
We are pleased to introduce the miter jack saw, a tool meant to be used in conjunction with the miter jack vise. We worked with professional saw maker Brian Noel (Bearkat saws) who made these saws especially for us. The design is unique as the saw is designed to be used in the horizontal plane to cut tenon shoulders and other trim work. With the workpiece clamped in the miter jack, or a similar work holding device, both sides of a tenon shoulder can be cut in one set up, ensuring a gap free joint all around. Angled tenons and half lap joints can also be easily cut, along with cutting miters on small parts.
A great example of how this saw can be used with a shop made tenoning frame can be found on the blog of Jeff Miller. The tenoning frame works in a similar fashion as the miter jack for sawing purposes, and is pretty straight forward to build.
The saw is 14″ long and double sided, with one side having a shallow cutting depth of 1/2″, and the other side cutting 1 1/2″ deep. For tenon shoulders, being shallow in most cases, the 1/2″ depth can be used for maximum blade rigidity. The saw plate is .025 thick, and filed at 13 ppi. The teeth are set at a 30° which allows it to cut equally well in either direction. This is necessary when flipping the saw around to cut the opposite shoulder of a tenon. Handles are maple, finished with two coats of Minwax Antique Oil finish.
The saw has a 1/4″ thick spacer on the bottom to keep the blade up off the reference face. A gauge block can easily be made the same thickness as the spacer. Jeff Miller shows how he made one with a marking gauge cutter that works very well. See link above for more details on Jeff’s approach. Alternatively, the 45° corners on the saw plate can be used as a visual guide for setting the height.
Price is $199. In stock and ready to ship.