Changing the blade on a miter saw is a skill that you should definitely know as a woodworker.
If you’ve never changed the blade on a miter saw before, it can seem intimidating but as long as you follow the proper instructions, it’ll be no problem.
You may need to change the blade for a number of reasons such as if you want a different blade for a different job or if you just want to replace your old blade.
Quick Summary
In this post, we will provide a detailed explanation of how you can safely and effectively change the blade on your miter saw.
We will also go over the tools you will need as well as some safety precautions you should take before changing it.
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Tools and Supplies Needed
Before you actually start the changing process, it’s a good idea to get all your tools and supplies gathered first.
Gathering everything you need before you start the process will make it much more efficient. That’s because you’ll have everything at hand and ready to go.
Just imagine if you didn’t gather the tools and just started the process blindly. Every time you would need a different tool, you would have to halt the process in order to go look for it.
This will slow you down by a lot and make the process much slower than it has to be.
Hence, gather everything first.
The tools and supplies you will need to change the blade on a miter saw are:
- A screwdriver
- A 10-millimeter wrench
Thankfully, you don’t need a ton of tools to change the blade on a miter saw. You will most likely have these tools lying around in your house. If you don’t, you should go out and buy them before you start to change your blade.
Some Safety Precautions
Safety precautions are extremely important and we’re disappointed to see that many woodworkers don’t take them seriously.
Always remember that you are working with extremely sharp blades that could really hurt you if you’re not careful.
Hence, it’s crucial to spend time preparing properly and taking all necessary safety precautions.
Some safety precautions you should take before changing a miter saw blade are:
- Wear some type of protection for your hands. These would be some type of thick gloves or protective padding that would protect your fingers while you take out the old blade and add in the new one.
- Wear some type of equipment that would protect your eyes. These would be some type of protective goggles or anything similar. Older blades will have dust and debris stuck in them that could be dislodged and go flying when you’re changing the miter saw blade.
- If you are inexperienced and have not changed a miter saw blade before, make sure to do everything very slowly. Take your time and try to do things as carefully and slowly as possible. There’s no rush.
- During different stages of the miter saw blade changing process, you will have to tighten things and exert a certain amount of force. During these tasks, make sure that you exert an appropriate amount of pressure. You don’t want to damage anything.
- Go through the instruction manual of your particular miter saw before you attempt to change the blade on it. There might be some important things regarding the miter saw that could help you out with the process.
- It’s okay if you are unable to change the miter saw blade. Many inexperienced woodworkers have issues with the process when they first do it. Don’t take it as a defeat and just get it changed from a professional, in that case.
Once you’ve taken all of the necessary safety precautions, you’re good to go. Follow the instructions provided in the next section to properly change your miter saw blade.
How to Change a Blade on a Miter Saw (Full Step-by-Step Guide)
As you’ll see in this section, there’s really not a whole lot to changing a miter saw blade. Most manufacturers have innovated over the years to make their miter saws extremely user-friendly.
As a result, most of the process for changing the blade is fairly self-explanatory. You just need to make sure you’re doing things in the proper order.
To change a miter saw blade, follow these steps carefully:
Step 1: Before you even handle your miter saw or conduct any changes to it, you must first ensure that it is completely powered off.
To be sure of that, just turning the miter saw off by clicking the power button is not enough. You also need to unplug it from its power socket.
It’s important to be sure that your miter saw is turned off during the process because obviously, otherwise, it would be extremely dangerous.
You don’t want to imagine what would happen if the miter saw accidentally turned on while you were handling the blade on it.
Step 2: After you have ensured that the miter saw is turned off and unplugged, you can begin the changing process.
The first thing you have to address is the blade guard of your miter saw. The blade guard acts as a shield between you, your hands and the miter saw blade. It covers the miter saw so that you don’t accidentally touch it during operation.
Obviously, to get the old miter saw blade out, you will need to get the blade guard out of the way.
For that, you will first need to identify the locations of the screws that are holding the blade guard in place. For most miter saws, locating these screws shouldn’t be that big of an issue.
You’ll be able to easily locate them just by studying and inspecting the blade guard itself.
If you can’t find the locations of the screws on the blade guard, it’s a good idea to refer to the instruction manual of your miter saw.
