Miter Saw Bridge

[doug_d]

Hello all-
I have been building a miter saw bench and have come to the part that I am not sure how to handle. I've got a couple of ideas, but would like some input and suggestions.

So far I have built 2 benches, one 8 foot and the other 4 foot long, both 2 feet deep. The tops are melamine and the frame is mostly pine.

I am to the part where I need to attach both benches with a bridge that will connect the two halfs. Instead of just making the bridge and screwing it to both benches, I would like to make it adjustable. I am thinking I may need to do some fine tuning on the depth the saw sits down from both halfs. Then again, I dont want to do something if I have to keep adjusting it. Maybe I should set it low and the just put shims under it to raise it to the proper height?

-----------------|______|-------

Any thoughts?
Doug

[DougB]

I haven't made mine yet (still using some makeshift tables with 4X4's and 1/2" ply scrap to get to the right height), BUT, when I do build them, they will be 2 separate benches with adjustable feet on them since my shop/garage floor is not exactly level.

I figure that way I can always adjust them to the right height even if things shift and change over time. And I'm hoping to use one as outfeed for my jointer, so I need to be able to adjust it as needed.

[Monty]

>Norm has his table raised on the rear of his bench, which I
>do not like at all.

I made mine like Norm's, with the back edge raised and inline with the fence on the miter saw. This makes it a lot easier to hold long boards straight and get a perfect angle cut.

Monty

[http://woodenwonderstx.com/]
Be careful with that piece of wood. Do you think wood grows on trees?????????????

[Sawduster]

Additionally, having the saw toward the back, it is easier to add a long fence to which stop blocks can be attached to cut several duplicate lengths. T-track added to the top of a simple fence can accomodate either a shop made stop block or a commercial one such as the Kreg here in "G":

http://www.woodcraft.com/images/family/web5143big.jpg

Having substantial adjustment available for the height of the bridge in relation to the tops of the tables also allows for that newer better more expensive miter saw you'll want in the future without having make big changes to the bench.

[grandpaw]

Mine has worked fairly well for me so far. I just don't like reaching to use equipment. Also I know that if I had the version to the rear and raised section of my bench that it would need to be cleaned off each time I used it.

The point of being able to have the stop blocks on the fence is a good one ,but I think that I can come up with a fairly easy answer to that.

Seeing different versions and getting several ideas should allow Doug to come up with something that will work well for him.

You got me to thinking of a few inprovements for mine also.

The more ideas the better! :)

I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...
Very Good Days :) :) :) or just Plain Good Days :) :). I just refuse to have bad ones!!!

May you have at least a Good Day today,Jeff

[I thought I unplugged it]

Doug,

Have you thought of placing the miter saw on a rolling cabinet with locking casters that could fit in and out of the space between the two tables? I have been thinking of the same project and think it might be handy to have a cabinet underneath the saw in addition to having it be somewhat mobile to move around the shop if needed. I saw an adjustable table using the bolt, nut and washer trick described above. Pretty slick overall. Check out the site below if you haven't already. You would have to leave off the wings obviously.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/features/fea.asp?id=1021

carlos

[Sawduster]

Your point about the stock only needing to contact the integral fence on the saw itself is well taken. My miter saw normally resides stowed and comes out only when I'm doing a bunch of molding and the like. When I bring it out to use, it gets clamped to a workmate type fold-away bench.

I used to have it set up full time as it was convenient to make quick cut-offs when I had the TS set up for ripping or with another set-up I didn't want to disturb. Now I try to plan better and with my crosscut sled set up with a long fence and a Kreg flip stop, I can pull the sled off to make rips without disturbing the setup. I can flip the stop out of the way if I need to make another crosscut. For angled crosscuts, I just take the sled off, attach the sliding table and go to it.

[rhull]

>I like the idea of having the ability to cut the boards up
>close to the front like my table is. I can also see your
>point about sometimes needing a longer fence with stop
>blocks. What do you think about putting two tracks in my
>bench so when I need the long fence and blocks it will slide
>right into place in the front of my bench?
>

Or possibly more simply - how about a fence that's completely removable, rather than slide-able. You could put some holes similar to benchdog holes, and mount the fence in the holes. That way, you don't have to worry about moving stuff around on the back half of your table every time you want to install or remove the extended fence.

[doug_d]

Jerry,
How do you like the kreg flip stops? I have been thinking about getting one, but at $30 it's a little pricey for a stop. I also thought about just getting the regular stop they offer for $20 to help with cost. I plan on getting at least 4' section of kregs top trak for the left table and maybe a 2' section for the right.

Since I use my SCMS so much to do cross cuts, it is my goal to have a stop that is accurate when using the built-in measuring tape (on the top trak). In the past, even when cutting two pieces, there seems to be a sight difference. It's just to easy to reach for your belt tape measure, make a mark and cut.

I like your idea about using bolts. I may look into this a little more.

