Free Portable Miter Saw Stand Plans. Compound mitre saw stand

Free Portable Miter Saw Stand Plans

Chris Baylor is a woodworking expert and writer with over a decade of hands-on commercial carpentry experience. He has studied under master carpenters and also designs wooden tools and furniture, sharing tutorials on websites including Woodworkers Workshop and Homemade Tools.

Building Plans

The compound miter saw, occasionally referred to as a chop saw, is the tool of choice when woodworking projects call for compound angles and precise crosscuts. When working with a compound miter saw in a woodshop, there is typically a long table to the left and right of the miter saw to keep the stock in line with and level with the table of the miter saw.

However, when away from the woodshop, the best way to use a compound miter saw is with a portable miter saw stand. Just as there are many models of miter saws, there are numerous versions of compound miter saw stands commercially available. Even so, each model has some drawbacks. Sometimes, they are too difficult to set up or don’t have proper supports for long pieces of stock. Many models are quite expensive, as well.

After researching the numerous choices of miter stands available, we decided to build one. We used pressure-treated stock for nearly the entire piece (except the table holding the saw) for longevity. In our case, nearly all of the stock for the stand was left over from previous projects.

When all was said and done, we had a very strong 12-foot-long stand that could be easily disassembled into six easily-transportable pieces and set back up in seconds.

Recommended Tools

Build the Table Support Boxes

To begin building our miter saw stand plans, we need to make the support structure beneath the saw table. The saw sits on a piece of melamine-covered particleboard, which in turn, is attached to two box-like structures made from pressure-treated wood.

Using your miter saw (with some temporary stock supports), cut four lengths of pressure-treated 2×6 at 31 inches long for the sides. Cut four more at 10-1/4 inches for the ends and two at 7-1/4 inches for center supports.

As shown earlier, butt one of the end pieces to the end of one of the side pieces and attach using some 2-1/2-inch deck screws. Connect the opposite side piece to the other side of the end piece. Then, attach the other end in the same manner. Finally, place one of the center pieces exactly in the middle between the sides and connect with deck screws.

Repeat with the remaining pieces to create a second box structure.

Attach the Saw Table

With the two under-structures completed, we’ll now attach the saw table to the assembly. On a shop table, position the two box assemblies parallel to one another (along the long sides) with a scrap piece of 2×6 in between acting as a spacer. Be sure that the two boxes are aligned evenly.

Position a 24×36-inch piece of 3/4-inch-thick melamine-coated particleboard onto the assembly and center it evenly on all four sides (there should be about a 1-inch reveal on all four sides). Attach to the sub-structure assembly with 1-5/8-inch deck screws. Remove the spacer and set the assembly aside for a while.

Begin the Leg Assemblies

With the saw table complete, we’ll turn our attention to building the two leg assemblies to support the stand. This step is a bit tricky, so work carefully and double-check your measurements before beginning any cut. The top cut of each of the four legs needs to be cut.

Using your miter saw, cut four pieces of 2×4 (treated) to 40 inches in length. Then, adjust your compound miter saw for a 20-degree miter (to the left) with about a 7-degree (angled to the left) bevel. Set stock support directly in front of the miter saw.

Using your combination square, align one 2×4 on edge perpendicular to the miter saw’s fence. Hold the piece securely with your hands well away from the blade, remove the combination square and cut the compound miter on the leg (as shown above). It would be advisable to secure the piece of stock with a clamp, as the turning of the blade may try to slide the piece as it is being cut. Cut two of the four legs in this manner.

To cut the bottom of the leg, measure 32 inches from the long point and make a mark. Position the stock against the fence, on edge with the longest point on the top-back spot. Adjust the bevel to 15-degrees left and cross-cut the leg at the mark. This should allow the bottom of the leg to sit flat on the ground when the assembly is in place. Repeat with the other leg.

Next, rotate the miter to 20-degrees right and the bevel to 7-degrees right. Cut the tops of the other two legs in the same manner (positioned perpendicular to the fence). Then adjust the bevel to 15-degrees right and cut the bottoms of the two legs at the same length as the first two legs.

