Cut skirting with a mitre saw
Updated: 21 October 2026
You are standing at an Einhell with a length of skirting, an external corner that looks square, and a doubt that 120 mm of cross-cut will not swallow the board. Cutting skirting with a mitre saw fails in two ordinary ways. The saw is too narrow, or the corner is not 90 degrees and you still set 45. This page stays on that one workpiece. The generic safety sequence, including 15 cm of hand clearance and waiting for the blade to stop, is on the [how to use an Einhell mitre saw](/hub/power-saws/einhell-mitre-saw/sub/einhell-mitre-saw-how-to-use) page. The [Einhell mitre saw comparison](/hub/power-saws/einhell-mitre-saw) holds the model table. Decking and the full fork between cord and battery are elsewhere. Peter F. wrote this on 19 October 2026 from Checkatrade, Homebuilding, Toolstation, Skirtings R Us, Einhell's UK page for the TC-SM 216, and the UK review themes on the listings. It is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are standing at an Einhell with a length of skirting, an external corner that looks square, and a doubt that 120 mm of cross-cut will not swallow the board.
You are standing at an Einhell with a length of skirting, an external corner that looks square, and a doubt that 120 mm of cross-cut will not swallow the board. Cutting skirting with a mitre saw fails in two ordinary ways. The saw is too narrow, or the corner is not 90 degrees and you still set 45. This page stays on that one workpiece. The generic safety sequence, including 15 cm of hand clearance and waiting for the blade to stop, is on the how to use an Einhell mitre saw page. The Einhell mitre saw comparison holds the model table. Decking and the full fork between cord and battery are elsewhere. Peter F. wrote this on 19 October 2026 from Checkatrade, Homebuilding, Toolstation, Skirtings R Us, Einhell's UK page for the TC-SM 216, and the UK review themes on the listings. It is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Cross-cut | At 45° | Bevel | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Einhell Einhell TC-SM 216 | 305 mm at 90° | 210 mm stated | Left, flip the board | 8.8 | about £129.95 | View offer |
| Best value |  Einhell Einhell TC-MS 2112 | 120 × 55 mm | No slide stated | Left | 8.4 | about £63.00 | View offer |
 Einhell Einhell TC-SM 2534/1 Dual | 340 × 75 mm | Drag up to 340 mm | Both ways | 8.2 | about £187.07 | View offer |
On this page
Measure the corner before you set 45 degrees
Do not assume the corner is 90 degrees because the room looks rectangular. Checkatrade's UK guide says external corners are usually two mitres, internal corners are often one square end and a scribed profile, and you should mark the direction before you leave the wall. A bevel gauge held into the corner tells you the angle you actually have. If the corner is 92 degrees, two cuts at 45 degrees will open on one face. Homebuilding makes the same warning: the mitre only meets when the walls do. Mark the board on the back, with an arrow for which end is the left-hand piece and which face will show. Toolstation says the mitre accounts for the joint when you measure wall to wall, and that face orientation matters so the moulding does not chip. Write "external left" on the offcut side so you do not turn a correct angle into the wrong one after you carry the board to the saw. Architrave is the same angle problem only when you already have that board in your hand. It is not a reason to change saws mid-job. If the timber is structural, or you are scribing a staircase where the joint carries more than a paint line, this is the point to stop and get a joiner. A weekend mitre does not fix a wall that is badly out.
Cut the external mitre long
An external corner wants two complementary cuts that add up to the angle of the wall. On a true 90 degree corner that is 45 and 45. Set the table, not the laser, and cut a scrap first so you can see which side of the blade the saw removes. Skirtings R Us tells you to cut slightly long and then trim. Homebuilding notes that the kerf, and the centre of the corner, are easy places to cut short. A blade takes a couple of millimetres. If you mark the finished length on the face and cut on the wrong side of the line, the board comes up short and the joint opens. Put the board face up if that is how your saw cuts cleanly, which is the Skirtings R Us instruction for a mitre saw, and keep the moulding supported so the back edge does not splinter as the teeth exit. Make one cut, fit it to the wall, and only then cut the mating piece. Two boards cut from a single measurement, without a test fit, is how a room ends up with a gap you fill with caulk. Caulk hides a small gap. It does not hide a 45 degree cut on an 88 degree wall. If the test fit opens at the front, the angle is too sharp. If it opens at the back, it is too shallow. Nudge the stop and trim the long piece. Do not recut both boards from scratch until you know which one is long.
Scribe the internal corner
An internal corner is often better as one square cut and a scribed profile, not as two mitres. Checkatrade describes that pattern, and Homebuilding says joiners scribe internals so the joint moves less when the house shifts or the timber dries. Two 45 degree cuts on an internal corner look tight on day one and open into a dark V when the wall is not square or the board cups. A scribe follows the face of the board that is already fixed, so a small movement still looks like a joint. Fix the first board with a square end into the corner. Hold the second board against it and mark the profile, or cut a 45 degree mitre and then cope along the line the mitre has drawn on the face. You are cutting away the back of the board so the moulded edge sits over the first piece. A coping saw does that last shaping. The mitre saw's job is the square end and, if you use the mitre-and-cope method, the 45 degree face that gives you the line. It is slow the first time. It is faster than recutting two mitres that will not close. Dual bevel is not required for this. You can flip a square-backed skirting on a left-only saw. Dual bevel matters when the moulding only cuts cleanly one way up and you cannot turn it. Most plain UK skirting does not force that.
