How many of you don't have a permanent Miter Saw station?

[Peter Aeschliman]

I'm hard at work getting my unfinished basement ready for my wood shop. Although it will be bigger than my current shop, the floor plan is L-shaped, so it limits my layout a bit.

In my current shop, I have a permanent station for my miter saw with a big dust shroud behind and below it and tables to each side for work piece support. I do use it fairly frequently, but I also have an excalibur sliding table on my cabinet saw that I could use for most of my cuts.

So I'm thinking about just keeping the miter saw on a shelf, as a portable tool. I will keep it for household projects like trim work or general construction... But the space it takes and the dust it generates (despite considerable effort) make me question its value.

I'm curious how many of you have taken a similar path and whether you regret it.

Maybe it would be safer if I just don't set up the miter saw at first and try to do without it for a few projects. Then I can assess.

What say you?

[Mike Konobeck]

Sometimes it would be nice to have a dedicated miter saw setup but the space is definitely not worth it to me in a 2 car garage shop. Some of the workstations that allow you to change out the tools on a bench then that may be ok but having a sliding table saw and plenty of other ways to make big pieces of wood smaller, my miter saw is likely the last resort.

[Steve Peterson]

My miter saw is currently sitting on top of my tablesaw. I am working on a station. It's nothing fancy, just a 6' wide workbench along one wall. The miter saw drops down so the cutting surface sits flush with the table. My bandsaw is to the left and a router table to the right. If needed, I can line up the bandsaw and router table fences to get a 6' wide nearly continuous fence.

Steve

[Bruce Page]

I wish I had the wall space for one.

[Susumu Mori]

It was a luxury but it turns into necessity when I started to make chairs (compound miter cuts).

It is luxury because you can cross cut by a table saw or a track saw, but it is really nice to have one, especially for long boards. After I got it, almost all cross cut of solid woods go to the miter saw.
Always ready, just turn on and cut it. So nice,,,,, except for the dust collection (ouch).

[John Donofrio]

I've set one up and do use it quite frequently but mostly for rough cuts to length. I will say it is nice to be able to quickly make a cross cut and especially angled cuts. As for the space it requires, that was my dilemma also and even though the shop is space challenged I plan to keep it for now. The future may change that though depending on how the hobby progresses.

If I had the sliding table as you do, I'm not sure I'd feel the same way.

[Mike Schuch]

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!

[Mike Ontko]

My saw currently sits on a temporary folding table with a plywood and 2x4 support on the left side. But I have plans (undocumented ones...which kind of make it more of a dream I guess) for building my shop cabinets as two sets of 36" base cabs with a short gap (around 24") between them that has a below counter support for my DW compound miter saw. A removable fence will set up on both the left and right counter using dowel pegs, and the center section can be covered with a short cover piece with matching countertop material when the miter saw isn't needed. The only potential problem with this layout is that I don't really have anywhere else to put the miter saw, so I expect that it'll stay there all the time unless I need the counter for workspace.

[Jay Aubuchon]

My miter saw is on a flip-top cart. My spindle sander is on the other side. I don't have space for dedicated stations.

[Marion Smith]

Never had one so far, but I'm thinking of trying to incorporate a spot for it to stay on the outfeed side of the RAS. Still making sketches.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Thanks all. Looks like a slight majority likes the idea of having a permanent station. In other words, you guys have not helped make this decision easier. haha ;-)

[Jesse Busenitz]

I currently have a semi permanent station, that came from my trim carpentry days, but I'm going to build a big one in my new shop when the snow flies this winter. I'd say if you have the room go for it! I have a Kreg flip stop/track and that is the next best thing to a PBJ:D I'd love to get one of the tiger stops.

[Buck Williams]

I work in a cramped basement shop, a mitersaw cart/cabinet on casters with fold down wings is the answer for me. The foot print is relatively small, the wings are set up with T-tracks and stop blocks for repeatable cuts, next best thing to a permanent station. Plus drawers and shelves in the cabinet give you extra storage. Can't remember whose plans and ideas I borrowed when building it, lots of ideas of you do a search. My bandsaw, jointer, and planer are all on casters, pulled out for usage and then stored along the walls. (still haven't solved the mitersaw dust problem yet, someday)

[John Gustafson]

I've got mine on a folding portable stand. One of the old style heavy Rigid ones. It sits unfolded in the shop and gets rolled out the garage door for any extended use. Right now I can afford the floor space it occupies so it stays erected and it's where I go for the cross cuts that fit. If I get into cabinets I need the assembly room and it gets folded up and set out of the way. Not much use for it with flat stock.

[Larry Frank]

Mine is on a portable stand with locking wheels and drawers. I also have portable stands for support. I just do not have room for a permanent setup.

[paul cottingham]

Had one. Got rid of it and the mitre saw. Bought an old stanley 250 series mitre saw. No power, very humane.

[William C Rogers]

I have two. I have a Ridgid 12" on a mobile stand and a Milwaukee 12" slider on a permanent stand. Don't really need two, but it's what I have.

[Garth Almgren]

My miter saw lives on the floor behind my table saw and comes out when I need it. Most of my crosscutting is done with the RAS which takes up it's fair share of floor space.

[Larry Copas]

I had a Bosch SCMS which I used a lot when I built a couple of shops, and two houses. It was used on site with a shop made dedicated bench. I think my shop and house building days are over so the saw became permanent in my shop. A few years ago I added a sliding table to my Unisaw. That did all of the duties of the SCMS so I sold it and recovered a lot of space. The sliding table addition to the Unisaw was one of my better shop ideas.

