Miter Cuts On The Craftsman 3646 Miter Box

Under my last blog post, someone asked how well my Craftsman 3646 miter box did with miter cuts. I responded that I’d recalled making a test cut at 45 degrees and was pretty sure I was happy with it, but that I would make some more, just to verify.

When I went into the shop last night to take a few more pictures of the new saw horses (that blog post has been updated now, by the way), I pulled out the miter box and my miter saw and made a few cuts. I didn’t want to just cut one time and then flip half of the board to make a 90 degree angle, because that will obviously always create a 90 degree angle. Instead, I made one cut and then made a second fresh cut on the cut-off piece at the opposite 45 degree miter setting.

Then I grabbed what I believe to be the most accurate square I own* and checked the miter. For the record, this is fresh off the saw, no trimming with a miter plane (or any bench plane, for that matter)…

The wood is Spanish Cedar, which is why it is a little chippy on the edges, but I’m pretty satisfied with those cuts. Heck, this makes me down right excited! That there’s a nice miter! Makes me want to make a picture frame! But that will have to wait; I have two benches to finish up, first.

In any case, there you have it, Alan. I’ll be interested to see how well my Stanley 150 miter box does when I finally get around to restoring it. I’m very impressed with my Craftsman 3646, though, so the bar is set high!

*This is one of the few tools I own that I did not buy for myself. It was a gift, from my loving wife, on my 40th birthday last year. Yes, I am blessed with an awesome son AND a great wife! And if I didn’t think she occasionally read my blog, I’d post a picture of what I’m getting her for her very-special-but-unnamed-birthday this year. I think it is just as nice, if not nicer.