Mitre saw station build. Advice please.

[Smeghead]

Hi,
I'm planning on building myself a mitre saw station as and when time permits.
The saw is 26kg.
Will 12mm ply or OSB be strong enough for this or would 18mm ply be better?
Plan to use pocket holes to fix the "cabinets" together.
Was thinking of using 100mm wide strips to connect the sides together (2 at back, one top and bottom at the front).
Will be adding 3 or 4 drawers to each except the one holding the mitre saw.
The whole thing will be 3m long but in 5 individual 600mm boxes screwed together, all on (lockable) castors as i plan to move in the not too distant future.
Any other thoughts, suggestions, tips, things to look out for please?
Will be the first "big" project after making my table saw cabinet.
Many thanks in advance.
Chris

 

[yetloh]

A drawing of what you propose would help, but I would suggest that, at least for horizontal load bearing surfaces, I would use 18mm ply. OSB has its uses but I would avoid using it in anything where dimensional stability is important.

Jim

 

[Smeghead]

A drawing of what you propose would help, but I would suggest that, at least for horizontal load bearing surfaces, I would use 18mm ply. OSB has its uses but I would avoid using it in anything where dimensional stability is important.

Jim

Many thanks Jim
Did a quick sketch in F360 with roughly the idea i'm thinking of if it will help.
Ta
Chris
Edit: will add a back panel also to help stop racking. left that out for ease of viewing.

 

[Bingy man]

I’d also use 18 mm all round and minimum 9mm to 12 mm for your back panel- - - 26 kg is not a light saw so 18 mm will easily support it .

 

[Smeghead]

I’d also use 18 mm all round and minimum 9mm to 12 mm for your back panel- - - 26 kg is not a light saw so 18 mm will easily support it .

Many thanks
The weight was my concern which was really the main reason for asking.
Ta.

 

[Bingy man]

Many thanks
The weight was my concern which was really the main reason for asking.
Ta.

Build it once and job done + building the modules separately will allow you to customise each one for your requirements,

 

[yetloh]

Build it once and job done + building the modules separately will allow you to customise each one for your requirements,

Yes, I agree. Looks sound to me. I've thought about doing something similar for my mitre saw but the trouble is the bench it occupies has to double as the site for occasional metal working and has my engineeers vice on it, so I need to be able to shuffle the mitre saw around a bit to avoid conflict with the vice.

Have you thought about dust extraction? Mitre saws are major producers of dust and the integral dust ports on most of them (my Makita included) are next to useless. I am lucky enough to have a fully ducted cyclone extraction system which I have connected via a 100 mm duct to a udst collection box which shrouds the rear of the saw. It's not perfect - I have to shuffle the box back when I want to cut other than square - but it has vastly improved dust collection. On the subject of dust generally, most woodworkers regard extraction as something to be done as cheaply as possible. Having done that myself, I made the decision to do it properly and not skinp and have never regetted the time and expense - you only get one pair of lungs.

Jim

 

[Smeghead]

Yes, I agree. Looks sound to me. I've thought about doing something similar for my mitre saw but the trouble is the bench it occupies has to double as the site for occasional metal working and has my engineeers vice on it, so I need to be able to shuffle the mitre saw around a bit to avoid conflict with the vice.

Have you thought about dust extraction? Mitre saws are major producers of dust and the integral dust ports on most of them (my Makita included) are next to useless. I am lucky enough to have a fully ducted cyclone extraction system which I have connected via a 100 mm duct to a udst collection box which shrouds the rear of the saw. It's not perfect - I have to shuffle the box back when I want to cut other than square - but it has vastly improved dust collection. On the subject of dust generally, most woodworkers regard extraction as something to be done as cheaply as possible. Having done that myself, I made the decision to do it properly and not skinp and have never regetted the time and expense - you only get one pair of lungs.

