Out with the old, in with the...

[Jim Becker]

Back in the early 2000s when my shop was relatively new and a bit smaller than it is now, I built a nice cantilevered miter saw station based on a similar setup that was published in Fine Woodworking a long time ago. It was a good design in that the space under it remained usable and flexible. The downside was it's general mass and the fact that "back then", I made the mistake of measuring up from the floor rather than setting the surface height with a level. Wouldn't you know it, but my shop floor is sloped because the building was originally built as multi-vehicle garage by the previous owners. Not level wasn't a problem for some things but it was for others in recent times. I also don't use the integral lumber rack for that purpose since all my stock moved upstairs a few years ago. The only thing "up top" of any consequence is my air cleaner and that can certainly be mounted differently.

This is more or less how it's been for awhile now:

MiterBench.jpg

It's served me well, but for a number of years now, the saw only saw use for breaking down boards and quick utility cuts and the surface was used mostly as an auxiliary work surface or to hold stuff that was lying about and waiting for something else to happen. And, of course, collecting dust and debris as awkward surfaces in a shop often do. I've debated for awhile now about how that space could be better utilized and today I "grew some brass ones" and decided to relocate the miter saw to a portable stand that's compact and easy to move around and reclaim the space for my shop. I may even replace the big 12" CMS with a smaller sliding miter saw that can actually cut wider. Things have been a lot tighter since I put in the CNC and making this change gets me more options including a place to park a smaller, dedicated bench for guitar making.

So...today I got moving with "the deed" (since my shop is clear of that big table top project) and started breaking things down this afternoon. At 6pm when I stopped to get cleaned up for dinner, this is where things stood...

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My further plan for this area is to potentially remove that huge window, replacing it with much needed wall space with a narrow window across the top keep the natural light coming in. Without the miter bench in place, this will kick security up a bit, too. I do not plan to put any "permanent" structures in the reclaimed space. Rather, I'll continue to embrace mobility for work surfaces as I have been doing for some time now. The projects I do are so incredibly variable in size and nature, going from small stuff off the CNC all the way to large pieces of furniture. And my little hobby of building guitars needs a dedicated fit-for-purpose bench so I can stop moving work in progress around and around and around in the shop as I work on client project. I will, of course, update this thread as I continue to dismantle the old and bring in the new.

[Tom Dixon]

I like the idea of the narrow window up top of additional wall space. I almost did that across my entire north wall when I built my shop but since that is the only wall with any windows I opted for something larger I could open in case I needed the extra ventilation.

[Tim Janssen]

Possible idea for a miter saw stand/cabinet.
I built this a number of years ago and it has served me well.
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The wings fold out.
Lots of storage.
If you are interested in building it, I have the built documented in a thread on another forum.
Don't know if I am allowed to link to that on here.
Cheers,

Tim

[Greg Parrish]

Jim,as you may remember, I ditched a battle ship sized miter station and saw and replaced it with a 10” Makita slider and best fence pro stand. For me, I still found it to be massive and a space hog and ended up selling that setup too. I’m currently trying to live without one using the slider saw to make my cuts or a hand saw for a really quick cut to length rough cut. So far its working but if I were to replace it again I think I’d lean towards the kapex with its small stand and aluminum side wings. It’s pricey but seems to be a very nice package that can be large or small as needed.

[Jim Becker]

Gregg, I do remember that. The stand I ordered is pretty compact (BORA Portamate OM-4000) so with the arms pulled in, it's only a few feet wide. The saw mount is also quick connect so I can literally take off the saw and fold the unit down to next to nothing for storage under something else. While my shop is a little larger than yours, I'm still pretty sensitive around having adaptable space as you know which is why I'm making this change.

Tim, I considered moving to a similar stand like you show, but in the end, I decided I wanted something even more portable and collapsable.

[Jack Frederick]

I put two of the awning type horizontal windows on two of my shop walls. The sill is set at 6’ in the 10’ east and south walls. There are no easy sight lines from outside and these walls are the “road”view. I recently worked off the PC portable stand with my saw and have decided that is what I will do with my it. That saw has to be portable so the stand seems the best option. If I have to break down material I can do it outside on the deck and not have to deal with the dust collection which is problematic on chop saws. Curious what a dedicated guitar station will entail.

[Jim Becker]

ICurious what a dedicated guitar station will entail.

Just a bench sized for the work...narrower, for example. Perhaps a specialized vice, I don't know yet. It will be mobile and if I have my way, adjustable height like my primary bench, storage for components and specialized tools and have leveling capability because of my shop floor slope which is unfortunately variable.

I may just do something creative with the existing window to keep my costs down...faddling with an idea "as we speak". With any luck, I'll only need to buy a few pieces of sheet goods and some one-by. All my demolition is now done so it's "thinking and scheming" time.

