Synopsis: Contributing editors Rick Arnold and Mike Guertin brought 15 miter-saw stands to job sites for testing. After dismissing two models immediately, they put the remaining 13 through their paces. Rick and Mike’s six favorite models are featured in this review. (Reviews of the seven additional models are available on our website.) Among the testing criteria were portability, stability, extension supports, ease of setup, compactness of storage, weight, and price. The favorites included models by Sawhelper, Ryobi, Bosch, Trojan, Ridgid, and Delta.

In the early 1980s, there was no such thing as a miter-saw stand. A couple of 2x12s laid across a pair of sawhorses was the workstation for our first chopsaw. Today, the choice of manufactured stands is as varied as the jobs you might use them on. We recently tried out 15 stands ranging in price from $70 to almost $500. Many of them are made by the same manufacturers that make miter saws. We dismissed two stands because they were of no value. We rated seven saw stands as OK to good, and you’ll find our reviews of those stands in More Miter-Saw Stands Reviewed. The six stands we discuss here are the ones that really impressed us.

It’s clear that the engineers have done their homework. These saw stands display ingenious approaches to how miter saws are mounted, how the stands collapse for transport, and how extension wings support the work. We didn’t identify a best value or best overall because, for this tool category, that choice depends on the type of work you do.

There’s no…