Miter Saw Table

[Don Abele]

Well, after just way too long, I finally finished up my new miter saw table. This is an upgrade from the steel shelving I had been using. The table idea came from several sources which I combined the best ideas from.

The table has a 3/4" ply carcass, dividers, and stretchers. The top is made with 2x4's and more 3/4" ply then topped off with removable 1/4" hardboard. I then wrapped the top with maple. It has a 1/4" ply back.

The drawers are made from baltic birch in 1/4" (bottoms), 3/8" (sides), and 1/2" (sides and bottom of large drawers) and wrapped in maple. I used 28" full extension 100# slides on all the drawers and the sliding shelf in the cabinet section. The cabinet section uses 165* concealed hinges and also has a 1/2 width adjustable shelf in addition to the sliding shelf.

The miter extensions are made with melamine coated lightweight MDF, iron on edging, and more 3/4" ply.

For dust collection I used 3" ports in each corner of a "catch box". The 3" connect together under the table and become a single 4" connection. A 2.5" hose comes off the saw and connects to the same 4" drop via a wye. This catches about 95%+ of the dust. If I need to make miter cuts the top of the box lifts off (the sides were made to not interfere with any cuts, including compound).

All in all a lengthy and very worthwhile project. BTW, this thing weighs a ton - empty I can not even lift one side up!!!

Be well,

Doc

[Jim Becker]

Very nice job on that bench/cabinet, Don! Attractive and functional. I like the use of drawers as I find them more functional than just cabinet doors.

You might want to consider elminiating as much of that flex hose as you can to further improve your dust collection...flex really adds a ton of friction which results in reduced air flow. Check the interiors of those "dust collection" elbows, too. Some of them are poorly molded and decrease in diameter significantly in the curve. That also will reduce your air flow. The more air you can move, the better your dust collection will be!

[Don Abele]

Jim, Thanks. The flex you see under the table actually has no contact area within the piping - it's just connecting them together. The 90*'s are nasty, I know, but with the tight confines under the table there wasn't a whole lot I could do. Even with that though, the suction is strong enough to pull small slices off the saw table and down into the opening (and, yes, all the way into the collector). I was amazed at how well it actually works.

As for the drawers, they are replacing a lot of shelf space which I hated. With them being 28" deep I'm going to need to build some dividers inside to organize the smaller drawers. I still have to load it up, so I'm not sure yet.

Thanks again, Be well,

Doc

[Anthony Yakonick]

You flat folks blow me away, that would take way more than two hours to build! Nice work!

[Don Abele]

Anthony - I think you misread what I typed - it took me way too long - meaning like a month and a half to build (I spent 4 hours just building the extension tables today). :) I wish I could have built it much faster, but my real job got in the way.

Be well,

Doc

[Anthony Yakonick]

Anthony - I think you misread what I typed - it took me way too long - meaning like a month and a half to build (I spent 4 hours just building the extension tables today). :) I wish I could have built it much faster, but my real job got in the way.

Be well,

Doc
I'm a turner, I rarely spend more than two hours on a "project" ;) . Most of my stuff is production work for $. Earlier this year I threw some cabs together for storage but nothing like that!

[John Miliunas]

Wow! I've gotten a lot more utilitarian in my "designs" for shop cabinets, but your setup is inspiring! That's one heavy-duty unit! Quite the plumbing job for dust collection, too. Seems like too many 90's to me, as well, but hey, if it works.... :D Sure beats the heck outta' my second and third-hand "throwaway" cabinets! Nice job. :cool:

[Von Bickley]

Don,
Great looking miter saw table and cabinet. I think every shop needs a table for the miter saw, and an out-feed table for the table saw.

Thanks for the pictures..... :)

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Ahhhh! It looks great!
Daniel :cool:

[Mike Evertsen]

very nice miter saw cabinet,,after the holidays that and a work bench are 1 and 2 on the shop cabinet list to build,,,,I too want drawers in mine for knobs,, hinges and drawer slides I keep in stock,,,