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A mitre box or miter box (
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...
) is a wood working appliance used to guide a
hand saw In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and carve a wooden object. They usually operate by having a ser ...
for making precise cuts, usually 45°
mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
cuts. Traditional mitre boxes are simple in construction and made of wood, while adjustable mitre boxes are made of metal and can be adjusted for cutting any angle from 45° to 90°. In many workshops and jobsites mitre boxes have been superseded by the powered mitre saw, however advocates for mitre boxes argue that they are more accurate, safer, quieter, cheaper, and take up less space than a powered mitre saw.


Description


Basic mitre box

The most common and simplest form of a mitre box is a U-shaped block made from wood, plastic or aluminium, which is open at the top and the ends. The box is made wide enough to accommodate the width of the workpieces to be cut. Slots are cut in the walls of the box at the precise angle at which the cut is to be made. These slots provide the guide for the saw to follow. Most commonly, the slots in the mitre box are cut at 45° and 90° angles. While wooden mitre boxes are mass produced, being simple in construction they are often made by woodworkers themselves from three pieces of wood screwed or glued together. The slots are then cut using the same saw that will be used with the box. Wooden mitre boxes have a limited lifespan, as over time the saw wears away the sides and bottoms of the slots, reducing the accuracy of cuts. Some mitre boxes are fitted with guides across the top of the box to reduce wear on the slots and to provide rigidity to the box. Mitre boxes can also be purpose-made by the woodworker for cutting angles other than 45° or for cutting compound (sloped) angles, or they can be designed for securing a particular size of workpiece.


Adjustable mitre box

An adjustable mitre box is designed for cutting any angle from 45° to 90° degrees. Made of metal, they consist of a base, a
fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...
, and a mechanism for supporting a
backsaw A backsaw is any hand saw which has a stiffening rib on the edge opposite the cutting edge, enabling better control and more precise cutting than with other types of saws. Backsaws are normally used in woodworking for precise work, such as cutt ...
at the set angle. The workpiece is held against the fence while the saw is used. Historically a ''mitre saw'' is a type of backsaw with a wide blade designed for use with an adjustable mitre box, however the term is now more commonly used to refer to a powered mitre saw, which is a successor of the adjustable mitre box.


Use

As well as pieces of wood for use in joinery, the mitre box also sees common use in workshops and on jobsites for cutting various types of moulding. For precise work, a workpiece cut in a mitre box might then be further refined using a
hand plane A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood using muscle power to force the cutting blade over the wood surface. Some rotary power planers are motorized power tools used for the same types of larger tasks, but are unsuitable for fine-scale planing, ...
and shooting board.


Basic mitre box

The workpiece is placed in the box and the point at which the board is to be cut is lined up with the appropriate slot in the sides of the mitre box. The workpiece is then held or clamped in place. Backsaws are the most common hand saw used with mitre boxes, but other types of hand saw are also used. The saw is placed between the slots before sawing.


Adjustable mitre box

The workpiece is aligned with the saw and held or clamped against the fence. Depending on the mitre box design, the cut is then made with either a dedicated mitre saw, or another suitable saw that can fit between the guides.


See also

*
Bench hook A bench hook is a workbench appliance used in woodworking to hold a workpiece in place while crosscutting with a hand saw. A bench hook is a simple method used to improve accuracy and safety. Construction Bench hooks are simple in construct ...
* Shooting board *
Mitre saw A miter saw or mitre saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto a board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a back saw in a miter box, but in modern implementation ...


References

{{Woodworking Saws Woodworking hand tools Woodworking appliances