miter station fence

[Robert Reece]

I'm in the "thinking about" stage for my miter station and I'm specifically thinking about the fence tonight. I'd certainly like a flip stop of some kind. As I see it my options are:

1. Build a homemade wooden thing like Norm did on his miter station
2. buy some T track and buy or make a flip stop for the T track
3. buy incra track and use my Incra Shop Stop that I already own
4. buy a full aluminum fence system (expensive)

Also do I need a ruler or not? It seems like the ruler would be nice. I'd probably put it off both sides. How long of a fence? I have about 26' of wall space I can build on and the miter saw will be right in the middle. I was thinking 10-12' off the left and 6' off the right. I figure 12' will allow me to cut 12' 2x framing lumber for the occasional job I get into that requires framing lumber. I have a slide miter that is a double bevel and miters both ways.

I am leaning toward #1 or #2 with a ruler. The reason I don't want to use the incra track is that it has those plastic inserts that grip the shop stop so you can just slide the shop stop up and down the track. You have to pick it up, then place it where you want it and then it goes on 1/32" increment. You have to fine adjust it between those increments.

I think a sliding stop would be a lot easier to deal with and I don't frequently use my miter saw to 1/64" accuracy anyway.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Rob

[Bruce Wrenn]

Several years ago, at the Woodworking Show, I bought a flip stop and track from TWC. The stop wasn't anything to brag on. It had a lot of "slop" in it. Last week, I looked at a Kreg flip stop, and it wasn't any better than the one from TWC. If I were building a miter saw fence today, I would probably go with Norm's design, maybe modifying it to include a flip that uses a door hinge (very little play.) Another idea would be to use a stop that has two arms, made from aluminum, with a center block of wood. Either Wood, or AWW featured one years ago.

[Mike Heidrick]

I own the Kreg top track. When thumb screwed down there is no slop. It is easy to setup IMO. I am happy with it.

Norm's setup looks easy too.

In the back in this pic is mine.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/mitersaw.jpg

[Prashun Patel]

Personally I like rulers on my tools, but only as a rough guide. I always mark the pieces themselves. A ruler on a miter saw will be tough to keep calibrated. As soon as you change the bevel or miter angle, you risk being shades off if you rely on the ruler.

[Ken Garlock]

I built the Shopnotes miter saw work center when it was featured in Shopnotes Magazine. I am very happy with it. The Mikita SCMS was put in place at the end of construction, and has not been moved since.

Give it a look at Miter Saw work center (http://plansnow.com/dn3089c.html).

[Tom Hargrove]

Much of my practical training in woodworking came from the time I spent in a commercial shop in the late 70's. We made antique reproduction furniture kits. We often cut (or machined) hundreds or thousands of the same piece on the same set up. Our parts had to be consistent to 1/64th or less, and found that any kind of stop that was not securely clamped or screwed to the fence had too much play.

I think the question of the amount of acceptable movement in a stop is a question of tolerance for variance in part sizes. If you are cutting lots of parts that must be identical, a flip stop might not be for you. I still use a small block of wood with a round head screw on one edge that is clamped to a fence as a stop on saws, routers drill press tables or whatever else needs a stop. It allows for the consistent location of the workpiece, costs nothing, and the screw allows for minute adjustments using only a small screwdriver, which is usually in my apron or pants pocket.

[Ben Hatcher]

I used an old counter top for my miter saw station. My miter saw fit perfectly in the existing sink hole. For the rear fence, I reused the old back splashes. I bolted a joined 2x4 to the top and screwed the old backsplashes into them. Initially, I was going to add some t track to the top edge of the backsplashes, but a clamp and a block of wood have worked just fine so far. It isn't as cool as a flip stop, but it is pretty fast and was free.