[Dan Rude]

I have 2, no permanent home yet since the shop is under construction. The 1 I am using now is my little C-Man 7.25 w/box to catch the dust. Limited size but it's much lighter than the delta 10". Stand is either a ketter bench, a porta stand or a table. What I miss is a long table for board cutting. Dan

[Eric Schmid]

I have always had a dedicated miter station as a lot of the work I do is with long sticks of dimensional lumber. I also have need for a lot of cabinetry for storage and organization of tools. I just combined the two and the miter station sits in the middle of a long bank of upper and lower cabinets. The floor space is already lost with the lower cabinets, so why not put a miter saw on the table. Mine happens to be huge, so it can also be used as a work surface.

Miter saws are great for production work, but unnecessary for custom runs. I recently set up a sled for the table saw that I used to cut tenons on 5' long 2x6. Since the sled was already set up, I cut the boards to finish dimension on the table saw as well. It went smoother than expected. That said, I do a lot of projects where I need dozens of pieces cut to the same length, so I won't be giving up my miter station any time soon.

Several years back I picked up a book on workshop layout, Great Workshops from Fine Woodworking. It's filled with layout solutions for all sizes and shapes of shops. One idea from this book that has worked for me in my last two small shop setups is to keep as much equipment as possible in the same plane. My current shop is narrow and long, so the co-planar thing is really important. I've got a miter saw, router table, table saw and jointer in the same continuous plane. The operating space that the tools require can overlap for a much tighter layout.

[Alan Bienlein]

I guess I would consider this permanent but it's also mobile. It also doubles as an out feed for my surface planer and a support for cross cutting on the table saw.
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[julian abram]

I have a 12" Dewalt mounted on a Rigid Mobile Base. This setup was leftover from my house building days but still one of the most used power tools in my shop. Someday I'll take it off the mobile base and place on a fixed platform. Sometimes wished I had the 12" slider for the extra cutting width. Never want to work on projects without access to a cms.

[Russell Smallwood]

12" Hitach 12RSH on a rigid SUV which collects finishing supplies and dust. Wish I Had somewhere to store it until I needed it for the odd trim job etc.

That said, you'll have to go through me if you try to take my MBF.

[Gregory King]

Hard to make any tool permanent in smaller shops. I have the 10" Makita c/w folding stand. Extensions make it a breeze to fold up and move. Very sturdy stand. Greg

[Robert Parent]

My miter saw is on a workmate bench sitting in one of those metal frames with wheels used to make large tools portable. I would like to have a fixed location with wings on each side but just have not had time to build something. For now, the wheels are nice as I can pull the saw away from other tools when cutting something long. Really need to build a fixed station one of these days as the miter saw is one of the most used tools in the shop.

Robert

[David Nelson1]

I use mine outside primarily for rough cuts, but I did have a plan that included a permanent station. Since then things have changed more than a few times and I no longer think its feasible. The model attached would have had a the Biesemeyer tables I think one is 8' and the other 6' that would be removable for other work, that leaves with a storage problem and with 412 Sq foot shop that is packed already.... just dont see it.

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[michael langman]

I have my Makita 10" compound double sided saw mounted to a piece of melamine that is attached to a homemade collapsible stand made out of 2"x6"x 10' lumber. It sits off center in my small basement shop.
I have a 28"x32" router table, small 4" jointer, small table top9" bandsaw, floor drill, bench drill, tablesaw and benches along 2 walls with an L extension off one bench I use for working on.
Someday when I get the floor layed in the last room I may sell the miter saw and replace with a planer or good bandsaw.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I plan to build one with my new shop. Right now, I use one of those Woodcraft portable workbenches to support it, and a stack of foam insulation as the support table. I would love to have a new one (this one is a used Harbor Freight bought at a garage sale for like $10) that can live permanently. I really like Ron Paulks design off YouTube.

Doc

[glenn bradley]

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.

[Bill White]

Folding stand here.
Bill

[Charles Palmer]

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.

[Brian Tymchak]

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 )

[Ray Newman]

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.

[Peter Aeschliman]

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!).

[Rick Potter]

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.



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[Brian Henderson]

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.

[Shawn Pixley]

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...

[jack duren]

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.

[Dave Cav]

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.

[jack duren]

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?

[Mike Schuch]

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.

[jack duren]

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.

[Roger Feeley]

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.

[glenn bradley]

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 ;-)

[Patrick Grady]

A neighbor gave me a 15" Hitachi which needed some repairs (fortunately it came with a nice blade). It is set on a metal stand against a wall. It really packs some power and I wish I had it years ago when I think back on many difficult lumber cuts.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I have a slider so a mitre saw is a waste of shop space for me.

I do own a mitre saw, it gets used outside for fence boards etc.

Regards, Rod

[Prashun Patel]

A CMS is good for cross cutting long things. I use mine enough that I appreciate having a permanent set up for it.

[roger wiegand]

Haven't got around to rebuilding mine since the move and hate being without it. Bought a Dewalt stand as an interim solution, but really want the Biesemeyer fence with stops back again in the worst way. Cabinets are going to go underneath it this time, which will take longer than just a shelf. The prefinished maple ply is purchased, so hopefully this winter...

[jack duren]

Most all here are just doing woodworking for fun. In business setup time is considered down time. Why setup a permanent station if you may only going to be out there for a few hours at a time. If your out there daily working, not piddling you might want it permanent. Talking about moving all these tools already sounds like work to start before the hobby. Maybe you like moving the tools,dunno?

Whether it is permanent or not really doesn't matter. Are you having fun? All that really matters. As long as you are having fun I can focus more making furniture for living:p