Tip: Cutting the legs to 32 inches in length will put the cutting surface of the miter saw at about 34 inches off of the ground. Adjust the leg length accordingly for a higher cutting surface.

Making A Miter Saw Stand

Attach a Cross Brace

Take one each out of the two different sets of legs you cut in the last step and align the top cuts together so that the legs are splayed out (twenty degrees in each direction). Position a scrap of stock in between the two top cuts and clamp the pieces together as shown in the picture on this page.

Measure down 2 inches from the top and make a pencil line across the two legs perpendicular to the spacer that separates the two legs. This will mark the top edge of the cross brace for this side of the leg assembly. Measure the length of this line across the two legs.

Set your miter saw to zero-degree bevel but 20-degree miter and cut a piece of 2×4 stock with the measurement from across the two legs as the short-point-to-short-point measurement on this block. You should end up with a trapezoidal-shaped piece of stock.

Attach this piece at the mark shown using some long deck screws.

Flip the assembly over and repeat the entire procedure, adding another short cross-brace at the same height on the opposite side of the leg assembly. Remove the spacer after the second cross-brace is attached.

Repeat the entire procedure with the other two legs.

Attach a Stabilizing Brace

With the cross-braces attached on each side of the tops of the leg assemblies, we’ll next add a stabilizing brace to the bottom of the leg assembly. The height of this brace is not as important as merely making certain that it is securely attached and at the same height on each leg.

From the long point on the bottom of one leg, measure up approximately 10–12 inches on the corner of the leg and make a mark. This mark denotes where the top of the stabilizing brace will be attached. Repeat at the same spot on the opposite leg.

Measure the distance between the two marks. As in the previous step, this will be the short-point-to-short-point on a trapezoidal-cut piece of stock.

With the miter saw set to 20-degrees miter (zero-degree bevel), cut one end of the stabilizing brace. Flip the unit over, measure the short-to-short distance and cut the opposite side. Attach to the leg assembly using deck screws.

Tip: The short-to-short distance should be the same on the second stabilizing brace as it was on the first. If they are different, you might experience a bit of wobble when the stand is in use.

Notch the Beam

With the two leg assemblies completed, we’ll turn our attention to the beam, the main support on the project. This beam will need to be notched twice for each leg assembly, as the notches and cross braces will connect providing considerable lateral support for the stand.

To begin, measure in 30-inches from each end of the 12-foot-long pressure-treated 2×6. Using your combination square, mark a 75-degree angle leaning toward the center (105-degrees from the opposite side of the angle, as shown in the plans). Make a cross-mark 2-1/2 inches up the line. At this spot, mark a 1-1/2-inch long line perpendicular to the angle. From the end of this line, make a line at a 75-degree angle (parallel to the first line) back down to the bottom of the beam. Repeat on the opposite end of the beam.

Next, position one of the leg assemblies on the floor in the approximate angle that the unit will be used (with the bottoms of the legs flat on the floor). Measure the distance between the high points of the two cross braces on the top of the leg assembly (the distance should be around 5 inches).

Make a mark at this distance from the first mark you made in this step (30 inches from the end) and mark out a second notch on this end of the beam exactly as you made the first on this end. Repeat the procedure on the opposite side (being certain to measure the distance between the cross braces).

Now, use a cross-cut hand saw and cut the parallel lines of the four notches (eight cuts in all). Use a sharp chisel and ease out the ends of the notches. Take your time to make sure you cut the notches cleanly.

Position the Legs on the Beam

With the leg assemblies completed and the beam notched, it’s time to put the stand together. Slide each leg assembly onto the beam and into the notches as shown in the picture on this page. The cross-braces of each leg assembly should fit snugly (but not too snugly) into each pair of notches on the beam. It may be useful to wiggle the leg assembly a bit as you’re sliding the legs onto (or off of) the beam. With both legs connected to the beam, flip the unit over onto its legs. The leg-and-beam assembly should be sturdy and have no wobble. You should be able to easily lean onto the beam or push it in any direction and it should be stable (provided that the cross-braces on the leg assemblies are properly seated in each of the notches).

