How much space on right of miter saw?

[dmbtjclark]

Finished my shop, looking to build in some modest cabinets to house my miter saw. Other than "as much as you can".. how much space to the right of the miter saw is a practical size? Knowing it will limit length to that side. The left side a fairly open.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

I'll start by saying I'm right handed, so I hold the wood secure with my left and work the saw with my right. Therefore, I want the most wood exposed on the left side. I think the space to the right is 18-20", and the left is appx. 5'.

 

[JRedding]

I had a full wall available that I filled with cabinets so have 8’ available on both sides. I very rarely need the large amount of space to the right of the saw since I’m right handed, but it comes in handy if cutting a 12’ piece. Realistically, I’d say 24” to the right is probably plenty if you’re right handed (opposite if left) as Bill notes.

 

[Darl Bundren]

I think the setup in Bill Clemmon's image is probably what most would need. I don't think you'd need all that much space on the cutoff side, but if you see yourself doing long tables or shelves, you may want to maximize the space. And, if you need to cut a long board in the middle, you can use a handheld saw for that and finalize the cuts on your miter saw. Such a station is something I'd like to add to my shop. Good luck with it!

 

[demondeacon]

I have 3 feet to the right and it works well. Generally speaking though most of the time I use just 18 inches on the right. But I like the 3 foot length as there is plenty of room for offcuts below. I have 7 feet to the left which comes in very handy checking jointed edges on longer boards.

 

[HMH]

For “supported” space, I have ~60” on the left of the saw, and 40” on the right. That said, in a pinch, I left enough room that I can wheel out my drill press on the right, and designed the cutting height to pass above my jointer on the left to get a full 8’+ on either side of the blade.

In the end though, I’ve never needed the capacity, and if I did, I’d just use a circular saw/ track saw as a work-around. It is nice to break-down 8-10’ boards on the miter though.

 

[Wilsoncb]

For “supported” space, I have ~60” on the left of the saw, and 40” on the right. That said, in a pinch, I left enough room that I can wheel out my drill press on the right, and designed the cutting height to pass above my jointer on the left to get a full 8’+ on either side of the blade.

In the end though, I’ve never needed the capacity, and if I did, I’d just use a circular saw/ track saw as a work-around. It is nice to break-down 8-10’ boards on the miter though.

View attachment 231235

Nice setup, but I think you need to provide more details. I like the space utilization to the left and right above the bench top, but what do you have there? It looks like slide out shelves but they all have the same thing on them?
…and what the black & red handle to the right of the saw between the bench top and cut top?

 

[HMH]

Nice setup, but I think you need to provide more details. I like the space utilization to the left and right above the bench top, but what do you have there? It looks like slide out shelves but they all have the same thing on them?
…and what the black & red handle to the right of the saw between the bench top and cut top?

Ha, that’s just my hardware storage, (screws, bolts, nuts, router bits, etc) in pull out drawers/ “grab and go” organizers. The handle you mention on the right, is just a holster for the Allen wrench for my bench stops, and another to hold a square for marking boards. Nothing fancy, but it beats always rummaging through a pile of stuff to find what you need.

 

[Echd]

If I was that organized I wouldn't have an excuse to avoid doing any actual work.

 

[dmbtjclark]

Thank you all for the input. This is the corner it will live in. Plenty of space to the left. Still working on that organization thing 20' of wall space with a garage door to the left.

 

[mpeele]

At one time I had a fixed miter saw setup. It was good for a while but as I acquired more tools and the nature of work I was doing changed the less a fixed setup worked for me. So I now have a moveable saw station( and all other tools except my table saw)with foldable expandable wings. About 80% of the time it's used in place with wings down which used 4' of space.

 

[JimD]

I have about 8 feet on both sides of my 12 inch non-slider miter saw. I have flip stops on the left so I can set them for repeat cuts and hold the wood still with my left. In the right, my shop vac and router table are sometimes in the way but the router table is at the right elevation to support work if I remove the fence. I use this saw for most furniture projects.

But I've also trimmed my house using 16 foot sticks of casing. The 12 inch saw is pretty heavy to move around but I also have a 10 inch non-slider that is much lighter. I set that saw up when I do trim work where ever it is handy to the job. Having it available for really long stuff pretty much eliminates any issue with the limitations on the 12 inch saw's location. But if I have to, I can also move it to the outfeed/work table, I just loose the flip stops and support. Little 10 inch saws are pretty inexpensive and nice to have around sometimes.

 

[tvrgeek]

Mine sits at the edge of a wide doorway. If I need space to the right, I have a flip up leg. If more than that, a roller stand. That way I have over 8 feet to the left. You can always do what I do in my table saw and put a hatch in an outside wall so a long board can protrude. Even on both sides and you would be unlimited.

 

[bob vaughan]

That said, in a pinch, I left enough room that I can wheel out my drill press on the right,

So why not lower the drill press table so it is even with the miter saw tables?
At one time I had a drill press to the left of the radial arm saw. When need be, I'd just lower the drill press table and have an extension table for crosscut support.

I'll usually rough cut long boards to length with a saber saw then joint & plane to size. Crosscuts for me are little more than end trimming to suit so areas to the right need not be much.

I have to admit that I mostly use a Hammond Glider I modified for crosscutting.

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[mpeele]

So why not lower the drill press table so it is even with the miter saw tables?

I do sometimes do use the drill press table and router table. To enable that the miter saw table height is adjustable and set to the same height as router table, table saw and all other flat surfaces. I mostly use the wings when I doing repetitive cuts and need to set stops.

 

[bob vaughan]

Impressive setup. Well thought out and executed.