Jim

Thanks Jim
I plan to add dust extraction for the mitre saw.
Got a 3d printed cyclone hooked up to a shop vac (not ideal, but best i can do atm), and will probably have a dedicated one for the mitre saw, at least until i move.
One problem i'll have making an enclosure for dust collection is the window that is directly behind the mitre saw.
Might be another "3d printing to the rescue" type project, but will see.
Long term plan is to get a place where i can build a proper workshop (thinking 10x5m min atm) so i can "play" with my tools!
Thanks for all the help
Chris

 

[Simon89]

I would caution against pocket holes in either 12mm ply or any osb. At 12mm you don’t have much material to screw into. Pockets in osb can be quite weak as the material properties are stacked against you

 

[yetloh]

Thanks Jim
I plan to add dust extraction for the mitre saw.
Got a 3d printed cyclone hooked up to a shop vac (not ideal, but best i can do atm), and will probably have a dedicated one for the mitre saw, at least until i move.
One problem i'll have making an enclosure for dust collection is the window that is directly behind the mitre saw.
Might be another "3d printing to the rescue" type project, but will see.
Long term plan is to get a place where i can build a proper workshop (thinking 10x5m min atm) so i can "play" with my tools!
Thanks for all the help
Chris

Hi Chris,

A window behind the bench is exactly the problem I have too and another reason why I have to shuffle things around. It's also the reason why I have a basic mitre saw rather than the more versatile sliding type and the fancy Bosch £1300 glide arm solution just doesn't pass a cost/benefit analysis.

10m x 5m would be nice. I have 10 x 3.5, it would be nice to have the extra width but nothing in life is perfect. I have it divided 2/3 x 1/3 with the smaller space devoted to hand work/music and the larger for machines. Luckily it's integral with the house so both are connected to the central heating, but I only heat the small space, a serios machining session soon heats the larger one. Altogether I'm pretty content with my lot!

Jim

 

[Spectric]

Having used Kreg pocket hole screws for some time now, using them in ply, MDF or weetabix does not sound like a good idea. What you need is a frame that can be held together with maybe the kreg HD pocket screws but again maybe not my first choice and then use the ply as a covering if needed. There are a lot of ideas online but think of it as a workbench with a lower section where the mitre saw sits and build it along these lines.

Good luck with the dust extraction, maybe a wooden hood over it and access only to the front but this will not work that well unless you have a saw with no slides sticking out the rear like the Bosch axial glide, they make a mess with ease.

 

[Spectric]

the fancy Bosch £1300 glide arm solution just doesn't pass a cost/benefit analysis.

The Bosch is my next mitre saw, not at £1300 though

Bosch GCM12GDL 240v 2000w 12in Double Bevel Gliding Mitre Saw

and compared to the Festool it is really a bargain

https://www.dm-tools.co.uk/Festool-575304-240V-New-KS120-REB-Kapex-Sliding-Compound-Mitre-Saw/P16718

 

[Terrytpot]

I went for a copy of Fishers saw cart and then popped a thin hood from 6mm ply over the top of it…still makes a right mess but most of it is contained inside the hood.

 

[AndyMc]

Instead of using sheet materials for the frame you could also use good old 2x4. Pocket hole screws will work well on that, plus if you don't use any glue you can disassemble the whole thing when you move.

I've made my benches out of that, with an MFT, a router table and a mitre saw as individual units. The mitre saw unit is lower than the other two (per Spectric's comment) so the bed of the saw is the same height as the MFT/router table. I can use them to support the workpiece either end. They're on castors so I can swap them around, giving some flexibility when it comes to cutting long pieces, placed either to the left or the right of the saw.

You do need a level floor for this kind of thing, or be prepared to fiddle with shims and blocks, so when the castors come up everything's level.

 

[cowtown_eric]

with shop floor real-estate always in short supply, I did this with my chop saw.....

It is cantilevered over my TS outfeed table on a welded support., Same thing on the LH side, 16" thickness sander over the outfeed table.

Used in comercial cabinery x many years,

Not perfect, but with minimal hacks, (like supporting suports of outfeed table for large and heavy wood), simply worked.

Eric