Jessica

my saw is junk, the blade walks because the mechanism doesnt have enough rigidity. I would be better off to use my circular saw i think. Small pieces would be a pain though.

If your issue is getting a clean cut, try over cutting the piece by 3/16 of an inch or so, then do a 2nd pass getting the final cut. It will keep your sawblade from having to work as hard because when you cut a 45degree angle on 3/4 inch wood your essentially cutting a tad over 1 inch of material.

Also a good sawblade is key too. I love my 80tooth blades, I cant even stand using a 60tooth myself.

thats true. I think i have a ripping blade on my table saw anyway. And its probably getting dull. Also the fence is crap and 45's try to slide under it and get wedged. Guess i could clamp a scrap piece of lumber to it to make it sit flush somehow