Hacking a Miter Saw Stand

Brian Way is a cabinet and millwork installer in Connecticut who specializes in commercial projects. The work is frequently spread out over large areas—as it was on the hospital project that inspired him to hack his miter saw stand.

The crew was installing trim in long corridors and faced the prospect of walking great distances to the cut station or breaking the station down and moving it multiple times per day. Neither was ideal so Way devised a wheeled plywood base for the stand they were using.

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The base has five rubber casters, two at the ends and one in the middle. Way stiffened the back edge with a vertical rip of plywood and put the center wheel near the front—so the flex in the plywood allows it to ride over humps in the floor. The 2-inch casters offer enough resistance that there’s no need to lock them while using the saw.

Way designed the base to fit a FastCap BestFence stand but it could be sized to fit any commercially made stand. 

In addition to carrying the stand the base supports a dust extractor, small ultra-quiet air compressor, and the safety cones required when working in hospitals.

A cradle prevents the dust extractor from rolling around and the trash can swings out on a pivot, for better access. Note the “cups” that the feet of  stand fit into; they’re screwed to the base and prevent the stand from sliding around. With all this stuff on the base there’s still room to stow tool bags, nail guns, and other small items. 

When it’s time to move the work station the crew unplugs from the electrical receptacle and rolls all of its gear to the next work area.

Way has built multiple versions of the cart, modifying it to fit the job at hand. It can be built in 30 minutes using five casters and a half sheet of plywood—so it’s no great investment.


Source: core77

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