Miter saw bench--minimum left and right clearance?

[Matt Meiser]

I'm considering doing a row of cabinets with a built in miter saw bench. I've never done one before because of the need for portable use. A couple weeks ago I upgraded to a Kapex which is both easy mount and dismount on a bench or stand and has a method for aligning extension wings very quickly. I'm wondering how much room I should allow on either side of the blade?

[Nick Lazz]

IIRC mine has 8'-10 on either side of the blade. I do cut long boards sometimes (maybe you don't and it's not a problem..) and for me its nice because I can square an end from the right, then slide it all the way to the left and make my cut of 95-7/8".. :)

Otherwise I would have to endo the board and it's a little more cumbersome with the long stuff. Mine is matched with a RAS right next to it.

[Matt Meiser]

Funny thing is I've never really paid attention to what I need because of where I've had my portable stand. But locking it in one spot scares me just a little.

One good thing if I get 95%, I can always put it in the portable stand for the remaining 5% in just a couple minutes if I use this approach.

[Jim Neeley]

I'm considering doing a row of cabinets with a built in miter saw bench. I've never done one before because of the need for portable use. A couple weeks ago I upgraded to a Kapex which is both easy mount and dismount on a bench or stand and has a method for aligning extension wings very quickly. I'm wondering how much room I should allow on either side of the blade?

Matt,

Some will say the longest board you will cut on each side. I offer a different approach:

If you are short on space:

* Remember that most cuts on a double-bevel CMS can be cut with the "long" end of the board out the end of your choice. The other end only needs the amount to be cut off to a maximum on half the overall length of the board (only when you are cutting the board precisely in half; otherwise, flip it to the other side and cut).

* Consider placing things on casters "some" distance from the saw for many or most of your use, moving them for "long" boards. One thing I've done is to place my floor-standing drill press adjacent. The chuck is high enough to clear and I adjust the DP table height to use as an auxiliary support.

* You don't need much room of you can have one end stretch out a garage or walk-through door.

Some combination of those will permit you to work in a rather short overall length.

Just my $0.02... YMMV.

Jim in Alaska

[Todd Burch]

On my miter saw "wall", I inset my Dewalt CMS so it's table is flush with the surrounding countertops. As the arrows show, to the left is free and clear open space for about 10' or so to the left of the blade. A long saggy piece will rest on my router table. Just 2.5' or so to the right of my saw blade is a low cabinet that creates a recess in the primary counter surface plane. That allows me to move stuff quickly off the counter when I need to cut long boards, and the boards, as pictured, bridge the gap.

Continuing right, my Keg Foreman happens to be the same height as the primary counter plane, so it gets used to support long stock to the right. Very handy. And then, out past the Kreg machine, is again, clear and open space (for boards), and really unlimited space if I open the garage door.

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[Brian Tymchak]

Nice Matt! I wish I had the shop space to do something like that. I would consider what you think is the longest length board you might need to use a stop to cut (for repetitive cuts). For me that would be the minimal length of the long side. for a non-stopped cut, you can always hang the board off the end. The other side I would arbitrarily make ~1/2 that length, to catch a reasonably sized off-cut. with no constraints on the length (walls, other machines, etc) I personally would make the long side about 9' and the short side about 4'. That will give you the ability to xcut most any rough board or an 8' stopped cut.

[Matt Meiser]

Ooh...I never thought of including the Foreman in this. I currently have that on a metal cabinet. Its conveniently right next to my bench, but isn't always convenient for long pieces so moving it might be a good tradeoff. How do you deal with any fence interference issues?

[Sam Layton]

Matt,

I have had my scms built in for many years, and have never had a problem. Many boards I purchase are 12' long. So, to the left of my saw, my bench is about 8' long. There is another 6' of space unsupported. To the right of my blade, I have about 4' supported, and as far out the door unsupported.

I have never been unable to cut a board because it did not fit my scms station. The advantages to having it built in, is it is always available, walk up and cut...

I like the idea of including the Foreman in the setup. The fence of the Foreman can just run along the same plane as the scms station. The only issue with this is it may interfere with fence stops. However, you can always work around that.

Sam

[Matt Meiser]

That was my first thought, but the to adjust the foreman for different material thicknessess you move the fence. I suppose if the Foreman isn't screwed down, not an issue.

