Miter Saw Maintenance: Checklist, Tools, and How-To

Miter saws require maintenance and inspections to ensure the saw is working properly, to prevent injuries, and to increase its longevity.

In this article, I will go over what maintenance steps you should take with your miter saw. Later on in the article, I will go over the maintenance tools you will need and how to perform the maintenance task.

What miter saw maintenance should you do

Clean dust ports, hosing, and dust collection
Clean tabletop blade cavity
- Gap in the tabletop that the blade falls into
Clean tabletop and fence
Clean clamping and vise features
Make sure knobs and levers are secure and functioning correctly
Make sure safety features are functioning correctly
Inspect electrical wires

The first step in maintaining a miter saw is to clean the saw. You will want to clean out the dust ports, hosing, dust collection, tabletop blade cavity, tabletop, fence, and clamps and vises. I will go over how to clean a miter saw in more detail in the “How to clean a miter saw” section of this article.

The next step in maintaining a miter saw is to make sure everything is functioning correctly and there isn’t any sign of damage to safety or electrical equipment. The main areas of the saw that you should inspect are the knobs, levers, clamps, vises, safety features, and electrical wires.

You should make sure the blade guard falls down correctly and the limit knobs work correctly.

What miter saw maintenance tools do you need

Air compressor or shop vac with thin nozzle
Soft bristle brush
Degreaser and wax
Mesh pads or steel wool
Rag
Engineer square

The air compressor and shop vac is used to blow or vacuum the dust out of hard to reach places. The soft bristle brush is used to dust and large particles, like wood chips. The mesh pads or steel wool is used with the degreaser to clean cast iron machinery. The rag and wax are used to polish and wax cast iron machinery.

For plastic and aluminum machinery, a rag and soapy water is used to clean the tabletops and fences.

How to clean a miter saw

Vacuum dust ports, groove, clamping features, and all surface areas
Clean with rag and soapy water

Vacuum dust ports, groove, clamping features, and all surface areas
Clean with mesh pad or steel wool and degreaser
Polish with wax and a rag

For all miter saws, you want to use a soft bristle brush to remove all large debris, like wood chips. Then you will use an air compressor or shop vac to remove finer debris and debris in hard to reach places. You want to vacuum the dust ports, tabletop blade cavity, tabletop and fence, and clamping features.

For plastic and aluminum miter saws, you want to use a rag with soapy water to clean the tabletop and fence.

For cast iron miter saws, you want to use a mesh pad or steel wool with degreaser to clean the table top and fence. Afterwards, you will need to apply wax with a rag to protect the cast iron.

How to calibrate a miter saw

Align miters using the fence
Align bevels using the bevel calibration

Align miters with fence

Set the miter gauge to 90 degrees
Unplug the miter saw, pull the blade down, and lock it in the closed position
Check squareness with an engineer square
If not aligned
- Loosen the screws in the back of the fence
- Flush the fence to the engineer square
- Tighten the screws

You should align your miters using the miter saw fence to ensure you get true cuts. To check if your miter saw needs alignment, set the miter gauge to 90 degrees, unplug the miter saw, pull the blade down, and lock it in the closed position. Then, take an engineer square and press the right edge against the fence and the blade. Make sure the engineer square is not touching the teeth of the blade.

If there is a gap, then the fence is not aligned. To align the miter saw fence, loosen the screws in the back of the fence, flush the fence to the engineer square, and then tighten the screws.

You will want to align the fence on both sides of the blade, as one can be aligned and the other misaligned.

Align bevels using the bevel calibration

Place digital angle protractor along the tabletop and blade
If not aligned
- Adjust the bevel screws accordingly

Cut two work pieces at a set angle
Take one workpiece and flip it
Align both angles and look for any gaps
If not aligned
- Adjust the bevel screws accordingly

Most miter saws have positive stops at 45, 36.5, and 43 degrees. To check the 90 degree angle of the blade in relation to the table top, place an engineer square on the table top and press it against the blade. Make sure not to have the square touch the teeth as it can throw off the measurements. Any gaps will show that the blade is not squared and should be adjusted using the bevel adjuster.

Some miter saws have bevel screws that can be lengthened or shortened for calibration purposes. So you will only have to calibrate to one of the positive stops and the other angles will be true.

There are two main ways that you can check the bevel calibration of the miter saw. The first way is by using a protractor and placing it along the tabletop and blade just how we checked the 90 degree angle. The second way is by cutting two 45 degree angles, flipping one, and placing it against each other. If the miter saw is calibrated, the wood will be flushed and flat. If not then, lengthen or shorten the bevel screw to adjust it accordingly.

How to check miter saw safety features

Ensure blade guard drops
- Lower and lift the miter saw blade and make sure the blade guard winds back and drops in a timely manner.
- A blade guard that fails to drop can cause accidental injury to the user
Ensure clamps are secure
- Test all of the clamps and vises to make sure the wood is clamped with enough force
- Clamps that are not secure can lead to the wood shifting mid-cut. This can ruin your workpiece and worse, cause injury.

How to store a miter saw

Mount to tabletop
Store in drawer

Mount to tabletop

My favorite method to store a miter saw is to mount it to a tabletop. I have a miter saw stand as a permanent storage solution for my miter saw. This method works so well because you do not have to worry about cord maintenance and storage and it is very accessible.

To mount a miter saw to a tabletop, you will need to screw the miter saw into the tabletop using screws and the screw holes in the sides of the base.

Store in drawer

If you are not able to mount the miter saw to a tabletop, you can also store the saw in a drawer. Miter saws are fairly big and heavy, so you will need a drawer or shelf that can support it. Miter saws can range anywhere between 20 and 50 lbs, depending on the size, features, and functionality.

Aside from finding an area where the saw can fit, you also want to properly store the cords to prevent future electrical issues. When storing a miter saw, it is best to lightly wrap the cord around the handle.

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