Miter saw is widely used for many cuts such as cross-cut, bevel cut, and miter cut mostly. When you are using that you can observe some problems such as saw blade wobble. Miter saw blade is a rotational cutting tool and due to some problems its rotational path can be wobble. Let’s see why does a miter saw blade wobble?
Generally, the miter saw blade wobbles due to bad bearings, damaged outer flanges, damaged bushing, warped blade washer, bent saw blade, and losing miter saw blade. Wobble saw blade will cause to the wider cutting path and increase the tolerance
When we observe the reasons for the miter saws blade wobble, we can fix it successfully. So let’s see all in detail about a miter saw blade wobble and how to fix them successfully.
How to Identify Miter Saw Blade Wobble?
If there is a wobble in the miter saw we can identify that in two ways. We can identify it without switching on the miter saw as well as after switching on the miter saw.
- When you switch on the miter saw, if the saw balde thickness looks more than it was before will be a sign of the miter saw blade wooble.
- If the cutting path is wider than saw balde will be another sign of a miter saw balde wobble.
You can check whether the saw blade is wobbling without switching on it.
- You should mark the saw teeth with fixed point and check the distance variations. If there is higher distance variation it will be a sign of the miter saw blade wobble.
Reasons for Miter Saw Blade Wobble
when the miter saw blade is wobble we can observe burning marks in the cutting surface and sometimes you can smell smoke from the miter saw. Hence you must know the reason for this.
1. Due to Resonance
This is normal for the startup. We can observe this on many saw blades. Blade resonance occurs due to the blade hitting its natural frequency. When it reaches to high RPM this can be not visible. If the miter saw blade is wobbling at the high speed, you must check below parts and mechanisms.
2. Bad Bearings
The saw blade is fixed to the armature shaft end with bearings. There are bearings, washers and many small tighten equipment. If one of these fails it will affect the blade rotation.
Bearings are one of them. Normally bearings are used to tight saw blades with smooth blade rotation. If you need to reach the bearing you have to first remove the nut, outer flange, blade, inner flange and then bearing.
Due to bad bearings, you can observe smoke from your miter saw.
Bearing has metal balls. Due to the long time abrasions, it can abrasion and fail. If you are not able to lubricate the bearings regularly they will damage soon. If there is a problem with the bearing you should replace it with a new one.
How to Identify the Bearing Problem?
Normally, a bearing problem can be identified by its bad sound. if you can hear bad noise, vibrating badly the miter saw you must take a look at the miter saw bearing. If you work further with this kind of noise and movements you can see, the bearings have been seriously damaged. Sometimes it can damage the armature shaft also.
3. Damage Outer Flanges
Flanges are two types. Those are the outer flange and inner flange. Both are used for the same task to tighten the saw blade with a shaft. When the flange is not fully flat it will not contact the saw blade.
Not only fully flat, but it should also be a perfect 90 agle with the armature shaft. If there is no exact 90-degree angle it will be tight with the part with the saw blade. While the blade is rotating it will wobble. Hence make sure both flanges are perfectly 90-degree angle with the armature shaft and there is no cracking, warping, or any other damage.
You can check this by keeping both flanges surface to surface.
4. Damage Bushing
The bushing can secure the saw blade and inner flange. Bushing and outer flange can tight the saw blade well. When there is a crack, warp, and non-perpendicular with armature shaft it will cause to the miter saw blade to wobble.
Normally miter saw blade wobble can observe rarely. But it can affect the width of the cutting path directly,
5. Warped Blade Washer
Blade washer is used to tighten the saw blade to the armature shaft. Due to some reasons blade washer can be bent or warped due to human or manufacturing problems. Even you tight the nut this will not remove. As a result of this, you can observe the miter saw blade is wobble.
When you observe the problem you should remove it quickly and replace it with a new washer.
6. Bent Saw Blade
When you select a saw blade for your miter saw, is a careful task. Many kinds of saw blades are in the market with different qualities. Normally low quality saw blades can damage or bend easily. If there is any bend or deformation in the saw blade it can wobble easily.
Although you use a high-quality saw blade it can be damaged due to unexpected metal cuttings such as deeply penetrated nails. So any tooth can be bent. Due to the improper mass distribution wobble can be observed.
You can check the saw blade bending using a well-level surface.
7. Loose Blade
Miter saw blade should be well tight with the clamps and flanges. If this is not tight well it will move here and there. As a result of this, we can observe the miter saw blade wobble.
Make sure whether the blade is well tight after every repair or any replacing part.
Solutions for the Miter Saw Wobble
When you observe a miter saw blade wobble, you must quickly fix it. I have explained the reasons for the miter saw blade wobble above. After you identified the problem you must fix it step by step. The most important thing is finding the exact place and part. So after identifying the part you can fix it easily.
Bad Bearing Fixing
When you identify the problem is in the bearings due to noise and higher tolerance you should check for the bearings. If there is a problem with the bearing, you must replace it.
Damaged Outer Flange
If the outer flange is damaged or the surface is not smooth you can use a grinder to make the surface smooth. If the problem is not loved you can replace that part.
Damage Bushing
Due to some problems, the bush can be damaged. As a result of this saw blade can wobble. You can replace the bushing in order to stop the miter saw blade from wobbling.
Fix warp Blade Washer
You can buy a washer from the market. The best way is to replace the washer. It is a better solution than fixing it.
Fixed Bent Saw Blade
If the saw blade is bent once. I think it is useless to fix that. Because it has bent due to poor strength. most low-quality saw blades can bend badly. So do not try to fix it. You must replace it with higher strength one.
Loose Blade
When you fix everything after any repair or maintenance make sure the parts are completely tightened. You can use your hands and check this.
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