Miter Saw Station

1The finished project

A miter saw station 96" long, 27" deep and 36" tall, with a 30" wide saw bay in the middle, a wing on each side and a lower shelf.

1. Read every step once before you cut anything.
2. The station is two 2x4 frames, each with a plywood deck, screwed to six 2x4 legs. The upper deck carries two wing boxes, one on each side of the saw bay. The lower deck is a shelf for the saw case, blades and bins.
3. The wings hold long boards level with the saw table, so the cut stays flat from end to end. Their height depends on your saw: measure it in step 3.
4. You will need a helper for steps 9, 11 and 12, when the assemblies are heavy.

The saw is not part of this plan. Fasten your saw to the station before you use it, keep every guard in place and read the saw manual. This plan does not give a weight rating.

A sliding saw needs free space behind it. Measure your saw and read step 3 before you buy wood.

2Tools & materials

Gather everything before you start.

1. Buy nine 2x4s 8 feet long. Ask for 8 foot boards: they are 96" long. Precut studs are 92-5/8" long and too short for the rails.
2. Pick straight boards without twist and without large knots near the ends. Sight down each board before you buy it.
3. Buy two full sheets of 3/4" plywood, 4 x 8 feet. Sheet 1 makes the two decks. Sheet 2 makes the wing tops and the wing strips. Most home centers will make the long cuts for you (step 4).
4. Pick up the screws on the materials list. The four lengths are not interchangeable. Also buy the screws or bolts that fit the mounting holes of your own saw, as its manual says.

Wear eye and hearing protection when cutting and drilling.

A 4 x 8 ft sheet of plywood is heavy and catches the wind. Carry it with a helper.

3Measure your saw

Measure your saw before you cut: the wing height, the bay and the space behind it.

1. Stand the saw on a flat table. Measure from the underside of the saw base to the top of the saw table. This is the table height. The model uses 4". Write your number down.
2. Wing strip height = table height minus 3/4", the thickness of the wing top. The model uses strips 3-1/4" high. If your table height is different, rip the wing strips F and G to your number in step 4.
3. The screws in this plan suit a table height from 3-1/2" to 4-1/2". Outside that range do not build this plan as drawn.
4. Measure the base of the saw: width and depth. The saw bay is 30" wide and 23-15/16" deep, and the whole base must fit inside it.
5. Sliding saw: measure how far its rails reach behind the base. Keep that space free behind the station. Pull the station away from the wall if you need to.

Do not guess the table height. A wing that is higher or lower than the saw table tilts a long board into the blade.

Read the saw manual for the free space it asks for, and keep all guards in place.

4Cut the plywood

Rip the two sheets: sheet 1 into two decks, sheet 2 into two wing tops, four side strips and four end strips.

1. Sheet 1: mark the center of the cut 24" from one long edge, at both ends of the sheet, and snap or draw a straight line between the marks. Rip along it. Each deck A is 96" long and 23-15/16" wide.
2. Sheet 2: rip it along the same line, 24" from the edge. The first half is for the two wing tops E: mark a line 33" from one end, cut on the waste side of the line, then cut the second top 33" long from the rest.
3. Rip the other half into three strips 3-1/4" wide, with 1/8" between them for the saw kerf. Cut strips 1 and 2 into two side strips F (33" long) and one end strip G (22-7/16" long) each. Cut strip 3 into two end strips G. The rest of the half is spare.
4. If your saw needs another strip height (step 3), rip the three strips to that height instead of 3-1/4". Keep all eight strips the same width.
5. Support each sheet on scrap 2x4s across sawhorses or the floor, so no piece drops at the end of a cut. Label every part with its letter.

Most home centers will make the long rip cuts on their panel saw. Show them this diagram.

Each cut removes about 1/8" of wood (the saw kerf). The layout already allows for it.

5Cut the 2x4s

Cut the legs and cross supports from five boards, and keep four boards full length for the rails.

1. Rails B: four boards stay full length, 96". Trim a little off each end only if it is not square, and make all four rails exactly the same length.
2. Legs D: from each of two boards, cut three legs 31-1/4" long. That uses 94" of the board, kerf included.
3. Cross supports C: from each of two more boards, cut four cross supports 21" long (84-3/8" with kerfs). From the last board, cut two. That makes ten cross supports.
4. Count the parts: 4 rails B, 6 legs D and 10 cross supports C. Label each one in pencil.

Measure every piece from the same end of the board and cut on the waste side of the line.

All ten cross supports must be the same length, or the frames will not be square. Cut one, check it, then use it to mark the others.

6Build the two frames

Mark and drill the rails, then screw five cross supports between two rails. Build two identical frames.

1. Lay the four rails B side by side with their best face up, clamp them with the ends flush, and mark them all at once with the speed square.
2. Draw a line across all rails at 3/4" from each end (the middle of the end cross supports), and three more measured from the left end: 24-3/8", 48" and 71-5/8".
3. Unclamp. On each line of each rail mark two screw centers, 1-1/4" from one edge and 1-1/4" from the other, so they are 1" apart. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole at each mark and countersink it: 10 holes per rail.
4. On a flat floor, stand two rails on edge, 24" apart outside to outside, countersunk holes out. Set the five cross supports C between them, lined up with the holes. The end supports are flush with the ends of the rails.
5. Clamp one end flush and drive two #8 x 3 in screws through the rail into the end of each cross support: 20 screws per frame. Measure both diagonals: they must be equal. Build the second frame the same way.

Drill straight and square to the face, and keep the top edges of the rails and cross supports flush: the deck lands on them.

