Well I just thought I would post a brief entry describing my recent miter saw station build. I still need to complete top and fence on the right side of the station, but for the most part the project is complete. Sorry to say I didn't take as many photos as I initially intended, but you will see a few below.
While I realize this is really only a "HALF" station; it is what I felt would meet the majority of my shop needs and still conserve valuable space in the shop. In the event I would need to utilize the left side for longer stock support I will either use a roller stand or a mobile stand to serve the purpose.
This project consists of 1/8" luan plywood, 23/32" shop grade plywood, construction grade 2x4 lumber, a small piece of curly maple, 3/8" concrete anchors, 3/8" x 3" lag screws, 3/8" x 2" lag screws, 1 1/2" drywall screws, 3/8" brass cabinet screws, 1 3/4" finish nails, Titebond II wood glue, 4" thin walled PVC pipe and a wonderous product called DUCT tape. My wife swears I couldn't fix anything without duct or electrical tape. Honestly she is probably right, but I still regularly argue the point with her, without success. I completing the right side support wing and fence I will probably use some hard maple for both the support and fence and will likely add in a piece of standard t-track to the fence. I haven;t completely decided how I will configure the t-track, be it on the face or top or both, but the intent is to use them for hold downs and stop blocks.
On the the dust collection front I incorporated the 4" thin walled PVC as ducting. I am currently using the Dust Right Quick Connect System and a 20' flex hose to service my stationary. In order to connect the quick connector to the 4" PVC I cut 2 1/8" x 3" kerfs on opposite sides of the PVC pipe and used duct tape to compress the end of the pipe enough to fit the quick connector. I realize there are reducers available to perform the same function, but this method was cheaper and seems to be working just fine. Eventually I will be hard piping most of the shop, so this is a temporary solution anyway. The PVC then goes into the cabinet to a 90° elbow and through the cavity just below the saw. I sloped the inside of the cavity to direct the saw dust down towards the 4" pipe. While I am sure others have better solutions and more efficient systems this works for me and seems to collect 75-80% of the dust that make it to the area just below the saw. I addition to the collection below the saw; I also epoxied plumbing fitting onto the saw itself in order to better direct the dust from the dust port on the saw and to allow ne to connect a flex hose to go to my shop-vac. The shop vac is also temporary until I can add a Y to the 4" PVC and tie the dust port permanently to the dust collector. My only issue with this setup is the flex hose I purchased (sump pump flex line) whistles terribly when I fire up the shop-vac. I am guessing this is caused by the ridges inside the hose, as I can usually twist and bend it the hose to get the whistling to stop temporarily. I will be looking other hose options in the future, but for now it is what it is. Thank God for hearing protection.
So far I am really pleased with the results of the dust collection and this build in general. Once the support table and fence are completed I am confident this addition to the shop will serve me well. As with other recent posts I will provide an update once the project is 100% complete.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. As always I am very interested in your comments, suggestions and ridicule, so please let me know your thoughts!!!
Until my next post:
KEEP YOUR MIND ON YOUR FINGERS AND YOUR FINGERS ON YOUR HANDS…
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