Bolt the Saw to the Table

Once the beam and leg assemblies have been connected and are stable, we’ll turn our attention back to the saw table and attach the compound miter saw to the saw table.

To begin this step, grab the saw table that you set aside earlier and position it onto the beam. The two box structures under the tabletop should fit snugly (but not too snugly) across the beam, much like a saddle on a horse. The table should be stable on the beam but might have a very slight wobble (which should not affect the accuracy of the saw).

With the saw table on the stand, place your compound miter saw onto the table. Position the saw so that the fence is parallel to the far side of the beam (as you look at it). Positioning it in this location will allow any stock to be cut to be placed directly over the beam when being cut.

Center the saw on the table and mark the bolt hole locations. (Most compound miter saws have 1/2-inch-diameter bolt holes, so if your unit requires larger or smaller diameter bolts, be sure to adjust accordingly.) Remove the saw and drill the four holes using a 1/2-inch paddle bit.

Place the saw back on the table and align the bolt holes with the holes in the table. Place a large flat washer between the saw base and the table. Then slip a bolt through each hole in the saw, through the washer and the saw table. On the underside of the table, slip a large flat washer followed by a lock washer and a nut onto each bolt. Tighten the bolts to lock the saw onto the table. Do not over-tighten the bolts, as you don’t want to damage the melamine tabletop.

Tip: Unless you’re of above-average size and strength (or are partial to hernias), it is probably a good idea to have someone help you when you remove the saw table from the beam or put it on next time. The saw table with the saw attached can be quite heavy.

Build the Stock Supports

In the final step of these plans, we’ll build a pair of stock supports to hold the stock at the proper height when it is being cut.

To begin, cut two lengths of treated 2×4 to 16 inches in length and two more at 12 inches. Set these pieces aside for the moment.

Measure the height from the top of the melamine table to the base of the miter saw’s table. On most saws, this height should be somewhere between 3 and 4 inches. Add the thickness of the melamine tabletop to this distance and you’ll have the final height needed for each stock support.

Next, subtract this distance from the width of two 2x4s (which should be 7 inches). To verify, place the edge of one of the 16-inch pieces against the edge of one of the 12-inch pieces and measure the combined width.

Subtract the height needed for each stock support from the width of the two 2x4s and divide this result in half. This is the depth that you’ll need to make on some half-lap joints to create the stock supports. In the case of our miter saw stand, we needed to make the depth of the half-lap joints at 1-9/32 inch. While we could have used a table saw to make these joints, we chose to use a circular saw instead.

On the edge of the 16-inch piece of stock, make a mark at 7-1/4 inches and another at 8-3/4 inches. This will be the edges of the half-lap joint. Make similar marks at 5-1/4 inches and 6-3/4 inches on the edge of the 12-inch piece. Cut the half-lap joints at the determined depth using one of the methods described in our article on half-lap joints.

Repeat with the other pair and secure the half-lap joints using wood glue.

Next, cut eight 9-inch pieces with a 45-degree angle. Attach these to the 12-inch pieces as shown using deck screws.

Finally, slip the supports onto the beam where desired. The four angled pieces should hold the stock supports in place.

Compound mitre saw stand

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Assembling the Miter Saw Stand Base

Start by drilling holes on the underside of the left and right edges of the shelves. Secure the top shelf 1-¾” down from the top of one side using 1-¼” hole screws, while using a right angle to hold it square.

After that secure the other side to the top shelf using the same method.

Attach the middle shelf to each side 5-¾” down from the top shelf. Using a bar clamp while you work to hold the sides together is useful here.

After that screw the bottom shelf in place flush with the bottom of the sides.

Check the miter saw cabinet for square by measuring from corner to corner, first from the bottom right to top left and then from the top right to bottom left. The cabinet is square when the measurements are equal.

Cut a back piece to overlap the sides, top shelf and bottom shelf which will also square the case. Tack the back in place at two corners with a 18ga Brad Nailer and then secure with 1-¼” screws around the edges.