7Attach the decks

Screw a plywood deck on top of each frame.

1. Lay a frame flat on the floor. Set deck A on top, with one long edge and both ends flush with the frame. The deck is 1/16" narrower than the frame, so the small step is at the back.
2. Mark the screws on the deck: 3/4" in from the front edge (the middle of the front rail), starting 6" from the left end and repeating every 12": 8 screws. Mark 8 more along the back rail, 11/16" from the back edge of the deck.
3. Mark 2 screws over each cross support, 7-1/2" and 16-1/2" from the front edge: 10 more. The cross support middles are 3/4", 24-3/8", 48", 71-5/8" and 95-1/4" from the left end.
4. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole at each of the 26 marks, countersink it and drive a #8 x 1-5/8 in screw. Do the same on the other frame.
5. On the upper frame, drive all 26 screws now. The wings will cover them later.

A deck that is flush on three sides squares the frame. Check the diagonals again before you drive the last screws.

8Build the wings

Screw the four strips of each wing together into a frame. Build two wings.

1. Stand the two side strips F on edge on a flat floor, parallel, with their inside faces 22-7/16" apart. That is the length of an end strip G.
2. Set the two end strips G between them, with the ends and the bottom edges flush. Clamp one corner.
3. At each corner, mark two screws on the side strip: 3/8" from the end of the strip (the middle of the end strip) and 1" and 2-1/2" above its bottom edge.
4. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole through the side strip at each mark and countersink it. Drive a #8 x 1-5/8 in screw at each mark, into the end of the end strip. That is 8 screws per wing.
5. Measure both diagonals. They must be equal. Keep the bottom edges flat on the floor: the wing stands on them. Do not fit the wing top yet. Build the second wing the same way.

Drill the pilot hole before you drive the screw. Plywood edges split easily.

9Fasten the wings

Screw each wing top and strip frame down to the upper deck and into the frame, with the upper assembly on sawhorses.

1. Put the upper frame with its deck on sawhorses, deck up. Set the left strip frame on the deck, flush with the front edge and the left end of the deck, and lay the wing top E on it, flush on all four edges. Clamp it down.
2. Mark 11 screws on the wing top, each 3/8" from an edge: along the front edge and along the back edge, at 9", 15", 21" and 27" from the left end; along the left end, at 4-1/2", 12" and 19-1/2" from the front edge.
3. At each mark drill a 3/16" hole straight down through the wing top and the strip, then a 1/8" pilot hole 1-1/2" deep into the rail or cross support below. Countersink the top and drive a #10 x 6 in screw until the head is flush.
4. Along the inside edge, 3/8" from the edge, drive 2 #8 x 1-5/8 in screws down through the wing top into the inner end strip, 8-1/4" and 15-3/4" from the front edge. From below (second view), drive 3 more up through the deck into that strip.
5. Build the right wing the same way, as a mirror image: 11 long screws and 5 short ones per wing.

Drill straight, and fit the 6 in screws before the legs go on. If you changed the wing height in step 3, check that at least 1" of every long screw reaches the rail.

10Mark the legs

Mark where each frame sits on the six legs, and drill the leg screws.

1. Lay the six legs D side by side with the bottom ends flush, and clamp them. Draw lines across all of them at 4" and 27-3/4" from the bottom end. Each line is the bottom edge of a frame. The top end of each leg is flush with the top edge of the upper frame.
2. Corner legs (four of them): above each line, mark two screws 1" from the inside edge, at 1" and 2-1/2" above the line.
3. Middle legs (two, one front and one back): above each line, mark two screws 1-3/4" above the line, each 1/2" in from an edge.
4. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole through the leg at each mark and countersink it: 4 holes per leg.

Mark every leg from its bottom end. If the ends differ, the station will rock and the deck will not be level.

The corner legs are mirror images: the screws sit 1" from the edge that faces the middle of the station, away from the end cross support screws.

11Attach the legs

Screw the three front legs to both frames with the unit lying on its back, turn it over, then screw on the three back legs.

1. With a helper, lay the lower and upper assemblies on their back rails on a flat floor, decks facing the same way, with their bottom edges about 23-3/4" apart. Prop the upper assembly so it cannot fall.
2. Lay the three front legs D across the front rails, at the ends and in the middle, countersunk holes up and bottom ends toward the lower assembly. The end legs are flush with the ends of the rails.
3. Line up the bottom edge of each frame with its line on the legs. Clamp, and drive two #8 x 2-1/2 in screws through each leg into each rail: 12 screws. Check each leg with the speed square before you drive the last screws.
4. With your helper, roll the unit onto its front legs. The back rails are now on top.
5. Lay the three back legs D on the back rails the same way, every frame on its line, and drive two screws per joint: 12 more screws, 24 in all.
6. With your helper, stand the station upright. The drawing shows it standing so you can see where each leg goes.

Work with a helper: the upper assembly with its wings is heavy and can fall while it lies on its edge. Lift with your legs and keep your back straight.

12Mount the saw and check

Level the station, fasten the saw down and line up the wings with the saw table.

1. Shim under the legs until the deck and both wings are level and the station does not rock.
2. Set the saw in the bay (its base must fit the 30" width; a sliding saw needs space behind it, step 3). Fasten it through its own mounting holes, as its manual says.
3. Lay a straightedge across the saw table and both wings, then along the fence. The wings must touch it. Adjust the saw, not the wings, as its manual says.

Generic saw shown. Fasten yours down, keep guards on, read its manual. No weight rating.