My miter saw fence was off by a full 1/16 inch for 6 months

I finally checked my Dewalt miter saw with a square last weekend and found the fence was out by 1/16 inch on the left side. All my crown molding joints had tiny gaps I couldn't figure out. Anyone else ever had a factory fence drift over time like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

scott.grace27d ago

Six months of wondering why your crown molding looked like it was built by a drunk raccoon, and it was just the fence being drunk. A full 1/16th is crazy, I'd be so mad at myself for not checking sooner. My buddy had a similar issue with his Ridgid, but it was more like a 1/32nd over a couple years. At least you finally caught it, now you can go back to blaming your skill for the gaps like the rest of us.

the_spencer27d ago

Actually something people miss with those dual bevel saws is the play in the bevel lock mechanism itself. Even if the fence is square, if the locking lever has a burr or the detent plate has worn unevenly it can throw the whole cut off by that 1/16th without you knowing. I had a DeWalt that did this and it took me swapping the entire pivot assembly to fix it. The fence being off was just one part of the problem. You might want to check if the saw sits flat on the table top too because a warped base can mess with the angle in a way that looks like a fence issue.