robinmcc

Now, what would Escher do?

I currently have my Rigid 12" sliding compound miter saw set up on my bench. I built the bench so that the table of the saw is lower than the bench top but the fence is in line with the bench face. I use 1/2" black iron pipe set into holes in the bench face to support 2x6s on either side so I can support very long pieces.

Pros: It's simple and supports very long pieces. I can use the saw even if the bench is cluttered.

Cons: The saw is mounted quite far forward...but the Rigid requires a lot of space behind it. I can use the saw even if the bench is cluttered.

I built my former miter saw stand stand (for my Makita 10" sliding compound miter saw) from a 2x10 with legs that fit on it like a police barricade (the triangular leg units slipped up the 2x10 and between 2 short 2x4s screwed to the 2x10. The saw was mounted to a support that slipped down over the top of the 2x10. Short 2x4s extending vertically above the 2x10 but below the level of the miter saw table were screwed to the 2x10 and 2x4s were dropped into the slot that it made to support long stock. Spacers between the vertical 2x4s aligned the support with the table.

Pros: Simple and used the basic carpentry skills I had at the time. Relatively inexpensive. Portable. Supported very long pieces.

Cons: Not terribly accurate and subject to warping with changes in the weather. Heavy and had 6 individual pieces to move.

I live in a rural area where we have lots of 19th century technology still in operation--saw mills, paper mills, etc.--and I remember a small shingle mill. It was essentially an one or two person operation, but it seemed that the shingles fell farther from the blade. What didn't get shown was the edging that the operator did before tossing the shingles down the sorting chutes. That's usually a wheel with a single blade in it,much like a slicer blade in a food processor...and probably almost as dangerous as the open saw blade.

I think safety is much more relative to the mindset of the operator. I worked in the woods thinning in Washington when I was young and discovered chainsaw chaps. When I cut the small trees, I had to make sure they fell away from the cutting line, so I would pass the saw to my right hand, set it on my left thigh and use my left hand to sweep the brush to my left. After a while, my chaps were shredded on my left thigh because I became careless.

Please don't think I'm advocating for less safety measures--I have a SawStop--but nothing beats a focus on safety.