I'm almost there... Outside miter joints (photos)

Have you considered making a 45* shooting board and using a hand plane to get them right on. I couldn’t get along without shooting boards.

-- Jerry

Run a search on LJ. You should get lots of advice…..... There’s a lot to making a miter joint perfect. But it can be done.

A good combination square will help in making the setup just right. How are you cutting the mitres?

-- Never trust a man in winklepickers

I’ve found it very difficult to do, myself…..and don’t claim to be very good at it.

But my best results seem to come when I cut the 45 and the take the other side (which will be a perfect supplimentary angle that measure exactly 180- the first angle) .... Then flip the cut off piece over and it make a perfect compliment (90-the first angle)

If the plane of the cut, is perpendicular to the plane of the board face, you get a tight miter.

-- Pine is fine, but Oak's no joke!

Sorry guys. I guess I didn’t really get my point across. I don’t have much of a problem getting exact 45 deg angles. My issue is getting two opposing 45 deg cuts on the same piece of wood that are EXACTLY the same length (inside to inside) as the piece of wood that it will frame.

-- We've got enough youth. Let's search for a fountain of smart.

What are you cutting on? They have to be the same length. Best thing is to set up some stop blocks.

Both pieces exactly the same, Saw Dust getting built up preventing you from being real tight against the stop block., are you holding by hand or clamp? Any slop in your sled or miter guage,

-- What we do in life will Echo through Eternity........

Perhaps I am missing something, but you need to be cognizant of the potential expansion and contraction of the maple. You have a cross grain situation that will force the miters apart or leave a gap depending on the moisture content of the pieces at the time of glue up. Based on your pix, I would say that what you want to accomplish can’t be done with wood. FWIW

-- Art