My miter saw fence gave out halfway through a big crown molding job

This happened Tuesday morning on a house in the West End. I was cutting a long piece of 5-inch crown, and when I brought the saw down, the whole fence shifted about an eighth of an inch. It turned out the plastic locking knob had cracked inside, so it felt tight but wasn't holding at all. I had to stop everything, drive to the nearest hardware store, and buy a whole new assembly for about $35. The worst part was I had already cut two pieces that were now useless because the angle was off. I keep a spare blade and drive belt, but I never thought about the fence hardware failing. Has anyone else had a small part on a trusted tool fail like that? What do you keep in your truck as a backup?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren9784d ago

That's rough, but honestly I'd just carry a spare set of those common plastic knobs now lol. Seems like the kind of thing that's bound to wear out.

kelly.parker4d agoTop Commenter

Remember my buddy who had that happen on a road trip? He lost a stove knob in a campground and had to use pliers to turn the gas on and off for three days. Totally proved your point, @wren978, about them wearing out. He ended up zip-tying a spare set to the inside of his gear box after that mess. Never leaves home without them now.