Your window solution looks great, Jack...a perfect solution to let in natural light without letting people have an easy view nor take up a lot of wall space.

[Tom Dixon]

There are some "Shed Windows" around that will fit between studs from several suppliers. I think the one I bought as a sample when I was considering doing an entire upper wall with them was 14x14. It was pretty cheap too. I ended up using it in My DC closet because I had it already. No header was required.

[Jim Becker]

My demolition is complete and tomorrow I'll pick up some materials I need to do what I want to do the way I want to do it. While it might not be a popular choice for many, what I've decided to do is to keep the existing window in place so that a future owner can restore the bigger view if they want to or replace it at their cost. This is a nearly 8' wide by 4' tall window and it would be expensive to replace if someone wanted to turn the space back into a potting shed or art studio or whatever. We will not likely be here in 4-5 years or so I suspect as it will be time to downsize once the younger is done Penn State and off on her own and the older finds a way to live independently. (special needs adult) In the mean time, I'm going to encapsulate the window, except for the top 8" of it which will remain visible and neatly framed in for natural light. IE, I'm going to do some magic to get the look and utility I want without spending a lot of money. It's very doable.

The green line shows where the bottom of the visible window will be. You can also observe that I chose to leave the upper part of the two left side posts intact as they currently support my air cleaner and I just don't want to deal with moving it...it's heavy and that spot is perfectly "out of the way".

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[Jack Frederick]

I would suggest that you leave the bottom open and perhaps make folding shutters to enclose the area you want blocked. Dust, spiders, general appearance, moisture etc. Good ventilation will be your friend. You have the 2000 right above it so that should help, but when you unbutton that window for sale you don’t want any surprises. If you do the shutters you can stay up with it’s condition.

[Jim Becker]

If was was just wanting to cover up the window then shutters would be nice. But I need "wall" there. The only reason I'm not completely closing it up is that I also like natural light. My plan does include providing for ventilation to avoid moisture issues. Spiders are welcome in my shop...they eat other things that I really don't prefer to have around.

[Frank Pratt]

Spiders are welcome in my shop...they eat other things that I really don't prefer to have around.

My DIL is deathly afraid of spiders. One day she saw one in the house & screamed for hubby to come & kill it. My then 8 YO grandson shouted out 'No! Spiders are our 8 legged allies.' I agree with him.

[Jim Becker]

With the exception of replacing a couple of small pieces of window trim on the outside that I noticed were in poor condition, this little shop project is complete outside of the cleanup and figuring out what I want to do with the reclaimed space. There is nearly zero change in appearance on the outside of the building other than most of the window appears dark and on the inside, I now have actual "wall" where there was none. The narrow view to the outside at the top still brings in a lot of nice natural light, but without some of the glare that was occasionally present late in the day.

This project was a nice opportunity to use a whole bunch of tools...my slider and friends "Fritz and Franz" for knocking down the "studs" to proper thickness and cutting to length, the jig saw with a very long blade for demolition, various drill/driver combinations, the Tracksaw to size the wall panels, the Centipede support setup to hold the panel up for cutting, various pneumatic fastening tools, etc., an actual hammer and pry bars... What's not to like about that? (I couldn't use the slider for the wall panels because I don't have enough space to the right of the blade because of the stairwell for the width that was required...by an inch)


Examples of that...

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Today's steps...

Simple, undoable method for hiding the new "wall"...paint on the glass. It can be scraped off easily in the future if necessary. That was followed by installing the "wall"...2x material from my CNC's original crate was used for this with a 1x4 sill on top for a clean edge. The sill was also painted black to keep it invisible from outside


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Insulation...held away from the window by a jute twine "web" to insure air flow
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Completed and trimmed out. The outlet strip was originally on the front of the old miter stand and was sufficient to provide a convenient "higher" power source for general utility
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I wonderful how long it will take for the new panelling to get the same "sun tan" as the rest of the shop. LOL I do realize I need to paint over that little bit of blue on the original window frame at the top...I'll do that at the same time I paint the replacement trim on the outside.

Total cost for this modification because of reuse and repurpose was about $75 and that was for the sheet of T1-11, insulation and the trim I need to replace on the outside. Oh, and about $100 for the portable miter saw stand which arrived today on the big brown truck.

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice Jim, will be great to have better use of that space.

I have not missed getting rid of my SCMS at all. Rough cut with a circular saw and retain the space.

[Frank Pratt]

My SCMS doesn't get much use either. I have a set of very sturdy shelves on 1 wall of the shop. The SCMS has a cubby there on a base that can be pulled out on a set of heavy duty slides. The cubby is enclose on the sides, top & bottom with an 8" duct running into it. Takes up little space & is there when I need it. And there's no mess from the dust.