Thanks,
Doug

[Sawduster]

Doug,
I was not thrilled with the Kreg stop's fit and finish, especially at the $30 price tag. I had to clean up the bearing surface between the flip stop and the piece that gets snugged down in the t-track and still it feels a bit rough. Initially, I had trouble with a bit of movement when trying to set the thing accurately. It seemed it would move as I was snugging down the knob on the T-Track block. I've found that by holding that block snuggly down as I'm adjusting, it seems to work alright.

There are a couple of other companies out there that make flip stops that are a bit less expensive than the Kreg. I'll try to check a bit and see if I can find them and post them here.

I used a block of wood and a clamp as a stop block for years, always a good idea when you're needing to make two or more pieces the exact same length. I like the flip stop style because I can flip it out of the way to square off one end of a workpiece without messing with the setting, then flip it back down to make additinal cuts to length.

[Sawduster]

Rob said, "I'm wacked."

I would have to agree.;)

[merickson]

Your concern for equality of height assumes that the wood being cut will not be bowed. As we know, that is a shakey assumption.


www.geocities.com/wefnut

[Sawduster]

I checked around a bit on the net and came up with this one which is pretty reasonable in price, as well as versatility.

http://www.woodpeck.com/flipstop.html

This one looks very similar to the Kreg stop, but priced more reasonably.

http://www.garrettwade.com/jump.jsp?itemID=105468&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=105468

It seems to be on backorder at Garrett Wade, and links to several other products by the FastTrak company seem to be dead or link to similar products with premium price tags and other labels on them. I'm wondering if they didn't get bought out by someone else.

Incra also makes some nice products in this sort of line, but they, too, seem awfully proud of their stuff.

[rhull]

And all this time, I thought Monet just liked miter saws. <sigh>

[rebelwork]

theres endless ways to bridge the two. i used a 6' metal shelf unit broke down into two halves and used just 4 screws to bond the two through the adjustable shelves. holding strong after 5 yrs....rebel

[Sawduster]

Good idea to make the bridge adjustable as to height. A fairly simple mechanism could use a bolt at each corner attached to some sort of ledge on the legs of the benches and using a large washer and nut on each to raise or lower the bridge seperately at each corner. Easier to show a drawing. Fairly crude drawing below, but maybe you get the jist.

[rhull]

I'm afraid I don't have anything helpful to add.

However, when I saw this thread, all I could think of was this...I'm wacked. :)

[grandpaw]

I made an 8ft and a 6ft bench the same height. Then I measured the distance from the top of the table of the miter saw to the table it was setting on. Next I made a section wide enough for my miter saw and mortise machine to fit in. Then I mounted the table between the two benches so that when a board was placed on the long bench it would be level with the table on my miter saw in the center lower section.

In my opinion if you get the tables very close it will work just fine. The part that determines how accurate the cut will be is the part of the board that is laying on the miter saw table, not if the entire length of the table is within .001 inches of being flat. You could use a sawhorse to hold up the end of the board you are cutting as long as you have it flat on the miter saw table portion when you are cutting.

As long as your tables allow the board to set flat on the miter saw table during the cutting process it will work just fine.

One more thing I would like to add!

Norm has his table raised on the rear of his bench, which I do not like at all.

By building it like this one there is much more useable bench top and the board doesn't have to be lifted over items on the tabletop to make a cut. Also by having my miter saw pulled forward toward the front of the bench the front eight or ten inches needed to lay a board on to cut is almost always clear. The most you would need to do is shove something setting on the bench back a few inches. This will allow you to always use the saw even though you have several items setting on the bench at the time you need to do some cutting.


I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...
Very Good Days :) :) :) or just Plain Good Days :) :). I just refuse to have bad ones!!!

May you have at least a Good Day today,Jeff

[grandpaw]

I like the idea of having the ability to cut the boards up close to the front like my table is. I can also see your point about sometimes needing a longer fence with stop blocks. What do you think about putting two tracks in my bench so when I need the long fence and blocks it will slide right into place in the front of my bench?

It would work like the one in the picture below only be maybe 8ft long. I could have the saw where I like it and add the convenience of the fence and blocks and have the best of both ideas. I could also make one for each side of the saw if necessary. This would be very little cost for a big improvement. Comments welcome.

The fence would actually be L shaped to keep it square.

I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...
Very Good Days :) :) :) or just Plain Good Days :) :). I just refuse to have bad ones!!!

May you have at least a Good Day today,Jeff

[grandpaw]

If you look in the picture the tracks would start at the front edge of my bench and maybe be 12-inches long. For the occasional times the fence would be needed it would just fit into the slots in the front of the bench and be pushed back until even with the fence on the miter saw. When not in use it would be slide out of the slots and would be stored.

The fence would have a piece on the bottom lying flat making it L shaped to slide along the table and would have braces to keep the fence square.

I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...
Very Good Days :) :) :) or just Plain Good Days :) :). I just refuse to have bad ones!!!

May you have at least a Good Day today,Jeff