Bosch 12″ sliding..which work station?
Hi all, thought I’d get some opinions on a mitre saw workstation. I recently bought the above saw after been totally impressed with it in Gary Katz’s videos. Not only was I able to negotiate an exceptional price on the saw at my local HD, they knocked $100 off the DeWalt (DW723) mitre work station to go with it.
I LOVE the saw but I’m not sure about the work station as the saw sits on top of the rails. I’ve seen some work stations where the saw table is flush with the extensions. This seems like a much nicer set-up. In fact, I believe I saw Norm make one of these stations on the New Yankee Workshop not too long ago.
I’d appreciate any feedback as to pros/cons of either set-up. The DeWalt work station was a great price but it seems like I could buy a lot of lumber for $200 CDN and make a custom built stand. I’m not a professional carpenter but I do some small jobs on my days off so portability is important. The saw will probably get as much use in my shop as it will at various sites.
Thanks in advance,
Mike
Replies
I recently bought the Delta stand for my DW708. ALthough I haven't moved it around much yet, it seems pretty good. It isn't all that easy to assemble, though, and I ended up doing some cutting and minor fabrication to fit the saw as I wanted. The extension table wasn't worth the bother; I just used the (overpriced) DeWalt extensions. I've heard good things about the Ridgid stand. I'd give both a look.
Thanks for the replies so far but perhaps I should be rephrasing the question. The big downside that I can see with the DeWalt stand is that the system is made of rails as opposed to a long flat surface as with some of the home made versions I've seen and also the 'saw helper' system from AD&E.
So...I guess my questions is: how important is it to have long flat extensions as opposed to rails with adjustable stops? Gary Katz (FHB) feels pretty strongly that having the long flat surfaces is ideal for measuring long stock or for clamping stock to the end for coping or other finer tasks. Norm made a beautiful version on the New Yankee Workshop a couple weeks ago too.
Any thoughts either way?
Thanks for your time...Mike
this SO simple. I often just leave a hunk of stock, say a 1x6 T&G if thats what I am working on, ON the saw table, and lay my NEXT pc. on that..it raises the cut pc higher (So what, ya don't need to pluge down as far) and keeps all the waste/shorts from fallin through the gap tween the roller and saw bed.
I have done this for yrs. when I didn't have anything other than the saw on a workmate and a horse or stack of scrap for an outboard support.
It is SO rare that I use repeat stops, that I forget I even have them, but if I did need slew of cuts the same, I tack a stop to the lower board, or might use the factory supplied
BTW..now I am using a Bosch 12 slider on a Ridgid stand..great set up.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I've been working on a site lately where three saws are set up on Saw Helper stands.... 8 foot left, 5 foot right, and it's the best setup I've used, ever. With the adjustable-outfeed-type stands, I would find myself adjusting the wings in and out depending on whether I was cutting a 5' piece or a 16' piece, or whatever size. With the Saw Helper you can cut whatever you have regardless of length. Incredibly handy to cantilever pieces off the end for coping, too.
The Sawhelper Ultra Fence http://www.sawhelper.com is a nice stand. Comes with various length full tables on either side that are nice for supporting stock. Also come with a flip stop that you can set and get boards cut to your exact length without pulling out a tape or pencil.
I also like the Ridgid stand. Nice big wheels.
Great stand!
http://www.tracrac.com/workstation/workstation.html
Bruce