Fold down miter saw idea

[DeanJackson]

Okay, I wound up moving my drill press to fit the new spot for the router table/air filter... which left me a spot I have an idea for.

I have a piece of countertop that's 4' wide, with nothing on it, but a wall on the left and a drill press on the right. I don't need the 4' to set anything in particular on. My miter saw sits on a cart-with-casters on the floor, so I can wheel it out when needed.

If I can put the miter saw so it stores into that counter space, and either folds forward on hinges or slides out on rails - so that it's not blocked by the drill press - that would be *awesome*.

I can drill through the top of the counter, but the front of the thing are drawers that I like to use.

How do I support a miter saw so that it's solid while deployed, but so the whole shebang can fold backwards into it's spot easily?

[TheNehlsEnd]

Without a picture its hard to imagine the total situation. One idea that comes to mind is to mount the miter saw on a wood panel and put a pin in the back of the sides that would go into tracks allowing you to slide it from the back to go up against the wall like it was hung on the wall. Then when you want to use it, you would just lift it enough for it to slide down and sit on the counter. It would keep the saw from sliding around during use and still be easy to put back in place when your through. This would allow you to still use the counter space when not in use and still be able to get at the drawers whether its up or down.

[usacomp2k3]

I like the sliding idea. If yours is like mine, it's got the holes for bolting to a platform, you can almost use those like pin-holes and put a couple pins on the countertop to hold it in place when in use and then slide it back out of the way when not in use.

[Beechwood Chip]

I think Dean was talking about having it slide forward off the countertop when in use, so he could cut longer pieces, and then sliding back onto the countertop for storage. In which case supporting the saw and keeping it from "jiggling" would be the tricky part.

I don't have any good ideas for that. Heavy duty drawer slides and lots of weight in the cabinet might do it..

[DeanJackson]

Without a picture its hard to imagine the total situation. One idea that comes to mind is to mount the miter saw on a wood panel and put a pin in the back of the sides that would go into tracks allowing you to slide it from the back to go up against the wall like it was hung on the wall. Then when you want to use it, you would just lift it enough for it to slide down and sit on the counter. It would keep the saw from sliding around during use and still be easy to put back in place when your through. This would allow you to still use the counter space when not in use and still be able to get at the drawers whether its up or down.

I'll take a picture tonight. I want it to sit out from the counter when in use; otherwise it's blocked for longer pieces. I don't know if they make drawer slides quite that heavy; could jam a portable brace under it or something, with moderately heavy slides, maybe. Hrrm.

[Beechwood Chip]

How about something like a secretary desk, you mount the miter saw to a panel that is hinged to the front of the counter. There are two slides that extend out from the top of the counter. When you want to use the miter saw you pull out the slides and then pull down the "front". When stored, the miter saw is hidden from view. You could even put a white board or something on the bottom (front) of the hinged panel.

[Dave H]

maybe something along the line of a mixer lift like this http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10751

[Southwood]

Stu in Japan did something like this. His is on drawer slides. He slides it out when he needs it and back in it's hole when he doesn't. Try finding Stu's dungeon workshop. I would but the computer I am at won't let me.

[Texfire]

I've got a book from Wood Magazine that has a flip top workstation solution, not sure if it would work for your situation, but might give you some ideas.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/ideas/wood-shop-showcase/idea-shop-52/?page=10

[flairwoodworks]

I'd just use a pair of heavy-duty slides. They are models available that lock in the fully-extended position.

[Vic]

I epoxied T track into various points of my bench for just this type of thing.

[Jesse]

Adding on to Gregn's idea:

Bolt the saw to a stout and solid base, something like 8/4 oak. The depth of the base is the depth of the counter plus the depth of the saw. The base has pins at the back that ride on Gregn's tracks. The base also has something like a notch or dog holes or a cutout in the back that you can use to quickly bolt, clamp, or otherwise securely fasten it to the countertop. Voila!