Which Einhell can span the board
Width is the limit, and it is not the same on every Einhell in this comparison. The TC-MS 2112 does not state a slide. Einhell's UK page puts it at 120 × 55 mm, and the amazon bullets give 120 × 55 mm on the left and 80 × 32 mm on the right. UK reviews say battens were fine, larger skirting mitres were not precise enough, and a floorboard was too wide. A narrow torus or a small chamfer can fit. A much taller board will not, and this page does not claim that every UK skirting profile is under 120 mm. The TE-MS 18/210 is the cordless saw in that same band, about 120 × 60 mm on Einhell's sheet, still with no slide stated. If your board is taller than that cut, those two saws are the wrong tool, however careful the 45 degree mark is. The TC-SM 216 bullets claim 305 mm at 90 degrees and 210 mm at 45 degrees, with the head tilting left. That 210 mm figure is the one that matters on an external mitre, not the 305 mm headline. Einhell's UK page for article 4300380 states the same 305 mm cross-cut. The TE-SM 36/210 highlight claims 65 × 310 mm and a left tilt, if you are on batteries and you already own two packs. The TC-SM 2534/1 Dual is the both-ways corded slider, with a stated drag up to 340 mm, when you cannot flip the board. If the skirting is simply too wide for the saw you own, stop cutting and use the buying guide. A dual-bevel saw is not a requirement for square skirting you can turn over.
Common questions
Can the TC-MS 2112 cut skirting?
It can cut skirting that fits inside about 120 mm, and UK reviews say battens were fine. The same reviews say larger skirting mitres were not precise enough, and there is no slide, so a floorboard was too wide. Einhell states 120 × 55 mm on the left. If your board is taller than that, or you need a closed joint on a wide moulding, it is the wrong saw. The clamp also hits the cut once the head tilts past about 35 degrees.
What angle do I set for an external corner?
On a corner you have checked at 90 degrees, set 45 and 45, and cut each piece slightly long. If the corner is not 90 degrees, split the angle you measured rather than forcing 45. Two 45 degree cuts only meet on a square corner. Mark left and right before you leave the wall, and test one piece before you cut its partner.
Should an internal corner be two 45 degree cuts or a scribe?
Often a scribe. Checkatrade and Homebuilding both describe one square end and a profile cut to the board that is already fixed, because two mitres open if the wall is out or the timber moves. Use two 45 degree cuts only when you have checked the corner and you accept that the joint may open later. The mitre saw still cuts the square end.
What if the wall is not 90 degrees?
Measure it and split that angle for an external mitre, or scribe the internal corner so the profile follows the board rather than an assumed square. A 45 degree stop on a corner that is not 90 degrees leaves a gap no amount of careful feeding will close. Caulk is a filler for a hairline, not a correction for a wrong angle.
Which way up does the board sit on the saw?
Skirtings R Us says face up on a mitre saw, and Toolstation warns that face orientation decides whether the moulding chips. Support the board so the exit side does not break out. Cut a scrap of the same profile before you commit the length. If the scrap tears, change the support or the feed before you recut the piece that has to reach the wall.
How much length does the blade kerf remove?
Enough to miss a tight measurement. Homebuilding flags the kerf, and the centre of the corner, as the usual ways to cut short. The captured listings do not state a kerf width for these Einhell blades. Cut long, fit and trim. Do not mark the finished point on the waste side of the tooth and expect the board to reach the wall.
Do I need a dual-bevel saw for skirting?
Not for plain board you can flip. Left-only saws in this set, including the TC-SM 216, cut an external mitre if you turn the piece. Dual bevel, on the TC-SM 2534/1 Dual, matters when the moulding must stay one way up. It does not make a crooked wall square, and it does not replace a scribe on an internal corner.
When is the board simply too wide?
When it is taller than the stated cross-cut at the angle you are using. About 120 mm is the TC-MS 2112 and the TE-MS 18/210. The TC-SM 216 states 305 mm at 90 degrees and 210 mm at 45 degrees, so a board that fits straight may not fit once you swing the table. If it does not sit in the cut without riding up, stop. Forcing it into a fixed head is how the joint, and the guard, get damaged.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources, Einhell UK product pages, and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Retrieved October 2026.
- HSE: Wood dust (retrieved October 2026)
- HSE: WIS23 wood dust (retrieved October 2026)
- HSE: Noise at work (retrieved October 2026)
- Einhell UK TC-MS 2112 (retrieved October 2026)
- Einhell UK TC-SM 216 (retrieved October 2026)
- Einhell UK TC-SM 2534/1 Dual (retrieved October 2026)
- Einhell UK TE-SM 36/210 Li-Solo (retrieved October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved October 2026)