Miters are joints, bevels are the cuts to make them. Depends on how you look at a board to see the bevel, it may be laying flat or on edge, either way the cut is a bevel.

 

This explains it best .....

This link has great illustrations:
https://mitersawhub.com/miter-cut-vs-bevel-cut/

 

This link has great illustrations:
https://mitersawhub.com/miter-cut-vs-bevel-cut/

Must be an echo in here, seems like I saw that link before, doesn't change anything regardless of how many times you post it.

 

And the significance of this discussion is????


George

 

And the significance of this discussion is????

Getting everybody on board with the same terminology.

- - - - -

Here is the simple way that I think of miters and bevels in my head:

A miter cut makes triangles on the top of flat stock.
A bevel cut makes wedges on the side of flat stock.

A miter joint is when you glue two triangles to form a 90 degree angle joint. The triangles may be formed from a miter cut (e.g., picture frame) or a bevel cut (e.g., box or cabinet corner). Note: Angles other than 90 degrees are also possible.

I have not heard of a "bevel joint."

 

Sarcasm won't make your posts better either

Here's the illustration from the link
https://mitersawhub.com/miter-cut-vs-bevel-cut/

Image credit here:
http://www.designsponge.com/2011/04/diy-101-building-your-toolbox-saws-part-ii.html

Now, if you look up the individual definitions of "miter" and "bevel" here's what you will find:
Bevel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevel
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bevel

Miter:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=miter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miter_joint
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miter

Both terms can be either a verb or a noun above.
The people who write dictionaries are not always woodworkers, so they may not have a total grasp of the word as used in woodworking, ... just sayin'

In the woodworking world where there are both table saws and mitersaws, the confusion begins.

Take the mitesaw for instance. You can lay the piece flat on the table and make a miter, the most common application. OR you can stand it up against the fence and index the blade at an angle and make a bevel. However, the vertical capacity of the saw will determine the length of the bevel ... saw blade diameter being the biggest factor. On a compound miter saw, you can also lay the board flat on the table and set the blade at an angle on the arm and make a crosscut at any angle creating a "compound" cut or at 90m degrees, just an ordinary bevel.


On the table saw some of same limitations apply, however to make a miter the piece is typically flat on the table and the miter gauge is indexed at the desired angle with the blade being vertical at 90 degrees. Similarly, the piece can be held vertically against the fence to create a bevel but only to the height capacity of the blade diameter. Typically, to make a bevel on the tablesaw, the blade is set over at an angle using the tilt control under the table. Now you can make a bevel of unlimited length using the rip fence.

Based on the illustration above, a bevel can be made across the width or down the length or at any angle crossing the width. A chamfer is a bevel that is stooped short of the full thickness.

Because of the depth of cut limitations of the blade diameter on both saws, bevels are typically made by tilting the blade on the table saw.
The sliding compound miter saw has a greater cross cut capacity, so it's more versatile, but is still limited. You would not use a SCMS to make bevels for cabinetry where the sides are 24" to 32" in dimension when the tablesaw is the tool for that operation.
However, for mitering and compound bevels on long lengths like cove moldings, you can't beat a SCMS on a stand with built in work support. The tablesaw is not the ideal machine for those operations.

There's a reason that well equipped shops have all 3 machines, A SCMS, a RAS and a table saw. Most shops start out with just a tablesaw, then add either a RAS or a miter saw when they realize that long lengths are not easy to control on a short miter gauge face. Then they add an extension to the face which greatly improves accuracy. My shop has a RAS, a tablesaw, a miter saw and SCMS. I have found that a simple compound miter saw, not a slider, is best for decking or framing where the boards are 5 1/2" or less. It's light enough to carry around and set up a support on horses or a work table. The sliders are almost 2X as heavy and not so portable.

"If you didn't find this useful, you should at least have found it interesting" ,a slight variation from Red Green's closing line"........
"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy". :vs_cool:


The reason for the thread is that some folks use the terms interchangeably, but they are not the same.

 

I have read the article and don't buy it for common usage.

To me a miter cut is for joining and a bevel cut is mostly used for non-joining and decorative purposes. There is a thin line between the two under certain circumstances.

If for example I build a 1 1/2" thick table top and want to bevel the top edge all the way around, that is , both along and across the grain by 1/4 ". I would say I have a beveled edge. Everyone speaking English would know what I was talking about. If I said I had a mitered edge I might just get some odd stares which, I am kinda used to anyway

If I was building a threshold, I would say that I beveled the edge and not say that I had a mitered edge.

 

That would be a chamfer .....

I have read the article and don't buy it for common usage.

To me a miter cut is for joining and a bevel cut is mostly used for non-joining and decorative purposes. There is a thin line between the two under certain circumstances.