If you’ll be adding dust collection to your DIY miter saw stand, then drill holes for the vacuum hose and the power cord in the back. I drilled a 2-½” hole for the vacuum hose and a 1-½” hole for the power cords in the back because it’ll be a cleaner install this way.

Flip the cabinet upside down and mount the casters on the bottom corners. After that use 1-¼” screws into the sides and back and ⅝” screws when attaching only to the bottom shelf.

Making the Miter Saw Station Side Wing Supports

Next you’ll make and attach the side wing supports for the DIY miter saw stand. Make a diagonal cut from the top to the bottom as seen in the picture. I used a 5” spacer (the width of my circular saw base plate to the blade) to position a straight edge for the cut. While out in the driveway I also cut off the bottom to remove the pointed end.

Next I cut two support riser pieces. These will hold 2-½” hex head bolts and wing nuts used to level the side wings when the miter stand is done.

Using a hex wrench, screw in a ¼”-20 x 20mm insert nut into the ⅜” hole. And finally install the hex bolts and wing nuts to finish the assembly.

Next attach the support risers to the side wing supports with glue and 1-¼” screws. The risers should stick up 1” past the side wing supports and be flush with the outside edge of the side wing support when installed.

Cut two 25” pieces from a 72” long 1-½” piano hinge using a hacksaw or a reciprocating saw with a metal blade.

Center the hinges on the long edge of the side support wings and attach them with ⅝” screws. To make mounting easier, lay the hinge over the edge and hold it tight against the corner while attaching the screws. Make sure you’re attaching it on the opposite side of the support riser.

Mount the Miter Stand Side Wing Supports

Mount the side wing supports to the miter saw stand base 2-¾” down from the top with ⅝” screws. The supports should be flush with the front of the base when fully open at 90 degrees. Use pieces of wood clamped to the supports which help position it flush with the front of the base as seen in the picture. Have a helper hold the wing while you secure it.

On the next post we’ll make the fence, mount the saw and install all the upgrades when we finish the Mobile Miter Saw Station.

RIDGID provided me with tools and/or monetary compensation as a sponsor of this build. All opinions are my own and are not filtered by the sponsor.

How we started CutHub

Dave Jessop has been in the construction industry for the past 25 years and is currently a general contractor for residential and commercial buildings in Montana, Utah, and North Dakota. Dave first cut his teeth in the construction industry as a framer on large housing developments in Utah and California. Even as a young framer Dave was obsessed with quality, safety, and speed so he constantly looked for ways to shave minutes without sacrificing quality or safety.

As a result, Dave’s framing crews quickly gained a reputation for not only being best but the fastest. His obsession with quality and speed eventually led him to develop the CutHub stand.

Traditional Miter Saw Stands Just Don’t Cut It

For years Dave labored over how he could have his employees make fast and safe cuts with the skill saw, which is one of the most dangerous yet important tools on any construction site. He continually trained his employees on the importance of safety when using the skill saw, but the skill saw is one of those tools that will eventually get you. As a result, Dave has seen his fair share of missing fingers, stitches, and way too many close calls.

Dave’s first solution was to build a cut station out of wood on his job sites in order to improve the quality of cuts, increase speed, and reduce the danger of the saw. His wooden cut stations built on top of saw horses solved the issue of clean and safe cuts but they only lasted for that particular job. Either the homemade cut station was too beat up or too heavy to be worth hauling to the next job site. Dave searched everywhere for a solution and reasoned that since he wasn’t the only one dealing with the problem there must be a solution to such a common problem. After years of coming up on the short end of products that did a little but not enough or products that simply weren’t strong enough to withstand the treatment of a construction site, Dave took matters into his own hands by designing and creating the CutHub work station with the help of Ansync labs in Sacramento, California.

The Ideal Industrial Miter Saw Stand for the Construction Industry

Dave’s CutHub addresses literally every cutting issue on a job site. The CutHub is incredibly sturdy and strong enough to handle the rigors of any construction site yet it is light enough to be handled by one person for setup and take-down. Because of the size and easy setup/take-down Dave now has a a cut station that is mobile and tough enough to go with him from job to job. The CutHub, finally puts the stand on the same level as the saw which means no more dealing with binding or dropped boards. The CutHub incorporates a unique state-of-the-art patent pending measuring system using a sliding brake stop that does away with the need for measuring and marking before each cut.

