Mobile vs Fixed SCMS station?

[Paul Coffin]

Hi All,
I am looking for some advice. I received a 10" Makita SCMS for Xmas to replace my old and worn out chop saw. The old chop saw has always sat on a workmate and was never used for fine work, just things like framing. I am now getting into furniture more and more and am interested in the accuracy of my crosscuts. I have a fairly new shop that is 28 x 32.

So, if space is not a concern would you prefer a mobile saw cart or a permanent saw staion? And Why?

Thanks for the advice

[Dave Sweeney]

I would choose the permanent station mainly for the stability and repeatability it would provide that the mobile cart couldn't. I have the Ridgid MSUV, and like it, and it's pretty solid but not nearly as solid as a permanent station would be.

[JayStPeter]

I prefer a permanent station. It is always dialed in and ready to go. I can also cut 5' on one side and 9+' on the other. I never have to measure, just set the stops and cut. For situations where I'm working somewhere other than my shop (ie my deck), I have a system I can setup quickly that will support long pieces on some sawhorses. It is simply a 2x12 and I have some 2x4 parts made for it that make support and stop mounting points. Every so often I need to replace the 2x12 as it gets used for other things, but I keep the other parts in a box stashed under my basement stairs.

[Joe Chritz]

Fixed with a bunch of drawers or cabs under the top.

Mine is 36" deep to accommodate the slider on mine. (12" Dewalt) If I had to do over I would build an alcove in the wall to hold the slider and wing it off for dust collection.

Mine is pretty much dead center on a 23' wall, although the top is shorter on one side do to a doorway. I built a platform to position the saw just below the bench top and shim it to perfect before bolting down.

Mr. Jim Becker has a nice tutorial on a cantilevered station on his page. I needed some storage drawers anyway so I built it atop a large cabinet.

Joe

[Bob Feeser]

I have the Rousseau Stand. It is a shop stand, that beefy. It does have wheels so I can clean, and move if neccessary, but stays put when the wheels are locked. Has the built in stop/measuring system which is a dream for fast accurate length cuts, good up to about 84". The Makita rules for accuracy, that is what I use on it. Read the Amazon review on it, the first two featured reviews were written by some guy named Bob Feeser, whoever that is. The second one was posted to make sure you get the right stand for your saw, so Amazon featured both. I like the stand because it has a 90 inch wingspan, but when you fold it down with the push of a single button, it only takes up 36 inches. Heavy, built like a workhorse, and accurate. It weighs over 90 pounds, and with my 40 + pound saw, that makes it a 130 plus pound station. The picture does not do it any justice, it is made out of heavy thick steel. Will handle 2x12's easily, or dainty trim.
First a few pics, then the generic link to Amazon.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416K0CYWPVL._SS400_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418MHV645ZL._AA280_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Rousseau-2875XL-Miter-Saw-Stand/dp/B0000224QY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1200858096&sr=8-3

Just a note. Generic links: I have been excited about woodworking tools for a long time. Spent a lot of time researching every purchase, then shared what I found with Amazonians. I got to the point where I became number 150 out of over 60 million Amazonians in the reviewer ranks, thanks to helpful votes from the people reading them, and even though my purchasing, and reviews have pared way down, the classic quality of the tools and names make the reviews still relevant.
I respect my relationship, and TOS here at SMC so I never put an affiliated link here. I do have an associates account with Amazon at this point, but if it was a loaded referral link, the kind you get a small commission on, it would have "toolsreviewco" in the middle of it. None of my links have that, none of my private messages have one, in plain words I am in complete complaince with TOS, and appreciate the privelege of being part of such a great place to share, learn, and gain wonderful insight into everyone in the woodworking community. All links I include are all strictly taken from the product page after doing a search in Amazon to find the page. FYI: even with my fooling around with Amazon's associate program, I have yet to receive a dime, I am still working on my first 10 dollar amount, which is there minimum for them to cut a check.
So I want my new friends at SMC to know that I am sharing what I have found. Hey that is a great idea for SMC to cover the ongoing costs. They could create an Amazon link page, so us at SMC when making a tool purchase from Amazon, could go there to use one of there links, thereby providing SMC with 4 to 6% of the purchase price. Hey on a 2000 dollar saw, that would be pretty substantial. The link pages don't create a more expensive purchase price or anything. It is all the same product page. There i go getting creative again. Hey when stuff is cool, I get excited. It's football time. Go SMC.
PS: I must admit I always admired the permanent station for miter saws, but my shop is 725 sq ft and the wall where I store my wood is behind the saw. So a quick set of fold down wings, and unlockable wheels, makes for easy access. This is not a lightweight portable stand. Rousseau calls it a shop stand.

[Jim O'Dell]

My answer is both. But then I'm still working on mine, so can't show it to you. I have a 20 X 24' shop, and a 10 X 14' adjoining room that I plan to used for finishing...eventually. :rolleyes: I have one 24' wall that I have built 2 shallow benches on. In the middle, there is a 3' opening that has a box bay window for extra light, and for the soon to be added SCMS. (Makita 10") I plan on this being a multi-purpose station that many items can roll into and "dock" for use. I have an electrical outlet that will be controlled by a (hopefully magnetic) switch on the face of the cabinet. This was made primarily for the SCMS, but plan on making a down draft insert, scroll saw insert, portable planer insert, RAS insert, etc. Still trying to come up with the best way to make the docking setup work so that the individual tools will lock into place and be able to use the built in fence on the cabinets. I will need to make the individual units adjustable up and down, and also front to back to be able to adjust for any alignment problems that crop up, and I know they will!
So I answer both permanent and mobile. Jim.