If for example I build a 1 1/2" thick table top and want to bevel the top edge all the way around, that is , both along and across the grain by 1/4 ". I would say I have a beveled edge. Everyone speaking English would know what I was talking about. If I said I had a mitered edge I might just get some odd stares which, I am kinda used to anyway

If I was building a threshold, I would say that I beveled the edge and not say that I had a mitered edge.

As I stated above , a chamfer is a bevel that is shortened or stopped and does not go through all the way. You would not want a bevel that leaves an sharp knife edge on a table top. It is certainly not a miter. :vs_cool:


This guy calls a "bevel edge joint" a miter, an example of the confusion about these terms, but he tilts the blade over on the tablesaw making bevel cuts, to make a "waterfall" joint so the plywood glue lines don't show:
https://youtu.be/bi3MNw_qXK0?t=127
So, using two pieces with beveled edges, you can make a "waterfall" joint which is called a mitered joint ....... :surprise2: What confusion?




Here's the table saw showing the "bevel" adjustment control underneath. It's not called a miter adjustment control:

 

I'm going by what I consider common usage.
I dont think the general public would know what a chamfer is.

Besides, a chamfer can only be made with a chisel, that's why it starts with a ch. Now how's that for an argument? LOL
And as soon as I hit the "Post Quick Reply" button, you can say you read it on the internet

 

Chamfers are made with a chisel .....






Yes, if that's the only tool in the tool box. LOL.
You may have a hand plane?
You could use a chamfering bit in the router table?
You could use the table saw?


We are havin' this discussion on woodworkingtalk, not outside on the street for the general public, so that's why there are different opinions on the subject..... we are all experts ..... :wink:

 

If I said I had a mitered edge I might just get some odd stares which, I am kinda used to anyway

Or they may think you are referring to a waterfall type edge which would be attached with a mitered joint.

 

I've figured it out!

There are types of cuts:
Rip, crosscut, miter, bevel, compound bevel, tapered rip etc. However,

there's only one cut, the miter, that is also used to describe a type of joint. There's no such thing as rip joint or a crosscut joint. A "miter joint" can be made by mitering or beveling both the piece to be joined together.


:vs_cool:


This post by Frank C is close, but not all quite there:
Miters are joints, bevels are the cuts to make them. Depends on how you look at a board to see the bevel, it may be laying flat or on edge, either way the cut is a bevel.

 

I blame the internet for a great deal of this confusion, much of the content is plagiarized by web creators putting up sites for advertising revenue, unlike the days when magazine articles were published little of this information is verified and much of it is even out of context, just key words for search engines.

Credible magazine publishers were quick to correct errors pointed out, that seldom happens with information on the web today, if anything it is generally repeated rather than corrected.

Don't even get me started on Youtube.

 

So, what do you have if you have a mitered joint with a chamfer.

 

Here's my advice .....


If you're happy with it, walk way singing a tune. No need to invent new names for stuff. JMO
Do not post it here, Frank C will get angry. The internet is to blame for all things that are confusing .... :surprise2:

 

As a wise man once said, "Call me what you like, just don't call me late for dinner."

We could all agree upon and use a terminology for this forum but it would do little good when a new poster comes along, that is why it always goes back to best practices and established terms of the trade.

Sometimes there is a vast difference between someone talking about what they know and someone knowing what they are talking about.

 

Whoo Boy...Where else could I go and be entertained by fine gentlemen for 20 minutes....For Free!

 

it's either a mifer or a chiter. I don't remember which. It's been a while.

 

Never Mind

 

Huh?

:surprise2:
You didn't leave me much to work with Tony......

 

Bill

I made a statement and then changed my mind. Now I can't remember what I changed my mind about. Gettin' old is not what it's cracked up to be.

Anyhow, I just watched your attached Video with Jay Leno. Things like that really upset me. The educational level in this country is beyond belief.
One time I remember reading the US came in 23rd out of 24 industria nations in math and science. Then shortly after that we came in something like 28th out of 29 countries in high school graduations. It's like we are so far behind the rest of the world we have to invent more 'industrial' nations so we won't be last.

 

Those Jay Leno videos are embarrassing, but he never shows the people who got the questions right.

When I went to school in the Dark Ages, not everybody paid attention. Some people didn't care to learn the material back then. They didn't get the answers right when the teacher passed out the quizzes. Trust me, they did not study it later. Why would we expect them to know the answers now? Through magic? Furthermore, as time passes, some people remember what they learned in school and others not.

I do not understand people who do not want to learn. I do not understand people who applaud ignorance, and I see far too many of them every day. The most disturbing ones are the people who know better, but choose to stoke the ignorance of others for their own personal gain.