(Less Than) Ultimate Miter Saw Station

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Well, after wrestling with boards at my miter saw on my last project I decided I needed some improvements. This is what I came up with. It is the “Less Than Ultimate” Miter Station.

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It was inspired by the Ultimate Miter Saw Station in the June 2010 issue of Woodworkers Journal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmSVvOnxsI
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I built a plywood base to support the tables, and topped it with a Melamine shelf.

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Threaded inserts are installed in the shelf.

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I cut come lengths of threaded rod, and installed a sliding shelf for the miter saw.

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This way the whole saw can be moved forward for making compound cuts. Basically the miter saw fence needs to slide to the left to make room for the tilted blade. The saw would hit the T-track fence, so it needs to be able to slide forward. You could omit this step by spacing the T-track fence further away on the left side of the saw.

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The sliding shelf is sized to fit the base of the saw.

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The ends of the plywood base are left open for storing offcuts.

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Setting the tables flat is just like setting up a jointer. I used a .010” feeler gauge to check the tables for flatness and making sure the two tables are coplanar. I think this is one of the biggest pitfalls of most miter saw systems. If the whole thing isn’t flat, it will prevent you from making square cuts. No matter what system you decide on, I would leave yourself room to shim the tables flat. I used hardwood shims between the tables and the support blocks. That way if there is any sag over time, I can adjust for it.

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This T-track is a defunct Rockler item that is no longer sold. It is similar to the Kreg track kit, but the rails are one piece. It offers 4′ support on the left, and 2′ on the right. Anything longer would surely be overkill. I never understood why Kreg sells their kit in 2′ lengths. Unless you only need 2′ of support on each side of the saw, you will have seams in the miter track. At any rate, this type of support system can easily be built from Melamine shelving and some scrap plywood. The fence has a dado which receives the table board. If you wanted to get fancy, you could cut a little dust relief slot in the fence.

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Plug your shop vac into the I-socket and it is automatically activated each time you make a cut.
The final step will be a nylon hoop behind the saw for passive dust collection.

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Overall I am quite happy with the upgrade. Supporting long boards to make accurate cuts is suddenly easy.
Mine is mounted to a mobile cart with locking casters, but you could just as easily mount it on a pair of base cabinets. The best thing about it is this… you can’t stack or store anything in the way. The dedicated tables ensure that you can make your next cut with ease.

Source: LumberJocks.com

(Less Than) Ultimate Miter Saw Station