I chose this DIY Miter Saw Station as the first project for the new shop because having a way to make quick, accurate, repeatable miter cuts makes every other project so much easier.
Having the saw on the floor or a makeshift sawhorse table means more fiddling with support blocks, interruptions in workflow, and not quite square cuts.
I should credit Bob Clagett’s design from his site I Like To Make Stuff. I made a few small modifications, but ended up following that design pretty closely.
Miter Saw Station Planning
Cutting Up
I made a make shift work support for cutting pieces to length by sandwiching a stack of boards between the saw and a leg of my workbench, then using a clamp as a stop block.
Using the cut list I cut all leg and bench top pieces to length.
Using the cut list I cut all leg and bench top pieces to length.
I used pocket holes to join leg and bench top pieces, pre drilling all holes before starting assembly.
Then screwed it all together, referring to my sketch and labels on the pieces.
I clamped the plywood to the frames, pre-drilled all holes with a countersink bit, then screwed it down.
After the three sections were assembled I positioned them where I wanted them in the shop, clamped the center section temporarily in place, then used shims under the legs to bring the outside sections level.
Next, I positioned the saw and made approximately 4000 tiny adjustments, unclamping, moving, and re-clamping, until the center section was perfectly level and the saw was perfectly flush with the wing sections. Then screwed the center section to the wing sections.
I assembled the dust shroud using wood glue and finish nails.
Next came fences, which I made by gluing two pieces of plywood together for extra rigidity, then using a router to cut a channel for the stop blocks.
I positioned the saw, then used a long straight edge to get the fences flush with the saw fence.
Using a piece of cardboard, I made a template for the face of the dust shroud, moving the saw around to various miter angles, and enlarging the cutout where necessary. I don’t need to make bevel cuts very often, so I elected to simply remove the face altogether when those cuts do come up, rather than trying to enlarge the cutout to allow for the unusual saw position.
I then transferred that pattern to a piece of hardboard with whiteboard finish. I found a razor knife worked best for cutting this material.
Small angle brackets hold the face in place, and the whole thing slides up and out easily when needed.
I made stop blocks by joining two pieces of scrap board to form an L, then drilling a hole matching the height of the channel in the fence.
To make the screw knob, I drilled a hole in a small piece of scrap wood, then used a chisel and router plane to mortise out the shape of a hex head bolt, which was then glued in place.
I used a wing nut to secure the bolt on the rear of the fence.
I added a ruler with adhesive backing to the fence. This quikly became my favorite feature of the whole miter saw station. It’s so fast and easy to simply set the stop block to the appropriate measurement and cut away. I don’t know how I ever got along without this before.
So far, I’m quite happy with this DIY miter saw station. I’ve since added ducting to connect my dust collector, as well as some shelves under the wings.
