View Poll Results: Do you have a permenant miter saw station in your shop?

Voters
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  • Yes, and I like having it

    62 35.03%
  • Yes, but it's not worth the space it takes up

    8 4.52%
  • No, but I wish I did

    52 29.38%
  • No, and I don't want one

    55 31.07%
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Thread: How many of you don't have a permanent Miter Saw station?

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Belden, Mississippi
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    2,742
    Folding stand here.
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  2. #32
    I've got a 30" by 48" workbench in the middle of my workshop. I keep my mitre saw, grinder, scroll saw and vice on bread racks. I move the tool I need to the workbench as needed. Sub optimal for long pieces - but the tools don't take up needed space in the shop.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,063
    I'm currently finishing a permanent bench for my CMS. for me it was a no brainer as I needed a bunch of storage space anyway in my quest to get to a more organized work space. So the bench (12' long) under the saw is providing that. I had the basic bench done, looking at starting the wings. Then I had the good? / bad? idea to capitalize on the space under the wings as drawer space for small-midsize hardware, to solve yet another storage problem. That design change has set me back a while. Hope to make good progress on that this coming week while I'm on vacation.

    As others have mentioned, I will use the saw station to cut to rough length. But it seems that I often need to cut miters on long pieces just enough too awkward to handle well on a table saw. (no slider...yet )
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Between No Where & No Place ,WA
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    1,339
    My old Tried-N-True Hitachi is mounted on a mobile cart. Sometimes I think 'bout a dedicated permanent miter saw station, then I realize that it would just become a collection point for things waiting to be put away, saved cut offs, etc.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,495
    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    The "yes" to "no" ratio is as expected. Like a RAS, the CMS can be a divisive topic. For what I do, neither tool is of enough value to warrant the footprint. I tried a very nice mobile base that folded up for storage. I still found that going through the setup for the few cuts I had to make still didn't warrant the effort. I do use my CMS (now relegated to the shed out back) once ever few years for trimming out a bathroom or something during a remodel but, obviously I do not do that for a living.

    If you need fairly accurate miters or compound miters on the ends of long stock as a regular part of your work, a CMS can be invaluable. I cut miters on parts that have already been rough cut to size and 60" would be a really long and rare part for me. For simple cut-off work I use a jig-saw or a small circ-saw. For precision work of this sort I follow up with the tablesaw or bandsaw and hand tools.

    Think about your frequency of use and look at the real estate required to make a miter station easily and sensibly used. If one warrants the other, you have your answer. If not, you still have your answer.
    Yeah, that makes sense. Perhaps I should have asked people to also describe the kind of work they do.

    As for your last paragraph, in my old (well, current) shop, I didn't have a whole lot of room to the left of my table saw to use my sliding table for cross cuts on long work pieces. In my new shop, I will. So since I've never tried using the sliding table as a substitute for my miter saw, it's difficult for me to decide now. Which means my best course of action is to designate a space in my shop for an optional miter saw station and try going without it for a while. If I can't stand it, I'll put one in. If not, then I get to reclaim a lot of space.

    Still a really long way to go before I get to worry about such high order issues though. So far I've put in new structural steel beams and supporting posts with new footings, and I've installed a sump pump and perimeter drain. Still tons more to do before I can bring in my machinery... sound proofing, fixing some siding, earthquake retrofitting, sealing and finishing the concrete, electrical, new dividing walls, dust collector closet, storage, the list goes on and on!).

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,548
    Mine is adjacent to my RAS and uses the same fence. It is not bolted down, and has four dowels that slide into the base holes of the saw. Simple washers shim it level. If I need it to be used elsewhere, I simply lift it up and go. I usually cut from the left side, but if I need more support on the right side I have a rolling support arm that goes anywhere. Everything in the pic is on the same plane, including the Kreg machine on the left, making for a nice long base for all three machines. Another reason for doing it this way was so I didn't entirely lose use of the bench, as you can see.



    .PC260166.jpg
    Last edited by Rick Potter; 09-04-2015 at 2:19 PM.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  7. #37
    I built one many years ago, it's supposedly portable, the wings come off and you can move it easily, but I haven't moved it since the day I built it and I use it all the time.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Mandalay Shores, CA
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    2,690
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    There is nothing in my shop that has a permanant station. The SCMS would be well down on the list (behind TS, workbench, bandsaw, drum sander....

    shop is a Garage which doubles as shop or shop doubling as garage...
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    odessa, missouri
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    Spent many years as a commercial/residential cabinet maker for others and myself. I know only build furniture but still have a dedicated miter saw setup. Been in my current shop for 15yrs and will be there until I'm dead. I don't have time whether it be hobby or for business to reset up a miter saw as I will use it somewhere on every project. The setup of a permanent table saw,miter saw and a workbench are just a few things I like to have as a constant when in the shop.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Cache Valley, Utah
    Posts
    1,722
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Schuch View Post
    I have a 16" Radial arm saw in my shop with a decent sized table and flip up wings for longer work. Miter saws are for work sites. A good portable miter saw stand is great to have!
    You beat me to it, but that describes my situation. I have a dedicated shop and only build furniture. I have a fairly large 12" Delta RAS setup that is about six feet wide; it's primarily used for breaking stock down but has been used in the past for a lot of dado and lap joint work. I have also built a LOT of drawers using a simple lock joint on the RAS. I do have a plain 10" chop saw that sits on a plywood base under one of the table saws; it's used on-site on the rare occasion that I'm doing carpentry work such as building a shed. If I have to make more than a couple of cuts I generally bang together some kind of base that sits on a couple of sawhorses.

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    odessa, missouri
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Schuch View Post
    I have a 16" Radial arm saw in my shop with a decent sized table and flip up wings for longer work. Miter saws are for work sites. A good portable miter saw stand is great to have!
    "miter saws are for work sites" Confusing, Can you give more details?

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Redmond, OR
    Posts
    606
    A friend of mine designed his work bench so his miter saw sat on a pivot so he could flip his miter saw up when he needed it and flip it down out of the way when he didn't need it. It took him maybe 10 seconds to flip the saw up or down.

    For me some sort of cut off station is a necessity. I use my RAS as my cut off station and use it on pretty much every project Ihave ever made.... but I grew up learning woodworking with a Delta RAS being my fathers primary tool. I only use my table saw for ripping boards.

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    odessa, missouri
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    A 16" RAS is a fine tool for framing, way more flex than I could use in furniture. I use a 12" Delta for wide boards and the table saw for both ripping and crosscutting among other tedious things. But a permanent miter saw set up with a Beisemeyer stop or equivalent can cut all day everyday without a glitch. To flip a miter saw would not be precision setup.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Falls Church, VA
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    I have a home built one and love it. I bought a Morton Quill Stop for adjusting the flip stop. You find these things on the quill of a Bridgeport Universal mill. They run on 1/2" - 20 ready rod. One rotation is .050" so, in theory, you can adjust to .001" which is kind of silly. But it's handy to give it 1/8th of turn and take off just a whisker.

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Tymchak View Post
    Then I had the good? / bad? idea to capitalize on the space under the wings as drawer space for small-midsize hardware, to solve yet another storage problem.
    I know a lot of folks "sink" the CMS to be level with the table top but this is also a great idea. I find a lot of great ideas here mentioned in passing ;-)
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

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