[Todd Burch]

My Foreman isn't screwed down, and actually, that's just my storage spot for the Foreman. When in use, I move it over to the bench (except for onees/twosees). The Foreman, when stored as you see it, goes all the way back to the wall, so its fence is not in the path of lumber when using the miter saw.

[Alan Bienlein]

I just went thru the same thing in my shop . I was thinking of building a row of permanent cabinets for my scms but ended up deciding against it. For one it can end up being a junk collector and two I just didn't quite have the space needed incase I needed to cut some longer boards.

I eneded up building another mobile cabinet again but this time the wings are permanent unlike the original one I had that folded down. I also made sure the top of it was at the same height as all the other tools in my shop. That one decision in tself has made my shop so much more enjoyable to work in as I no longer need to shuffle things around to work because of something too tall in the way.
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[David Helm]

245486I have about ten feet to the right and thirteen feet to the left. Like Todd's, my saw is inset so the counter top is flush with the saw table.

[Clint Olver]

Mine is built in - very convenient. I may be alone, but I don't need more than 5' to the right, as long as there is a lot of space to the right. I've always had something butted up against the right side of my bench, and it has never been in the way.

C

[Clark Harbaugh]

Figured I would chime in. I have mine recessed in my bench/cabinets so the the saw is level with the bench. 8' on the left and 6' on the right, however the right side is positioned just perfectly so that I can extend a 10'+ out the garage door. You can't see it from the photos, but I have t-rail installed in the top of the bench in several places. There is a set that allows me to install a fence (shown hanging on the peg board in the 2nd photo...). I have others running the length of the bench that allows me to attach a stop for repetitive cuts. I love this setup. I think if I had to use a portable from time to time I would just buy a 2nd saw specifically for that purpose.

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[Matt Meiser]

The examples where the saw is recessed into the bench is what I'm looking to do. I have two big hardware cabinets that are too heavy to hang on the walls. What I want to do is build a bi-level top on on one side. Those cabinets would sit in the upper top, the lower top would be for the MS work support. Underneath I'd have enclosed cabinets of some sort, except under the MS where there would be a place for the vac that's semi-dedicated to the saw. Believe it or not I really don't need more storage but I'm hoping to consolidate a few existing things into there to free up some floor space for more flexibility. The wall I'm considering doing this on is currently an old utility workbench that I rarely use, some recycled cabinets with the hardware storage on top, my MS on a stand, and a few short wasted spaces between.

[Jim O'Dell]

If you have multiple tools that would benefit from having the long wings left and right, you could do something similar to what I did. If I were to do this again, I might not make the tools on rolling stands, but make inserts that would all drop in and be at the correct working level. I mainly use this for my SCMS and Planer, but the RAS will also roll into this spot, My Kreg will drop in, and I plan a drop in down draft sanding table and drop in shelf for the scroll saw eventually. The wall is 23' + long and the center cut out for the tools is 3', so I think I measured 10'2" on each side. Could easily have made it longer on one side, but figured that would work best. When using the portable Delta planer, I get absolutely no snipe. I think this is the benefit of having the long infeed/outfeed tables. 245509 245510 245511 The one screw up in rehabbing the outside shell of the shop building is the windows at either end of the tables. They were supposed to be at a level that if I had longer boards, I could open the windows, take the screens off and let the wood poke through. Was off by about 4".:mad::mad: But I've never had a reason to need to do it...so far. :rolleyes: Jim.

[Todd Burch]

Pretty fancy there Jim!

[Ole Anderson]

I just use a Milwaukee 10" MS. I remove it frequently to use offsite or to loan to may son for a quick project. My shop is tight but I can easily offcut 4' to the right and extend to the left out the shop door 12 feet if needed. I had to angle it to clear the door jamb. (I have updated the dust hood since this pic)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/CJ7ole/My%20Shop%20Jan%202011/IMG_7484.jpg

[Jim O'Dell]

Pretty fancy there Jim!

You know the drill about needs and limitations driving the design. Limited space, multiple tools. It was a natural progression.;) Just wish I had the room to park the tools when they aren't needed. The RAS sits in a place by the big doors that it's easy to slide sheet goods off the van and it holds up one side for me. Then doubles as a partial infeed table for said sheet goods to break down on the TS. It's a must when there isn't anyone to help with full 3/4" MDF sheets!!! Jim.