Woodworker's Journal Ultimate Miter Saw Stand (plans)

[elrodk]

This is a twist on the normal product review. It is a review of plans instead of a finished product. I, for one, would be interested in seeing more of this type of review. There are tons of plans available for purchase or download on the internet. 

I finally put the finishing touches on my miter saw workstation that I started last year. It is based on the Woodworker's Journal Ultimate Miter Saw Stand plan available from Rockler or the magazine site. Here is a picture of the miter saw stand from the original plan. I made some changes to better suit my needs but before we get to that let's look at what the plan offers. 

The plan appears to be a pdf of a magazine article published in June 2010 Woodworker's Journal. It's 10 pages and includes a materials list and a cutting diagram for the plywood sheets and the hardwood trim. The plan, as originally drawn includes some shop made storage bins, a shop made fence using Kreg track and stops, and includes some dust collection features. The main idea of the dust collection is to use an ivac switch to turn on a shop vac hidden away in the center section. It's a good idea and would help muffle the noise of the shop vac. The downside is you would dedicate a shop vac to the miter saw. Another feature is the way the saw mounts. It has a center section that can be built to the appropriate height for any saw. If you ever change saws all you have to do is modify or rebuild this piece. The saw mount is also adjustable front to back to align with the fence if you add a zero clearance fence to the saw. 

The author, Chris Marshall,  gives a step by step walk through of cutting and assembling the case pieces. Construction is a combination of dados and butt joints for the case and pocket screws for the face frame. The hardwood edging is attached with biscuits. It's complicated enough that I would not consider it a beginner project. It would certainly be a great skill building project for someone who has built a few projects and wants to practice some new techniques on shop furniture. Anyone who takes their time and follows along will end up with a nice miter saw station. The optional storage bins are put together with dovetails and this is really the only area in the plans that is not well documented. Builders who do not have any experience with a dovetail jig or hand cut dovetails would be stuck. For what it is it would have been better to instruct the builder to use butt joints or some sort of table saw joinery.

Overall I would rate the plans highly. The instructions are thorough, except the bins, and you are walked through all the steps in the proper sequence.

When I first ran across this plan I knew it was very close to what I had been looking for. The Craftsman saw in the picture is just like mine so it was meant to be. The first thing I did after getting my hands on the plans was to change a couple of things. The spacing for the top section was 6". I wanted to use Harbor Freight storage bins which are just over 6". As a side note, I have a bunch of these bins for my shelves and find them useful for all sorts of things. I drew the plans in sketchup changing the top section to 6 1/2" and adjusted the lower dividers 1/4" closer in each section. Otherwise I built the carcass as shown. I also built the saw mount as shown. The carcass is maple ply from Lowes stained with walnut danish oil. Everything is top coated with satin poly. 

I deleted the holes and baffle for dust collection. The workstation is on wheels and I planned to just leave it a few inches from the wall with dust collection pipe behind. I also did not plan to dedicate a vac to the saw and left the center section open for a cutoff bin. Instead of open shelves on the side sections I built large drawers. This allows more flexibility with the storage and using full extension slides I can get to stuff in the back. I made frame and panel drawer fronts from walnut and 1/4" maple ply. I changed the wheel arrangement. The plan called for 6 swivel casters. I put fixed casters in the middle making the unit steerable. I thought this would be easier to move around and I think it is. What I didn't consider is with the wheels in the center it swings on both ends which makes it a little harder to snug up to a wall. 

The final change is a nod to Marc's miter saw station. I ditched the top fence and just embedded track for stop blocks. I have always hated the idea of tying up all that flat surface with a fence. I need as much dual purpose space as possible. I can just slide off the stop blocks and I have two 25" x 35" work tables when needed. This extra space is very handy. 

Here are a few pictures of the finished product. 

First the overall workstation.

Here is the adjustable saw mount

A shot of the smaller drawer fully open and the harbor freight bins. 

I put a chamfer on the drawer edges. I like simple details. I spend a lot of time in the shop so I like for it to be nice. 

 

 

 

 

[Mark J]

Nice work and a useful review.  Thanks.

[Chet]

Yes, that is real nice work.

 

[Coop]

That’s a great looking bench! What is the reason you extended the t track past the edge of the bench top? 

[MJC]

I really like this and it looks so clean, nice job Sir.

[elrodk]

On 3/12/2020 at 8:49 PM, Coop said:

That’s a great looking bench! What is the reason you extended the t track past the edge of the bench top? 

I purchased 36" track and it was only 1" longer than needed. I didn't see a reason to trim it. Leaving it long on the inside, next to the saw, doesn't get in the way. It also lets me get the stop block an inch closer to the blade but that wasn't necessary. I can always use a scrap spacer or even make a long stop block. You got me! I dunno?