# Miter Station Set-up



## trippcasey (Feb 17, 2013)

I was working on a metal table that was pretty tall and uneven. With a 12" slider, I wanted it bolted down. That metal table has two 3/8" plates welded together on top of it, which used to hold a 125 ton compression strength machine (125 tons of down force, not actual weight of the machine) so drilling holes in that thing would be a chore in itself. So I started this miter station. Its just MDF, screws and glue, but so far it sure beats what I had. Being a rookie, and only having been toying with this hobby for a month or so, I was kind of looking for some suggestions on what to do to it to improve it for storage, and to also learn a little something about joining. I want to try my hand at some box joint drawers with just some plywood. Im not real sure on what to do, but i know i want to do more than just screw and glue the rest of it together.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Looks great. I would mount the saw on some t-track so you can slide it forward in those instances when you don't want the material to engage the wing fences. But it looks like a great start.


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## trippcasey (Feb 17, 2013)

The saw slides back and forth 12" already. I have it locked forward in the pics.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Good deal, The only thing I would add would be some type of stop block system and maybe a measuring tape either side of the blade. Makes setup much faster and repeatability is essential. Great job on this.


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

I know that makita guard is a terrible design, but I get jittery when that blade is pointin' right at me. :& I like the nice wide table for that saw. should be real handy. maybe wax that mdf so i doesn't swell with the moisture.


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## trippcasey (Feb 17, 2013)

Hmm…never heard of waxing MDF. Not a bad idea. What kind of wax would you use? The humidity down here is enough for anything to swell.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

You mentioned making box joints. You can't make them with a slider. That is a job for the table saw.


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## trippcasey (Feb 17, 2013)

I have a table saw, and a little bench top router table. Not having a dado blade will make the table saw operation very tedious, but still doable. Im leaning towards my router table for making them. Ive made a little jig that could be used on either my table saw or my router table with a little modifications.


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## Dwain (Nov 1, 2007)

I have used good old Johnson's furniture wax for wood. It would work fine in this case. I will also make your wood slide nicely. Not a big deal, but it's a perk. I don't know that you need any special joinery for workshop furniture. Still, you might want to consider a shelf, or some drawers for the table. I agree, a stop block system would be really nice. I know it make life a lot easier with the long thin type of wood that you cut on this saw.


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## trippcasey (Feb 17, 2013)

Ive read about coating the MDF in polyurethane, specifically oil based. It works good on everything else, but I bet that MDF would soak it up like a sponge.

Dwain, I just wanted to practice on making good box joints while building some drawers for out here. Maybe by then I would have a better grasp on the process when I actually wanted to use them in a project that went beyond my garage…lol. I have already cut box joints for one drawer today with my router using a home made jig I put together last night and tweaked today. The drawer fits together well, but the wood I cut them out off was some old warped scrap plywood I had. I am satisfied with my jig now though. Ill post some pics of it here in a bit.


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