fault.

If the miter gauge is not aligned, the angles of the cut will be off. When you assemble your project, problems arise. That is why you cannot get the frame square. To avoid that, realign the miter gauge to restore accuracy. The user manual that came with your miter saw should have instructions for the performance.

The workpiece is not clamped when cutting bevels

If the workpiece is not clamped well, the saw might not cut straight when making bevel cuts. When setting up the bevel cut, the head of the saw is angled to the angle you need for the bevel. As the saw is lowered to cut, the angle of the saw with the spin of the blade, draws the workpiece in towards the saw blade (Ceratizit.com).

That results in the workpiece shifting during the cut. Even small movements of the wood will result in inaccuracies, and the cut will not be straight and true. To prevent this problem during the bevel cut, ensure the workpiece is secured to the saw table.

Clamp the piece to the back fence or the base plate of the table using C clamps. Sometimes holding the wood in place with your free hand with a crosscut does not work for a beveled cut. The force the blade pulls the wood in is more than you can resist with your strength.

Sliding miter saw not cutting straight.

Amongst the reasons why your miter saw may not be cutting straight is that the blade might be warped, damaged, or not installed correctly. The bevel gauge on the miter saw may be misaligned or the miter gauge. 

Make sure the fence is clean, and the material can sit squarely on it, otherwise it will not cut straight. The saw blade should be sharp and does not need to be cleaned or replaced.

Miter saw 45 degrees off.

If you cannot get the miter joint to close, it is because you cut one piece too long or too short, or the blade itself was not perpendicular (90 degrees) from the base. That makes it a compound angle cut, even if that was not your intention. 

Hercules miter saw not cutting straight.

Check if the fence is perpendicular. Before using the tool, a guard or damaged part should be checked, to determine that it will operate properly and perform its function. Check for alignment of moving parts, binding of moving parts, breakage of parts, mounting, and any other conditions that may affect its operation. Repair a guard or other part for straight cuts.

The Circular saw not cutting straight.

A circular saw is not cutting straight due to a poor saw blade, sliding workpiece, warper saw blade or loose or dirty blade. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the saw parts, but less practice and experience may be the reason. A straight-cutting problem can fix by using a saw blade, lower cutting speed, clamped workpiece, and skills.

Ryobi miter saw not cutting straight.

Check the blade against the table for squareness using an engineer’s square or another quality square. The problem with the Ryobi miter saw is that the labels that show where 0, 22.5, 45, and 90 degrees are frequently are slightly off. That is why you may have your cuts off. Use a set of good squares, and engineer triangles of various angles to help your setup. Sometimes it takes the user to clean the blade for a straight cut.