Simply put, the CutHub has dramatically improved the quality and safety of Dave’s job sites. What took months of training for an employee to be able to make safe and accurate cuts now can be done with only minutes of training. The CutHub has created the equivalent of journeyman cutters out of rookie employees on the first day of the job.

A construction site without a CutHub will become a thing of the past!

Journeyman vs Rookie Cutting Challenge

The CutHub is so easy to use that even someone without any experience in power tools can be making fast, safe and accurate cuts within minutes.

On a recent challenge using the CutHub, Dave cut a 2×4 into 14 and 3/8ths blocks using the industry standard of measuring tape, square, and skill saw. Dave measured, marked, and cut the board into blocks in 60 seconds. Keep in mind, Dave is a 25 year veteran in the industry.

After only two minutes of training, graphic designer Alyse who had never operated a power saw before, was able to perform the exact same task using the CutHub in less than 40 seconds! Alyse, the rookie, not only beat Dave’s time but her cuts were actually cleaner and more accurate as well.

Imagine what the CutHub miter saw stand can do for your job site:

Once you experience the ease of the CutHub you will wonder how you ever got along without it!

Miter saw bench design considerations

This article covers a wide range of ideas about a miter saw bench. As you probably know a miter saw is a power tool that makes accurate crosscuts in a board at a specific angle. It is commonly used for cutting of face frames, skirts, bracing, and molding or trim. The board is held against a fence that provides a precise relationship between it and the of the blade. The default angle of cut is 90 degrees.

Remember way back when? Maybe you’re old enough to have used the “original” miter box with its stocky hand saw. They were made as wooden or plastic three-sided boxes. The front board served to hold the board and has 90 and 45 degree slits cut in it. The slits guided a hand or back saw to cut the board in two.

An advance in cutting miters was made in the 1970s with the introduction of the power miter saw. In addition to the power saw a major improvement was the miter index. The index allows the angle of the blade to be changed relative to the fence holding the board. These days miter saws enable precise one-degree incremental changes to the miter index. They also provide set cuts that allow the miter index to snap to common angles.

Types of miter saws

• Standard miter saw – A powered version designed generally for making cross cuts on a piece of work at a wide range of angles.
• Compound-miter saw or single compound miter saw. In addition to spinning to change the angle of the cut, the saw can be tilted in one direction to cut, essentially, two angles on the board.
• Dual compound-miter saw – Dual or double compound saws allow the head to rotate to both sides.
• Sliding compound-miter saw – Sliding miter saws provide a longer cut by sliding the saw back and forth on a rail.
• Laser guided miter-saws – Some miter saws project a laser line on the wood showing where the cut will be made. I have this type and find it’s great for more precise cutting.

Fences

The fence part of the saw against which the board rests. The fence is fixed while the saw can be rotated to create the angle of cut. It serves to hold the board. Often when building a miter saw bench the fence is extended to the right and left to hold longer boards steady.

The photo above is found in an interesting article about secondary fences for your miter saw. Essentially this is a sacrificial fence that allows better control over cutting. Especially true with smaller pieces. It also eliminates tear out while providing more support.

On the other hand, some argue for not having a fence on your bench and using only the saw fence.

“First off, this isn’t a revolutionary concept that I invented but it’s something I thought long and hard about and became confident in my choice through years of using a miter saw with nothing but the stock fence. In the end I think a fence does more harm than good.”

While others offer three advantages of using an extended fence.

• An additional fence makes a more accurate cut. He counters that misaligned fences and bows on boards negate this advantage.
• A fence is needed to place a stop. Spagnuolo and other woodworkers propose a t-track placed on the table surface serves nicely as a stop.
• And my favorite. A fence prevents piling stuff on the bench. Basically, the real answer is to be more organized. Good luck with that.

Read the article to see if it makes sense to you.

And fence stops

A fence stop is a block that allows you to repeatably make the same length cut.

