Miter bench and storage

[Cochese]

This is to not clutter up the Shop Outlook thread with updates (I've deleted a couple of posts).

The genesis of this was to replace my short cabinet that I built for my previous miter saw. That 10" CMS is a lot narrower than my current 12" SCMS, and the way I built the cabinet I couldn't use it for the new one. Combine that aspect with how I messed up the drawers (made too narrow), and it was time to tear down and replace.

This is what it looks like (the section of drawers and the part to the right):


I spent probably six months trying to decide how I was going to use the miter saw - secured on a bench, portable on a rolling stand, etc. Even as late as a couple of weeks ago, I was still unsure. Since buying the saw I had it sitting on my router table, so it was semi-portable. While crosscutting 12' long boards is a nice feature to have, it was one I didn't think I'd get a lot of use from. I eventually decided to put the saw back on a permanent stand and leave the portability for the planer and jointer.

This is what I hope it will look like:

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As part of moving my bench against the wall, I had to decide which one it would go on, and the other would be the spot for the miter saw. After moving the bench to one wall, I decided it would be better on the other. The miter saw bench now occupies the left wall of my shop, along what is the walkway to get to the back wall.



With not having to access the vacuum much, this hopes to be a good use of space. May keep some scrap on a mobile base under the overhang of the bench.

To maximize plywood efficiency, I went with a 23.25" depth and 34" base height. I went with a design of my own, blending construction elements from NYS and Shopnotes. Four 3" wide strips of 8' long sections of plywood tie the five walls together and anchor it to the wall. Half-lap 2x4s provide the rigidity on top, with a sheet of 3/4" ply and a piece of hardboard covering it. Poplar will edge the top. It has storage for my vacuum at the far right end, with the separator just to the left of the miter saw. Twelve drawers occupy the other sections in heights of 6", 8" and 12". I had to modify the plans slightly because the deck of the miter saw was too tall to make economically viable my top construction. So I ran dadoes and set the saw down about 2" down from the rest of the sections, and the top surface of the cabinet will serve as measuring and support for the materials being cut.

In doing so I've made my first mistake, cutting the saw support too short. I will have to remedy this with some wood wedges to that it makes contact with the floor and doesn't sag.

Friday was base construction. Saturday was cutting the drawer parts into strips. Sunday was working on the drawers. I hate drawers. The ones you see on top of these photos are the ones from the old cabinet. Two out of three of those were too narrow. It seems like I can't get these narrow enough. I've cut them 1" narrower than the opening, but it wasn't enough. No clue.



If I get out there today I will be fitting vac hose and power connections, plus perhaps installing a drawer or two. Plus cleaning up the mountain of sawdust under my table saw.

[sweensdv]

WTH, all those tools and supplies pictured and you got a store bought paper towel holder. Chris Myers voice on, " we kid cause we care".

[Cochese]

WTH, all those tools and supplies pictured and you got a store bought paper towel holder. Chris Myers voice on, " we kid cause we care".

Some of the stuff in there I have to figure out what I would pay myself to make it. I didn't figure I could make one for a dollar. You get that a lot on the router forum - 'Why didn't you make one?' and they are completely serious.

[greenacres2]

Gentlemen--let me break up this verbal melee!!

I'm grateful to Sween for pointing out the paper towel roll dispenser and to Chopnhack for putting it up. You see, for many years i've always had 2 or 3 (or more) rolls of blue towels laying somewhere open. The most aggravating one is the one on top of my tool chest that i have to move to get anything out.

In all this time, i never considered "shop towels" to be "paper towels" and until just now have not even given a thought to a household style holder--like a mag-mount for the tool chest, one hanging by the bench, etc. Geez, what a country that i can now do this!!

Sometimes the most obvious thing is the hardest to see!!

earl

[chopnhack]

huh? I don't have a dog in this one Earl

[LCHIEN]

towel holders aside, my comment is that you have a very short outfeed. I'm sure the first time I used your saw station I would want to cut a 8' 2x4 into two 3' 11.5" pieces and you don't have enough outfeed room to handle it.

[mpc]

Drawers: you made them an inch smaller than the cabinet opening - allowing for 1/2inch per side for drawer glides per the glide's instructions - based on what I read in your post... and yet the drawers don't fit or are too tight, right? Quick-n-dirty fix: make a fairly shallow dado in the drawer sides for the glides to sit in... just a little bit gives enough "elbow room" for the glides so they don't bind as much. Fairly easy fix if the drawer fronts are not yet installed.

I've found that the specified half inch spacing seems too small for many glide assemblies. Or the thickness of the finish builds up enough on the 4 parts to screw up a perfectly sized half-inch spacing.

mpc

[greenacres2]

huh? I don't have a dog in this one Earl

Either i was trying to drag you in...or it took 14 seconds to forget what i'd read!!

Sorry folks, it was a Monday every where i went yesterday!!

earl

[chopnhack]

Lol @ Earl. Ditto what mpc said, but I used a handplane on my last group of drawers. Easier to control imho on large boxes.

[Cochese]

towel holders aside, my comment is that you have a very short outfeed. I'm sure the first time I used your saw station I would want to cut a 8' 2x4 into two 3' 11.5" pieces and you don't have enough outfeed room to handle it.

It's a fair point. With my space constraints I have to look at what I use something most often. Very rarely do I have to cut something in half like that, so I set it up this way. However if I foresaw a project where I had to cut 4' lengths in bunches, I could unscrew the cabinet from the wall and slide it down - the planer will probably sit to the left, and it's on a mobile base.

Drawers: you made them an inch smaller than the cabinet opening - allowing for 1/2inch per side for drawer glides per the glide's instructions - based on what I read in your post... and yet the drawers don't fit or are too tight, right? Quick-n-dirty fix: make a fairly shallow dado in the drawer sides for the glides to sit in... just a little bit gives enough "elbow room" for the glides so they don't bind as much. Fairly easy fix if the drawer fronts are not yet installed.

I've found that the specified half inch spacing seems too small for many glide assemblies. Or the thickness of the finish builds up enough on the 4 parts to screw up a perfectly sized half-inch spacing.

mpc

I'm using a rabbet and dado joint for the boxes, with the rabbet on the front ant back. I did use the 1" as my reference, but found it was too wide. Thought I was just not taking into account the offset from the side pieces, but I still had to go shorter. A matter of cutting down at the miter saw, putting the rabbet back on at the table saw, but it was getting to be a tedious process and I needed to stop.

[Cochese]

This project needs to be done. Crap everywhere. No room to move, piles of sawdust. Just not coming together as quickly as I'd like, which is just about every project I do.

[Cochese]

Had a much better day today. Got the vac lines run and got the floor cleaned decently well. I was hoping for better results from the miter saw, but I should have known better. Got all the drawer bottoms cut to rough size for a rainy day, which might be tomorrow.

Have to pick up some more drawer hardware, either from HD or the internet, the pricing isn't too far off.

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

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Got the top done and t-track on both sides. Drawers and trim is all that's left.

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

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All drawers but one done. Ordered additional slides for them all. While I'm waiting for them I'm going to see if I have enough material to do the trim without it looking odd (different species).

To be quite honest, I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with all these drawers. It's way more storage space than I anticipated. I think some stuff that was going to go on a wall might find a home in the shallow drawers, like files or chisels. Or one of the drawers could become the safety drawer for my hearing and lung protection.



After I make drawer fronts and doors, my entire sheet goods overflow is getting dumped.