The instruction manual will most likely have some documentation or a diagram that tells you where the screws are located.
Once you’ve identified the screws that are holding the blade guard in place, go ahead and unscrew them with your screwdriver.
After all of the screws have been loosened, raise the blade guard up to reveal the miter saw blade underneath.
This is the blade that you need to remove.
Step 3: Once the blade guard has been raised, the next step is to locate the spindle lock.
The spindle lock is a lock that firmly holds your miter saw blade in place and prevents it from rotating. It’s usually located on the side of the blade.
Again, if you are unable to locate the spindle lock just by inspecting the miter saw, then you can refer to the instruction manual for its exact location.
You will need to push the spindle lock in while you are removing the old blade so that it does not freely rotate while you are trying to unscrew it.
Once you find the spindle lock, push it in and move on to the next step.
Step 4: Now, you need to look for a bolt cover that harbors the screw which holds your miter saw blade in place.
It’s the same deal with the bolt cover as with the spindle lock and the blade guard screws; Try to find it on your own just by inspecting and studying the miter saw. If you find it, great. If you don’t, then refer to the instruction manual for its location.
After you have located the bolt cover, use your 10-millimeter wrench to unscrew it and reveal the screw underneath.
Loosen this screw with your screwdriver until it comes out.
Please note that while you’re doing all of this, you need to have the spindle lock pushed in so that the blade does not freely rotate.
After the screw has been loosened, you can remove the old blade from the miter saw.
Quick tip: If you have some machine oil available, it can be a good idea to add some to the inner flange when you remove the blade from the miter saw.
It’s not necessary but it’s definitely worth doing if you have access to some motor oil. It will increase the longevity of your miter saw and maintain its performance.
Step 5: Once the old blade has been removed, put it in a safe place where it can’t accidentally injure anyone.
Now, take your new blade and add it into the same spot where you removed the old blade from. Right now, you need to look for where the spindle lock is so that you can lock the blade into place.
Once it attaches to the spindle lock, you will hear an audible click or some similar sound that will let you know that the blade has been successfully attached. The nature of the sound will depend on the model and manufacturer of the miter saw blade.
Once the blade becomes attached to the spindle lock, push the spindle lock so that the blade becomes fixed in place and does not rotate.
Now, insert the screw back into the socket and tighten it with your screwdriver. Add the bolt cover and tighten it with your 10-millimeter wrench.
Make sure to exert a moderate amount of pressure when you are tightening the screw and the bolt. You don’t want to over-tighten anything as that may result in you damaging the screw, the blade, or even the miter saw itself.
Step 6: Your new blade has now been installed into your miter saw. The only thing left to do is to return the blade guard to its original position.
Lower the blade guard back to its former position until it covers the new miter saw blade and protects you from it.
Add all of the screws back into their appropriate sockets and use your screwdriver to tighten them all.
Again, you must make sure that you don’t apply too much pressure at this stage while tightening the screws. You don’t want to damage anything.
After the blade guard has been installed, grab it and try to push it slightly to check its firmness.
As long as it’s firm, you’re good to go.
Step 7: Test out your new miter saw blade to ensure everything is properly aligned. There might be a chance that your miter saw is not square.
To test that out, take a piece of junk board and add it to the table. Make sure it’s sitting firmly at the fence so that it does not move around when you cut it.
Turn on your miter saw and let the saw blade reach full speed first. Once it’s at full speed, lower it down into the piece of junk board until it goes beyond it.
Turn off the miter saw and let the blade come to a full stop. After that, inspect the cut with a combination square or a rafter layout square.
If the cut is accurate, then you’re ready to use your new blade with the miter saw. However, if the cut is not accurate, then you may need to square your miter saw again.
You can check out our guide to squaring up a miter saw for easy instructions on how to do so.
Once you square your miter saw, it’ll be ready for any job you want.
To Conclude…
With that, we’ve reached the end of our post on how to change a blade on a miter saw.
It’s a process that intimidates many newer woodworkers but it’s something that they will have to face sooner or later. After all, it’s an essential skill and something that you’ll have to do at some point throughout your woodworking career.
The best advice we can give you if you are new to this is to work as slowly as you can.
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