Some people group their pieces and try to make one cut for all the boards at once. This has never really been consistent for me. Parts move around and sometimes cut at an angle different than the others.

Surely a better move is a stop block. Now the block can be attached to a fence or mounted in a t-track on the saw bench table. The idea is that the end of a board butts against block. And you can see this achieves a repeatable cut size.

Commercial fold-up miter saw rigs often have settable stops built into their wings. And there are products that can automatically set stops and slide materials again the stop for Rapid and accurate cuts. As always – time is money and their options require you to spend it.

Space considerations.

If you are one of those lucky woodworkers with unlimited shop space skip this section. If you are not read carefully.

Certainly opinions over the size required to a miter saw setup vary a fair amount. The only hard factors are the saw size – and even that varies.

Surely think about this when you design your miter saw bench. What is the miter saw swing arm radius how high is the table? If the

saw arm swings beyond the saw base make sure you allow room fully right and left swing. A third consideration is the amount of hear tilt when cutting compound cuts. Put you saw on a table or work bench and swing it to its extremes. While doing that measure the tallest, deepest, and widest dimensions needed to house that saw. Measure the height from the saw table base to the table or work bench surface.

Pretty much those are non-negotiable sizes in your bench design.

• Depth – consider how you will achieve dust control when selecting a depth. There are people who suggest that a miter saw bench depth can be as little as 14 inches. Also, there are those who insist 30 inches is the right amount. I’ve heard people who mount the benches to the wall to prevent it from tipping over. Smile but don’t forget this is you plan to have lots of drawers or slide out storage. The weight of a few routers extended 24 inches from center might just be the tipping point!
• Height – a friend of mine feels strongly about not having a fixed height in his shop benches. Well his for sure – but in general he thinks the bench height depends on the human user’s height. At 6 foot 6 inches it should be different than 5 foot 3 inches. Everything I read seems to settle on 36 inches or so. But still when you have you saw out to make the measurements – try different heights to see where the saw feels comfortable to you. And remember the height of the saw table from the floor will be the height of the bench.
• Width – here is where things vary a lot. Certainly, the width depends on how much space you have and what kinds of work you do the most. Someone making small furniture or jewelry boxes need less than someone working with long crown moldings.

As they say it’s all in the trade-off. If 90% of your work is – call it – smaller – set up for that. When you need more room, you can move things around. There will be more on flexibility later.

Wings

One way to address width is to have the wings or extensions fold down. You can even have one segment of fixes wing attached to one section of a fold down. The limit is of course the size of the fold down is limited to the height of the bench.

There are countless combinations of width configurations. But you get the idea.

There are other approaches. One creates moveable cabinets or tables on wheels. As long as they are the same height [including wheels] as the miter saw bench you can move them around as needed.

Multiple machines per bench

Some small shop owners solve space issues by placing more than once machine on a bench or table. I’ve seen combinations of table saws and miter saws on the same work surface. And you probably know that some approaches mount a table saw and a router on the same surface.

I am not a big fan of table saw and miter saw combinations because the miter saw stick up over the table surface and get in the way. There are plans for a miter saw / table saw approach where the miter saw swivels out of the way. That seems awkward to me.

However, I can see what I feel tools that essentially linear in their cutting tasks being mounted on the same table. For example, a miter saw and router. Or even a miter saw and drill press / mortise.

Storage requirements and opportunities

And this gets into the real space issues in a shop. Where to keep things? How to hide them? Anyone for organizing?

If you browse the internet looking at chop saw bench plans, you’ll see anything from the most basic stick structures with shelving to cabinets with doors and drawers. Wow some of those look like my kitchen!

Without getting specific there are three options for storage.

• Open shelving – good for longer things like lumber.
• Drawers – my favorite since I’d rather pull them out than bend over to reach in to retrieve things. Beware of tip over potential.
• Doors – good for hiding things away. Some feel doors on the section of their workshop bench plans that holds the miter saw must have doors for dust and chip control.

Of course, size varies both horizontally and vertically. The overall miter saw stand is the limit to the storage size. However, do not forget that more cabinets or shelves can mount behind the saw fence. And those might be on the bench or attached to the wall. For flexibility on hanging cabinets you might consider French cleats.