[Lee Koepke]

I did something similar to what Jim just described. I built the CMS station with casters on the rear, and screwed a cleat to either side of the "fences" The fence has a 36" +/- gap, and the intention was if i ever have the need to bring another tool, i could use the fences / stops on either side.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii16/LCKII/Shop%20Tour%202007/ShopRenov2007023.jpg

[Paul Coffin]

Nice work station picture Lee. I am leaning on doing something permanent, but I would like to figure out how to make the fences easily moved back so that I can also take advantage of the bench top space if needed. With a sliding mitersaw the fence will need to be quite a bit forward on the bench top to align with the saw fence and still allow the saw to do its sliding thing without hitting the rear wall. Maybe I can mount the fences on t-tracks then quickly align them with a long level. That might mess up a measuring system along the length of the track, so I have not decided yet.

[Bob Feeser]

Jim,
I wanted to do the same setup, or at least something like it. My first thoughts were why not make that wall a multi-station support fixture. So I worked at maintaining the radial arm saw table at the same height as the miter saw, and was thinking I could incorporate a few more after that. Well getting the tools to be all at the exact same height became quite a challenge. Not only was there a height variation, the exact plane they were on also varied. Try as you may to make them level, they have there own mind about things, not to mention the concrete floor they are sitting on has it's own variations. So you would need to not only adjust their height, you would need to be able to adjust the angle, or plane the top was sitting on. Then after climbing that mountain, I was met with the reality that when placing longer workpieces on the station, it became a "bang into the other saw" carnival, every time I wanted to cut a piece. I finally got to the point where I would move the other saw out of the way, when I had a lot of pieces to cut, because I was always banging into it. Then I decided a roll around stand, with independent wings, on each side I could flip up, gave me exactly what I needed in terms of flexibility. I can keep the other saw on the same wall, flip up just the left side with the stop and measuring system, and not bang into anything when I am doing my work. Normally, I flip up both sides, and have the saw farther down the wall to the left side. The reality of the situation is that I have flexiblity no matter how I want to do it, so as these things go, it winds up in the one position where it is best suited.
I understand that you are talking about a more advanced system of being able to dock in tools, and undock them, that way you are not dealing with the banging into them problem I was just talking about.
I must admit, I think getting the heights all the same, getting them to lock into place, with trying to calibrate a stop measuring tape/system would be a major challenge to say the least. When I am setting up my saw to leave it there with the Rousseau, the final measurements to get the tapes set right is loosening the 2 screws that hold the hairline in place, and tweak the fine tuning until it is dead on accurate. I would not want to be moving the saw and expect to get the same kind of accuracy.
Hey like I mentioned I have always admired the permanent stations for miter saws, and if you have a huge shop, that must be a very nice way to go. It takes up a ton of space though. You can put storage under it but be sure an put in kick panels that are recessed, otherwise you will be banging your toes into it. Myself, I want that area open. Drop the wings with a single button, and it is real open.
A docking station setup, would be a real challenge to accomplish. I can see the creative juices flowing though, that in itself is half the fun. I would be curious to see what you came up with. Also one tape setting for one saw, or device would be a totally different setup for another, because the distance to the blade would never be the same, let alone, even putting the same saw back in would probably be out.
Jim you helped me in the past with some information that I needed, so I appreciate the help. I thought my 2 cents may be some help in your design quest, or at least some more thought about the problems inherent in such a design. Bob


My answer is both. But then I'm still working on mine, so can't show it to you. I have a 20 X 24' shop, and a 10 X 14' adjoining room that I plan to used for finishing...eventually. :rolleyes: I have one 24' wall that I have built 2 shallow benches on. In the middle, there is a 3' opening that has a box bay window for extra light, and for the soon to be added SCMS. (Makita 10") I plan on this being a multi-purpose station that many items can roll into and "dock" for use. I have an electrical outlet that will be controlled by a (hopefully magnetic) switch on the face of the cabinet. This was made primarily for the SCMS, but plan on making a down draft insert, scroll saw insert, portable planer insert, RAS insert, etc. Still trying to come up with the best way to make the docking setup work so that the individual tools will lock into place and be able to use the built in fence on the cabinets. I will need to make the individual units adjustable up and down, and also front to back to be able to adjust for any alignment problems that crop up, and I know they will!
So I answer both permanent and mobile. Jim.

[Lee Koepke]

Nice work station picture Lee. I am leaning on doing something permanent, but I would like to figure out how to make the fences easily moved back so that I can also take advantage of the bench top space if needed. With a sliding mitersaw the fence will need to be quite a bit forward on the bench top to align with the saw fence and still allow the saw to do its sliding thing without hitting the rear wall. Maybe I can mount the fences on t-tracks then quickly align them with a long level. That might mess up a measuring system along the length of the track, so I have not decided yet.
I put T-nuits in the top and bolted my fences down so if I ever change my mind or my workflow changes, so can I.

The more I thought about the T-Tracks, the less I liked it. too much set up time.

I have used it now for 3 weekends and its worked pretty well. I find I use that bench LESS for set up than my previous CMS at the end of my bench. That is a good thing, because I dont have to move tons of stuff out of the way when I need a cut.

[Steve Leverich]

Paul, for fence quick-change, one thing I'm considering is piano hinge at the rear of the bench - some sort of sliding, knob-locked fence adjustment with the entire thing piano hinged so it can be swung up to the rear when you need the bench... Steve