Saws come in all different types from manual to automatic, handheld to electrical, there are hand saws, hack saws, mitre saws, bandsaws, circular saws, panel saws,,A mitre saw is a saw used for making an accurate crosscut or mitre through a workpiece. Originally manually driven (the early mitre saws looked like a regular hand saw attached to a stand with a pivot) the majority of mitre saws today are motorised. This motorised (power) mitre saw, also known as a chop saw or drop saw, is a variation of the manual mitre saw and is classed as a power tool.  It performs the same operation as the manual saw but the blade has been replaced by a powered circular saw.  With common blade diameters ranging from 8” to 12”, the power mitre saw is relatively small and portable.

The workpiece is held in place by a fence and the spinning blade is lowered in a short controlled motion to make the cut.  The blade and blade arm are fixed on a pivot so that angled cuts can be performed, using the mitre index this can usually be set to the nearest degree.  Many mitre saws also have stopping points so that the blade can be set to common angles (e.g. 15˚, 30˚, 45˚, 75˚)  quickly.