Track-Saw Mitered Returns
A way to make cutting stair treads for mitered returns easier.
Cutting stair treads for mitered returns is difficult. The round sawblade has to make a perfect square-bottomed 45° cut into a very expensive piece of roughly 12-in.-wide tread stock. I found my track saw did the job on all the treads at once without any tearout or splintering, and without much setup or worry. First, I clamped all the treads together — noses up — and aligned the tops. Then I placed scrap wood on each side for the track-saw clamps to grab. I clamped the saw’s track to the setup, set the depth of the cut, and made one pass with the saw set at 45°. To finish the treads, all I had to do was remove the waste with my 12-in. sliding miter saw.
Click here to enlarge illustration
— Pete Danelski, Kodiak, Alaska
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #268
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great tip