As my shop seems to be shrinking in size, I have been thinking about getting a portable miter saw stand. I looked at some of the reviews online but would rather hear from people that have one and can tell me what they like and/or dislike. I'd appreciate any recommendations.
I have the dewalt one. Now, i share a garage with cars and kids stuff etc. If I had my way I would build in a nice built in one with bells and whistles. But in my situation, this works great. Easy enough to lug out to the driveway and set it up. Folds up pretty compact where I can store it upright behind my compressor. My only complaint is sometimes the support arms seem to loosen up by themselves and move. I have been too lazy to do anything about it, could probably buy lock-washers or something to improve it.
For a short while I had my 10" CMS on the Rigid Miter Saw Utility Vehicle There are many that are similar, but I liked the easy mobility of the wheels and an easy set up system. When I didn't need it it was a simple click and drop to fold it into the cart. After the all of the framing work around the house was finished and the saw had a place in the shop I sold the cart, just because it was getting in the way.
SMP thank you for your reply. ChefHDan thank you. I have looked at those type online but I think they would take up more space than I have available. Really looking for something I can easily set up and take down with a minimum of storage space.
Dave,
I'm in a 2 car garage, if you're looking for versatile work surfaces that can be stored easily and not take up too much space, I can strongly recommend the workmates from the 70's & 80's, see the LJ thread here, I checked the Craig's LIst in Nashville and didn't see any near you, but that is where I find them, some folks are crazy with what they think they are worth, but a 70's style with the cast aluminum H frame is usually around $30, and the 80's version with all steel is around $20. I've got 6 in the shop right now, some hang on the wall. I recently gifted 3 out to some WW friends. You'll see in the thread many of the uses, but there are always 1 or 2 standing in my shop with the lower legs folded and sitting on furniture dollies so that I have rolling product tables that with a plywood top clamped on can also work for a 36"x36" assembly table. With the lower legs unfolded and on the ground they are stable enough for some small hand planing tasks. One day I'll build my super bench, but right now the versatility and small footprint of the OLD WM's is a great helper in my shop.
I have the Hitachi rolling stand. It made it very mobile and the outriggers provided support for long stock. The downside is the cart is huge. In my tiny shop that tool and cart was too much and went into storage. I am using my table saw and handsaws or circular saw for those cuts and will likely get a hand saw miter box at some point. I haven't missed it and like the added space without it.
I had a Dewalt stand for around 20 years. In and out of the back of my truck at jobsites, etc.
It worked great until the threads got a little rusty and the knobs became too hard ot turn. But, honestly, it took years of misuse to get there. It still worked, but you lost the height adjustability of the outrigger brackets…. The sliding parts still worked fine. But, again, I need to say this came after years and years getting rained on in the back of a truck, and living in the humid Mid-Atlantic.
I moved into a new house, and changed my job focus last year. Now, I don't work on jobsites very much any more. So, I built a mitersaw station on one side of my shop. It's my main storage place, lots of drawers below and shelves above. I also made the deck height higher than any stands available on the market, to save my back a touch. I hate bending over to see the cut line and marks.
If I had it to do over again, and was looking for a stand I needed to move around, I would look at one of the stands that has wheels
I have the dewalt one. Now, i share a garage with cars and kids stuff etc. If I had my way I would build in a nice built in one with bells and whistles. But in my situation, this works great. Easy enough to lug out to the driveway and set it up. Folds up pretty compact where I can store it upright behind my compressor. My only complaint is sometimes the support arms seem to loosen up by themselves and move. I have been too lazy to do anything about it, could probably buy lock-washers or something to improve it.
I have the rolling DeWalt stand as well. My biggest complaint is the support arms sag as they travel farther out. It's not usually a big deal but it can get on your nerves if you have to move them in and out a lot for a project. Since they sag you have to adjust the top support up and then remember to lower it back down again when pushing the support back in.
I got to thinking about it… My Son-In-Law has a Bosch sliding miter on a Kobalt rolling stand. It's a decent stand, solid, and seems to work nicely. I used it a bit when i lived with them for a few months.
Especially since you'll be moving it in and out a lot, definitely find something with wheels!
I have one (forget what it is) and had another for site work, a Ridged. Both are good, but the only reason I would go with a commercial stand, after using them, is for portability, and/or to save time building one, if that was an issue.
You are talking a lot of space (left and right), even if you don't use the extensions. Too, to make them more efficient, you need to rig stops for repeat cuts.
A shop made unit can:
- be made to accept any miter (raise and lower the bed from a bed under the miter bed);
- can be made narrower (just wide enough to deal with angle cuts);
- can be made with outriggers as capable as the commercial units;
- can be built with dust collection capability no commercial units have;
- can have drawers or cabinets underneath (commercial units are horrible for storing things under them); and,
- you can have back rail extensions that can allow you to make repeat cuts.
One I made about forty years ago even had upper storage. The whole thing had a back, so dust collection was pretty easy.
The bed was a few inches lower than any miter needed and a piece of plywood atop that had four bolts, one in each corner, with nuts and washers to raise and lower the bed for different miters.
My miter saw (chop saw) is in a fixed position near the doorway. Anything longer than 40", I open the shop door and use a 'rolling stand' at the doorway. Saves me wall space to use the next room for extra length boards.
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