Miter Saw Angles Past 45°

Cut Past 45° on a Miter Saw With a Hot-Glued Sacrificial Fence

intermediate Tools: miter saw, hot glue gun

▶ Watch the instagram video by @anikasdiylife

The Problem

Miter saws stop at (or a little past) 45 degrees, and plenty of projects don't — a 60-degree corner on a planter, a steep splice, a decorative frame. The saw's detents give no direct way to get there, and freehanding a steep angle on a marked line is how fingers end up close to the blade.

The Technique

Shift the saw's whole reference frame by 45 degrees with a sacrificial board:

Hot-glue a piece of scrap board flat on the miter saw's table, in front of the fence, spanning where the blade passes. Hot glue holds firm and pops off cleanly later.
Set the saw to 45 degrees in one direction and make a cut into the scrap.
Swing to 45 degrees the other way and cut again. Pull out the wedge the two cuts free up.
Register your workpiece against one of those 45-degree cut edges instead of the fence. The saw's zero is now effectively 45 degrees, so the scale adds on from there: set 15 degrees on the saw and you're cutting 60; set 30 and you're cutting 75.
Any angle out to 90 degrees is reachable this way. When the job's done, pop the scrap board off the table.

Pro tip: The glued board earns its keep even at one fixed odd angle — cut both 45s anyway, and you can work off either edge without re-gluing when a piece needs its mate cut mirrored.

Safety note: The workpiece now bears against a short glued edge, not the full fence, so clamp or hold it firmly — a steeply angled piece wants to skate along the cut edge when the blade enters. Keep your holding hand well outside the blade path.

▶ Watch the instagram video by @anikasdiylife

Cut a 90° Pocket Jig to Reach Angles Past Your Miter Saw's 45° Limit

intermediate Tools: miter saw, carpet tape

▶ Watch the instagram video by Casey Finn

The Problem

A miter saw's table swings to roughly 45° left and right and no further. That covers ordinary corners, but trim and moulding work throws steeper angles at you — odd-angled walls, sharp returns, acute corners in older houses that were never square to begin with. Set the saw to its stop and you still can't reach the cut, and freehanding it isn't an option on a finish piece.

The Technique

Rather than trying to make the saw swing further, this jig changes the angle the workpiece sits at — and the saw builds the jig itself.

Stick a straight piece of 1×6 trim board to the base of the miter saw with double-sided carpet tape. It needs to sit flat and not shift.
With the board taped down, cut into it at 45° from one side. Swing the saw to 45° the other way and cut again. The two cuts meet to form a 90° pocket — a V-notch — in the board.
Because the saw cut that pocket, it's referenced to the saw's own geometry: bring the saw back to zero and the blade path bisects the 90° pocket at exactly 45°.
Set your workpiece into the pocket with an edge against each face of the V. It's now presented to the blade at 45° instead of square.
Cut. At the saw's zero mark you get 45°, and swinging the saw off zero adds to the 45° the pocket already gives you — which is how you reach angles the saw can't get to on its own.
Test on scrap and hold it against the real corner before cutting finish material.

Pro tip: The accuracy comes from the jig being cut by the same blade that will cut your workpiece. You're referencing the saw against itself instead of measuring and clamping a fence at an angle you worked out separately, which is where the error usually creeps in.

Pro tip: Cut a test piece and hold it in the actual corner rather than trusting the number. Walls in older houses are rarely the angle you assume, so it's faster to dial the setup in against the real opening.

Safety note: Carpet tape can let go, and a jig that shifts mid-cut is dangerous. Press the board down firmly, and check it hasn't crept before each cut. The pocket also puts the workpiece — and your hands — in a different position than usual, so lower the blade with the saw off first to see exactly where it travels, and keep both hands well outside that path.

▶ Watch the instagram video by Casey Finn