Material types – cost, look and feel

Many of the DIY miter saw stand plans found on the internet are made from 2 by 4 and screwed together. Plywood or MDF is used for the tops and, if there are shelves, shelving.

ULTIMATE DIY Miter Saw Stand | How to Build

Well a very rough design for that might look like this. No cut out for the miter saw in the center exists on the design as of yet. The material required – 2 X 4 X 96 is about 10 pieces and 4 x 8 sheet – 2 pieces. Total cost? Depends on what you pay in your area.

Again, a sacrificial top may allow replacement after wear and tear. Remember to round the corners of the edges all over.

On the other hand, more attractive and expensive materials can be used.

Power and Dust Control

Miter saw dust shoots dust and pieces in every direction, making it hard to collect. The dust ports on most miter saws don’t work that well. Even when hooked up to a vacuum system, mess happens.

If you like, take a look at this web site for some good information.

“There are so many different ways to contain miter saw dust, with varying results. Some only work for saws without the sliding mechanism for cutting those wide boards, so check the depth of yours before you start building!”

Many options exist for power. The basic requirement is power for the saw. You might want to add an outlet for the shop vac. And consider power for a light.

Using SketchList 3D

SketchList 3D allows you to create a plan for your workbench in a very small amount of time and with little effort. Of course, designing the miter saw stand on the computer screen is easier and less costly – in terms of material – then doing a prototype.

Why and how can you use SketchList 3D?

• Consider and explore options – using SketchList 3D create your chop saw bench plan allows you to try an unlimited number of configurations. With the computer can easily alter the height, width and depth of the bench. This early design state is where you might explore combining different tools on the same bench. Remember the suggestion about putting a router into the same structure as the miter saw. With SketchList 3D you can even “load” boards of different sizes onto your miter saw bench top to see what it would be like to handle them.
• Check out the details – I found one design where a contractor type table saw and the miter saw built into the same worktop. The challenge was creating a way to rotate or flip miter saw so it didn’t interfere with cutting large sheet material when using the table saw. Design complicated parts, like design for the supports, blocks, and axle like pipe around which the rotate happens in software. Much better to create that design in SketchList 3D and tweak it as necessary.
• Place it in your shop – you can model your whole shop in SketchList 3D. Personally, I think it’s completely acceptable to create three-dimensional blocks to simulate your machine tools. All they need is the proper size. Another hint for you on this is to place a board underneath the machine tool on the floor. Sort of like a rug. If you size that board to accommodate clearances needed when using the tool, it’ll give you a better layout.

Summary

A miter saw bench plan is an exciting project for your workshop. The process of laying out requirements, your desires for the piece, and space/size considerations starts you toward a excellent working saw bench. You can create the most basic bench plan from lumber or even recycled materials. Or you can indulge yourself and create a work piece with doors and drawers and shelving and make it look like furniture.

Create several different alternatives and print them out as shop drawings with dimensions. And create some nice three dimensional images to give you a sense of space and mass. After you finalize your design generate the cut list, and maybe a layout diagram for your sheet goods. Then take it off to the lumberyard along with your credit card.

Next stop is the shop to build it all. Enjoy yourself.

David Rozewski

My woodworking love started in 6th grade in school shop class. I have a BS in Industrial Technology and an MBA. At my first job, I computerized a production accounting system – the results were positive, and I loved the challenges. I left the corporate world to begin woodworking full time and one of my first decisions was to use CAD for my designs. I found that CAD did not meet all my needs. I wrote a specification of what I wanted and turned it into a prototype. SketchList 3D incorporated in 2007. We completed programming and launched. Today thousands of woodworkers use SketchList 3D.

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Unique Outdoor Furniture: Tips ‍As the weather warms up, it is time to start thinking about outdoor living spaces. Having a comfortable and functional outdoor space can be a.

Cabinet design and production for family workshops

I had the pleasure of working with a new custom woodworking company that was just starting to make a name for itself in the industry. The owners, a husband and.