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DIY - Mobile Miter Saw Station

garage shop organization with a miter saw station for a Makita miter saw
Well guys, no longer the days of wood falling onto the floor when making a cut on the miter saw. Oh my, why did it take me so long to build this miter saw station?!

I went for an easy build with lots of tool storage - I didn't add a fence because I wanted to use the two cabinets as workstations too. Now, the best part is that this entire setup is movable and good enough for any miter saw.

This mobile miter saw station is made of 4-1/2 sheets of 3/4" plywood. It is 36" tall (what can I say, I'm short! ðŸ˜„), 164.5" long, and 24.5" deep.

I bought the plywood at Home Depot and asked them to cut all sheets half-lengthwise. I asked the guy about five times to set the machine dead on center, and well, it paid off because all sheets were exactly 24" -

I covered the back of the cabinets with 1/2" plywood from the scrap pile. If you don't mind an open back, you can use two 3/4" ply stretches.

Before we head into this build, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube, where I share behind the scenes of my builds and home decor projects.

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Tools Used:



Materials / Supplies:
  • 5 sheets 3/4" plywood
  • 35 feet - 1 x 2 pine
  • 8 - 4" Locking swivel casters
  • 4 sets - Full overlay frameless hinges
  • 1¼” Pocket Screws & Wood screws
  • 1¼” wood screws and washers for casters
  • 1¼” & 1½” Brad nails 
  • 8 - 1/4" x 3 1/4” Hex Bolt screws +1/4" hex nuts + washers & lock washers
  • Wood glue
  • 120 & 220 Sandpaper
  • Paint & painting supplies
  • Satin Polyurethane


Directions:

1. CUT PLYWOOD

Follow the cut list on the plans right HERE. I used my circular saw to make most of the cuts.
2. DRILL POCKET HOLES

Use the miter saw to cut top stretches and lower support pieces to size. Drill 3/4" pocket holes on ends.

3. ATTACH SIDES TO BOTTOM

Clamp both sides of the cabinet to the bottom and attach them with 1-1/4" wood screws. Do predrills. A 90-degree clamp came in handy too.

4. ATTACH TOP STRETCHERS & DIVIDER

Use 1 1/4" pocket hole screws to attach top stretchers. Then, use a jigsaw to cut a 3/4" x 4" notch from the cabinet divider. center it inside the cabinet and attach it with 1 1/4" wood screws from the top of stretchers and bottom of the cabinet.

5. ADD LOWER SUPPORT FRAME & INSTALL CASTERS

Flip the cabinet top side down. Use glue and 1 1/4" brad nails to attach the lower support frame.
Position the casters @ 1 1/2" from sides. Use 1 1/4" wood screws and washers to set the casters in place.

6. ATTACH BACK & DRILL SHELF PIN HOLES

Place the cabinet front face down and attach the back. - I used 1/2" plywood for the back.
Drill holes for shelf pins. I used a scrap piece of 1 x 6 on the bottom of the cabinet, as a guide for where to start drilling the holes.

Well, At this point, both cabinets should look like this:
garage shop organization with a miter saw station for a Makita miter saw

7.  ADD EDGE BANDING TO DOORS (Optional) & INSTALL HINGES

I attached edge banding all around the doors. An iron, an X-Acto knife, and a band trimmer were the tools needed for this task.

Then, the doors were ready for hinges. I used the Jig It to make the concealed hinge cup holes - Three inches from the top and bottom of doors.
Use the screws and directions that come with the hinges to set them in place.

8. PAINT OR STAIN DOORS AND INSTALL ON CABINETS

Painting or staining the cabinet is totally optional. But hey, I'm a decorator at heart. I had to do it. The darkest color I had in my stash was this, the paint I used on my bedroom feature wall - BEHR Evening Hush

9. ASSEMBLE & INSTALL COUNTERTOP-S

The countertops consist of two layers of 3/4" plywood, finished with 1 x 2 pine all around.

Glue together both plywood surfaces, drive a few 1 1/4" brad nails on the top side of the counter. Flip it over and drive 1 1/2" wood screws to secure both surfaces.

Note: I didn't drive nails or screws in the middle section because I'm planning on adding a t-track & stop later on. I don't want to hit any screws with the router. ;)
Use the miter saw to cut the 1 x 2 pine to size, mitering the corners. Install all around the edge of the counter with wood glue and 1 1/2" brad nails.

Assemble both top of cabinets and miter saw shelf this same way.

10. INSTALL MITER SAW SHELF

I had to give ample space to my Makita miter saw to swing up to the 60-degree in both directions. That's what determines how wide the miter saw shelf needs to be.


Place your miter saw on top of a plywood shelf and measure the distance from the miter saw table to the top of that shelf. That will give you the number at what the top of the miter saw shelf should be installed.

Install the 2 x 4 supports on each side of the cabinet, by drilling 1/4" holes and securing the supports with 1/4" x 3 1/4" hex bolt screws. Secure from inside the cabinet with 1/4" washer, lock washer, and hex nut.

I also added another 2 x 2 pine support to drive the 2 1/2" screws to secure the miter saw shelf onto them. Make sure everything is level and the miter saw table is at the same height as both countertops on each side.


11. SAND AND FINISH 

Give the entire station a good sanding with 120-grid sandpaper, before applying finish.
I had trouble spraying poly over the painted doors, they looked all splotchy. To make things even worse, by mistake, I sprayed black paint thinking it was poly.
Well, I  had to sand everything down.

After installing the doors I gave them two coats of Minwax Satin Polyurethane and it looked way better!

Then, I gave the counters the same treatment. Well, they got three coats of poly and I sanded the surfaces with 120 and 220 grid sandpaper in between coats.
Here you can see how smooth and shiny they looked when the polyurethane finally dried. I had to wait an entire day for each coat to dry!
My Makita 12 in. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound miter saw takes center stage here. The dual dust collection ports for excellent dust extraction, the unique 2-steel rail sliding system that makes it operate flush against the wall, and the silky operation of this beauty are a few of the features I like the most about this miter saw.
DIY Miter saw station for Makita
| Makita 12 In. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser |

Here is how this left side of my garage shop is looking now. I still need to adjust those doors some more, add handles, and the t-track stop system.
Oh, I also started organizing those shelves.
I'm super glad to check this task off my to-do list!

I'll be updating this post with the plans and a complete video, as soon as they get ready.
You can save it for later and share it right here:
garage shop organization with a miter saw station for a Makita miter saw

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2 comments :

  1. Gayleen, Fort Collins, COMay 5, 2020 at 9:55 PM

    Wow so inspirational!! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that makes mistakes in the middle of projects! I usually have to walk away to vent a little then come back with better focus. But with such lovely tools, you deserve to have the very best work stations! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Outstanding as always!!! I am in the process of "pairing down" as opposed to adding but this is something I could see as very beneficial!!! As my son pointed out, you can't own a home without a chop saw...lol!

    ReplyDelete
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