Simplify Cuts on Your Miter Saw
George VondriskaDescription
I use my miter saw for precise length cuts all the time, but I also frequently use it to rough cut stock to size. When I’m rough cutting parts to size the parts don’t have to be an exact length. Adding simple lines to my miter saw stand really simplified the rough cutting process for me.
Back in the day…
My old approach to rough cutting stock was to grab a tape measure, measure out the rough length, cut a board, measure out rough length of the next one, cut a board…you get the picture. I wanted to make this a more efficient process. One where I could simply walk up to the saw and make the cut, minus the tape measure and marking.
I made a change
One day in the shop I had an epiphany moment. I have large horizontal surfaces on both sides of the saw, and it occurred to me that I could put rough cut lines on those surfaces. In the end I made marks every 4” starting 16” from the saw blade. I made the lines with a heavy felt tip and also marked out the length each line is providing.
Man, this works great
Now when I walk up to my miter saw to do rough cuts all I have to do is put the end of the board on the length line I want to use and make the cut. My lines are 4” apart but that doesn’t limit my cuts to the line locations. You can also align the board between the layout lines to hit other lengths.
Check out this video for more on how to use a miter saw.
I built this miter saw station, I don't know, in the last couple months. And I've got a really good fence and measurement stop block system on it that's highly accurate. But, what I've found is that a lot of times when I come up to the miter saw early in a project, all I want is to rough cut stuff to size. An inch or two or three longer than what I know I'm going to need. So recently I had kind of a "doy" moment and I grabbed a ruler and a felt tip. I measured to the blade and I marked out some distances from the blade over. And I actually did this on the right hand side of the saw. And, I did the exact same thing on the opposite side of the saw. And what this lets me do now is if I'm coming up with this board and I know that I want to cut it to roughly, not exactly, to roughly 16 inches, boom, or roughly 20, or roughly 24, same thing on the other side. And honestly, what was happening was I'd walk up here with a tape measure and I want about 24 inches. So I would do this, get about 24 inches under the blade, make the cut, but then do that again. Do that again. So now with these layout lines on there, it makes things a whole lot more efficient. And really, if you want to hit about 26 inches, I can eyeball halfway between 24 and 26 and make that happen. So it's a simple thing, but it's really improved my efficiency at the miter saw a lot and it's just hugely convenient and I'm really glad I did it. Maybe it'll help you out too.
Plus you could put a clamp at the desired length marking, if you wanted to do multiple cuts.
Your miter saw table looks great. Are plans available for it?
The best ideas are usually the simplest. A great help. Many thanks.
Newbie here....this is a fantastic idea! I have a question a bit off topic. I noticed the two fans stacked on top of eachother in the background. What is the purpose of those? Air ventilation?