An instrument with an unusual name miter box is probably not familiar to everyone. People involved in the installation of interior doors are very familiar with him. The fact is that the miter box is a special device for sawing off wooden products and parts at various angles (usually 90 and 45 degrees). Of course, metal parts can also be sawn off in the miter box, but we do not recommend it, you can damage the fixture. As you already understood, the miter box is always used together with a hacksaw, which is used for sawing parts.
Types of miter box
In modern hardware stores you can find a wide variety of types of this tool, quite different in their characteristics and price.
Let's start the description of the possible types of miter box with the cheapest one.
1. Plastic miter box.
This type of miter box is currently the most common in modern hardware stores. A feature of this type of tool is that it is made of plastic, more precisely, its walls and bottom are made in the form of a hollow structure with a wall thickness of approximately 1 mm. At the same time, there are special slots for a hacksaw on the side walls. On the simplest design of the miter box, there are 3 slots on each wall (for cutting at an angle of +45 degrees, +90 degrees and at -45 degrees). On more expensive options, +60 and -60 degrees may also be present.
One of the walls has a slight vertical offset relative to the bottom. Thus, when the miter box is on a flat surface, the bottom is at an angle. This was done in order to be able to cut with a hacksaw not parallel to the surface on which the miter box stands, but at an angle, which is more convenient. The price of a plastic tool is usually 100 - 150 rubles.
As a disadvantage of this tool, it is worth noting that plastic is a fragile material. In the process of cutting through the material, the teeth of the saw cling to the side edges and gradually grind them down. As a result, the cuts in the side walls widen and the accuracy of the cut decreases. Another disadvantage is the extremely low rigidity of the plastic miter box. With strong pressure, the sluslo can bend, which will violate the cutting angles.
2. Wooden miter box.
Structurally, this type of tool is almost identical to the plastic counterpart. The difference is that the walls are not made of plastic, but of wood. Due to this, the rigidity of the miter box is much greater, it will definitely not bend when cutting parts. The abrasion of the edges of the existing cuts is almost the same as that of a plastic miter box. The tree is still much less durable than the steel of the teeth of a hacksaw.
The cost of a wooden miter box is much more expensive than a plastic one - 3-5 times more than plastic. It is unlikely that you will find a miter box for sale cheaper than 500 rubles.
3. Aluminum miter box.
This type of miter box, as the name suggests, is made of aluminum. The aluminum miter box has three cutting options (45, 90 and -45 degrees). On the one hand, this is a plus, since the material will not move during the sawing process, on the other hand, the cross section of the sawn workpiece is limited to 55x65 mm. For previous models, this size is larger. It is also worth saying that in terms of durability and reliability, this type of tool is far from the last place, since aluminum is much stronger than plastic or wood.
4. Hacksaw - miter box.
This tool is the best option, though the most expensive. It is a special design in the form of a swivel base together with a back saw fixed to it. This design allows you to rotate the saw at different angles and clearly fix the angle of cut. The saw is specially designed for high-quality, precise cuts. To do this, the saw has small teeth, reminiscent of something like a sheet of metal. The base of this tool is made of metal, which ensures the strength and durability of the structure. As advantages of this type of miter box, it is also worth noting the possibility of quick fixing of workpieces with eccentric clamps.
Well, in the end, we note such a disadvantage of a miter box hacksaw as a large amount of space required for storage. True, this is only in comparison with other described models.
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