Emir EMI289 9-Inch 28 Skirting Board Mitre

I bought this item to mitre-cut some tall (200mm) skirting boards. Overall, it was useful, and more helpful than other tools I've used for the job (a jigsaw whose 45 degree angle is not exactly 45 degrees, and a circular bandsaw which doesn't lift high enough to cut a tall board). If you line the board up properly then you will get a proper 45 degree angle. That said, there are a number of issues with it. 1. Not mentioned on the listing, but the best way to use this (and the way recommended on the packaging) is to clamp it to a workbench. I didn't have a workbench or a clamp, so i've been using it laid flat, which means the board can move around inside it. 2. The clips which turn in to hold the board in place do not go in very far, so I ended up also slipping in a thin book to hold the board flat (the board was 20mm thick, and the depth of the gap is about 30mm). I should also note that there are three of these, not two (as shown in the picture) - the product you'll get is a bit taller than it looks here. 3. The brown guide strips you see in the picture are made of a thin layer of flimsy plastic. A sharp saw will eat into them so they are no longer flat - and so the cut you get is also not entirely straight. After you've sawed through that plastic, you also cut into the relatively cheap MDF from which the EMIR product is made - which again can be cut so the line doesn't end up straight. Even with all of the above flaws though, the product does get you pretty close to a decent 45 degree angle - and it works.

Hand cutting mitres in tall skirting board is a real pain and I've tried various methonds including the near useless MagicMitre but the EMIR is a brilliantly simple practical tool that does precisely what they say. Cutting deep mitres is dead easy and accurate. You do have to take care as only one side of the saw is guided but it took very little practice to master. I also found that it's best to have a good sharp saw for the job and one of the many hardpoints that are around these days are fine. Overall, an excellent tool at a great price.

Only 4 stars because even after 1 cut the plastic strips that protect the item have visible wear on them and that was after taking great care with how I cut the skirting board. That said, I did get a great mitre that butted up perfectly - so no complaints there. As others have said, on the picture there's only 2 securing grub screws whilst on the actual item there's 3 - however, be warned - I had 25 mm thickness skirting and the screws only just about secured that, so anything less than 25mm thick you will need packing under the item you're cutting to make it secure! Pros: Cheap A good mitre cut Cons: Plastic strips [will] wear out far too quick if you do a lot of mitre work Anything under 25mm thickness and you're going to have to pack it out to keep it secure All in all, even with the cons, this is a very good product that gets a perfect mitre (although you do need to take your time whilst cutting!). It would be nice to see a similar product become available with a more robust protection strip but I suppose it's not within the realms of possibility to change the plastic strips yourself to a more stronger material.

This was a very expensive mitre block that crumbled after one use ....... it did three walls of 6" skirting , then I had to glue new side runners on to finish the job . Be warned !! as others have mentioned the edging strips are very flimsy .... A Sharp saw soon mangled these to shreds :-(

the board at the front which holds the screws came loose .Easy to used but not strong enough to hold a 9 inch skirting board.Poor quality unfortunately not much in the market to compare with.

Great for cutting deep skirting board - it takes a bit of getting used to as there is no guide for the saw - you simply saw along the angled edge. But once you've got the hang of it, it does the job very well.

I have used this to produce internal and external mitres in 7 inch deep MDF skirting. It produces reasonably accurate 45 degree mitres once you've got used to it (my first attempt wasn't great). It seems to be well assembled, but my main complaint would be the quality of the materials. The structure is MDF, and I can't see the thread which accepts the plastic thumb screws lasting very long. Additionally, the Tufnel wear strips have worn quite badly where the saw blade has been in contact with them (I have been using a fine toothed 11TPI saw). The instruction leaflet does say that the strips will need to be replaced periodically, but I have only made 28 (careful) cuts so far. I would have hoped it would last a little longer. Nevertheless, for the price, I can't complain. All in all, it's an inexpensive solution for the occasional DIYer.

As other reviews have pointed out, the plastic strips against which the saw moves do not last for long. Once one had come off the accuracy of the mitre was affected, so I suppose I should have removed the strip on the other side to match. A spare set of self adhesive strips should be provided. Despite this it was easy to use provided it was well anchored down.