Sawdust on the Floor

Okay, so you finally broke down and bought that miter saw you have been wanting, and life is good. Or maybe you were really good and Santa brought you the miter saw. Which ever way you got the miter saw, you have a really great tool that can do so many things in your shop. I have a 12 “ compound miter saw that I thought was perfect, and it was until the day I decided to add a miter saw stand.

A miter saw stand is exactly what is it says. It’s a portable stand that hold your miter saw at the correct height for safe operation. It also includes both right and left supports for holding your wood. Some miter saw stands also include adjustable stops for repeat cuts. Miter saw stands like the one pictured at the right have a set of wheels that allow you to easily move it into place. This one also comes with a really neat feature, an adjustable work light that can be focused on the cut line so you can really get that perfect cut.

When we were putting a hardwood floor in one of the upstairs bedrooms in our house, I came to really appreciate the miter saw stand. I had two options, I could ether walk down stairs and out to my shop to make each and every cut , when I came to the end of each row of flooring, or I could simply set up the saw in the next room. Without the miter saw stand, there was no safe way to bring the saw out of the shop. The total time to set it up was less then than 10 minutes, and that included the time to carry both the saw and the stand up to the room. And just to make it clear, I haven’t gotten lazy, just like to work smarter and safer, and the miter saw stand allows me to do that.

Now if you want the ultimate add on for your miter saw, then I have just the thing for you. FastCap has introduced the Miter Saw Hood. This is a totally portable hood that clamps to your miter saw stand and collects all of the dust and debris that comes from cutting any wood. When I used my miter saw inside I also had to drag along my shop vacuum to collect the saw dust which is a little inconvenient. The miter saw hood simply collects the saw dust in a box that is placed on the floor under the hood. When you are done, simply close up the box and put it in the trash.

One of the remaining projects that we have is to install the floor and back splash tile in the kitchen. I plan to use my tile saw to make all of the required cuts. Instead of creating piles of saw dust, the tile saw which uses water to cool the tile while it is being cut, sends showers of water everywhere. I plan to use my miter saw stand and make a base to hold my tile saw on the stand. And because I want the saw near by, I plan to use the miter saw hood. The only difference is that I plan to replace the box with a pail to collect the water.

The only other thing that I can think of that would make this even a greater tool, is to add a laser guide to your miter saw. Some miter saws come with this option, but if yours didn’t you can add it to your miter saw. As your blade starts to spin, a red laser light is projected down onto the wood, so you can ensure that you have to wood in the correct position. If you need to adjust the wood, simply release the blade trigger switch, and reposition the wood. Best part is that the add on for most saws is less than $50.00.

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