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Mitre saw for skirting

Updated: 21 October 2026

The gap you notice is at the corner, after both pieces have been cut at 45 degrees and neither quite meets. A mitre saw for skirting only helps if you mitre the corner that wants a mitre, and if the board can pass the blade. External corners are a pair of 45 degree cuts measured to the back of the board. Internal corners, on a wall that moves with the heating, are often better scribed. This page follows that job through the five cordless saws on our [cordless mitre saw](/hub/power-saws/cordless-mitre-saw) comparison. The square cut is on the [how to use a mitre saw](/hub/power-saws/cordless-mitre-saw/sub/cordless-mitre-saw-how-to-use) page. Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The gap you notice is at the corner, after both pieces have been cut at 45 degrees and neither quite meets.

Our top picks

DeWalt DeWalt DCS365N-XJ

Best overall

DeWalt DeWalt DCS365N-XJ
9.4/10about £333.99
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Einhell Einhell TE-SM 36/210 Li-Solo

Rank 2

Einhell Einhell TE-SM 36/210 Li-Solo
9.0/10about £199.98
View offer
Einhell Einhell 254 mm 36 V slider 4300885

Rank 3

Einhell Einhell 254 mm 36 V slider 4300885
9.0/10about £281.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two corners, two joints
  2. 2.Will the saw take the board
  3. 3.Single bevel means you flip the board
  4. 4.When the gap is the wall, not the saw

Two corners, two joints

Toolstation’s guide treats an external corner as two 45 degree mitres, with the length taken to the back corner. You do not subtract the thickness of the skirting from that length. Subtracting it leaves the joint short before you have looked at the wall. The long point of each cut is the face you see, and the back edges meet at the corner. Mark which end is which before you leave the wall, because a 45 degree cut turned round will not swap ends. Wickes fits the external corner as a mitre and the internal as a scribe. Checkatrade’s usual pair is one square-cut piece run into the corner and one piece cut to the profile of the first. Homebuilding’s order is to cut the second piece at 45 degrees so the moulding shows, then follow that line with a coping saw. The mitre saw’s job on that internal piece is the 45 degree cut. The coping saw does the fit.

Will the saw take the board

The joint only works if the blade can pass the board. Stood on edge, the limit is the stated depth. Laid flat, the limit is the stated width, and the thickness still has to fit inside the depth. Take a 120 mm board as an example, not as a size every room uses. On edge, 120 mm of height has to sit inside the depth. Laid flat, 120 mm of face has to sit inside the width. The DeWalt DCS365N-XJ bullets claim 50 mm by 250 mm at 90 degrees. Laid flat, a 120 mm face is inside 250 mm, so the question is thickness against 50 mm. Stood on edge, 120 mm is not inside 50 mm. The same listing claims up to 535 cuts in 82 mm skirting on one 4 Ah pack. The 82 mm figure is the board in a runtime claim. It is not a depth. The depth bullet is 50 mm. The Evolution R185SMS-Li bullets claim 210 mm by 58 mm. The Einhell TE-SM 36/210 highlight claims 65 mm by 310 mm. The 254 mm Einhell, part 4300885, claims 85 mm thick and 340 mm wide. The small Einhell TE-MS 18/210 states no cross-cut. The buying guide is where the pack family is chosen. A stated millimetre is a listing claim, not a cut we measured.
DeWalt DeWalt DCS365N-XJ

Testsieger

DeWalt DeWalt DCS365N-XJ
9.4/10about £333.99
View offer

Single bevel means you flip the board

The second 45 degrees is a flip, not a head that leans both ways while the board stays face-up. The 254 mm Einhell highlight includes “+/-47°” in a messy line. Do not treat that as a proven double bevel. Flip the board and keep the face marks you made on the wall. One UK review of the TE-SM 36/210 found the bevel indicator nearer 35 degrees when the aim was 30. Stairs, and crown that has to match an existing spring angle, stay with a joiner.

When the gap is the wall, not the saw

Cut the first external piece, hold it up, and only then mark the next length to the back corner. A wall at 88 degrees or 92 degrees opens a clean 45 degree mitre along the face. If the square agrees with the blade, look at the wall. A scribe hides some of that error because one piece follows the other. An external mitre cannot. Stop when the board is taller than the stated depth, and stop if the guard will not cover the blade. One UK review of the small Einhell describes a guard fault, and that ends the session.

Common questions

Do I mitre both ends of an internal corner?
You can, and the gap often opens later. Wickes and Checkatrade point internal corners toward a scribe: one piece cut square into the corner, the other cut to its profile. Homebuilding’s order is a 45 degree cut on the mitre saw, then a coping saw along the revealed moulding. Mitre both pieces on an external corner, to the back corner, and do not subtract the board thickness.
Which way does the 45° face?
The long point is the face you see, and the back edges meet at the wall. Mark the direction while the board is on the wall. A cut turned end for end is the opposite handing. Toolstation’s length is to that back corner. Shortening the board by its own thickness leaves the joint short even when the angle is right.
What is the 82 mm skirting claim on the DeWalt?
The DCS365 bullets say up to 535 cuts in 82 mm skirting on one 4 Ah pack. That is the listing’s runtime claim, not a test we ran. The cross-cut at 90 degrees in the same bullets is 50 mm by 250 mm. Use 50 mm when you decide whether a board can stand on edge. Use 82 mm only as the board size inside that cut-count sentence.
Do I need a sliding saw for skirting?
You need a stated width if you lay the board flat, or a stated depth if you stand it on edge. In this set the wider flat cuts are the slider claims: 250 mm on the DeWalt, 210 mm on the Evolution, 310 mm and 340 mm on the two Einhell sliders. The small Einhell states no cross-cut, so there is no skirting width to plan against.
What if the wall is not 90°?
A true 45 degree cut on a wall at 88 or 92 degrees leaves a gap along the face. If your square agrees with the blade, the gap belongs to the wall. An internal scribe can follow the piece already fitted. An external mitre cannot. Change the angle from a scrap that fits, or stop. Stairs and crown that must match an existing spring stay with a joiner.

Related pages

Best cordless mitre saw

Cordless mitre saw

18V vs 36V mitre saw: two 18 V packs, not one cell

Cordless mitre saw buying guide: cut, packs, slide

How to use a mitre saw: check the square, then cut

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices captured 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE, Wood dust (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE, WIS23 wood dust (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE, Noise at work (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. DeWalt UK, DCS365N-XJ (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Toolstation, DCS365N-XJ (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. UK Planet Tools, cordless mitre saws (retrieved 19 October 2026)