SpursDave
Member
Hello everyone I have a question - What is the best height for a table bench to use a mitre saw for repeated cuts?Obviously we don't want a sore back so should I be straight or just slightly arched to control the wood better?
Height of workbench for Mitre Saw
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robgul
Barry Bucknell is my hero
The ideal solution is to mount the mitre saw on a lowered "shelf" between two normal height benches with the saw bed level with the benches either side - that way you have support for longer pieces being sawn, and the ability to fit a fence - perhaps with a rail and stops for repeat cuts. The pic shows my set-up (the box round the saw is to improve dust extraction into the ducting) - the fence on the LH bench runs in t-track and can be slid back or removed to use the whole of the bench.
Doug B
Shy Tot
Personally my mitre saws height was governed by the surrounding benches & machines, I don’t know the exact height but I wanted it high enough that I could cut long lengths of timber & not have gear in the way.
NOTTNICK
Established Member
I agree, having it the same height as surrounding benches gives support for longer lengths (of course, if the mitre saw is lower, your other furniture would get in the way). I have mine on a mobile unit; this means that for normal work it fits in well with my workshop layout, but if I need to work with longer lengths, I can move or rotate as necessary.
Cabinetman
Established Member
All correct answers but that wasn’t quite what he asked, so if you are starting afresh you have to stand there looking really stupid so don’t do it when anybody is watching you lol, just sort of lift your arms up until they’re at a comfortable working height - pretend you are doing the actions, and that’s somewhere near where the wood wants to be.Ian
Richard_C
Established Member
Mine is fixed to an old heavy kitchen table, so its 74cm to table top. Seems about right, bit low if anything but never a problem. Pillar drill at other end of table.
Maybe bring your saw indoors, put it on a kitchen or dining table and see if that suits you.
Maybe bring your saw indoors, put it on a kitchen or dining table and see if that suits you.
Lower is better than higher, I built my first workbench really high because I do a lot of fiddly work and didn't want to be bent over peering at work. Bad idea, my shoulders and elbows were wrecked from holding drills and other tools artificially high.
Current temp workbench is a length of reinforced ply across a pair of workmates, seems good height wise and I'm thinking thus is good, buy a stool for sitting on to do the fiddly work.
Current temp workbench is a length of reinforced ply across a pair of workmates, seems good height wise and I'm thinking thus is good, buy a stool for sitting on to do the fiddly work.
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https://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-800b-mitre-saw-stand-with-extension-arms/48911My table saw sits on one of these, which according to the spec is 750mm high. I am re-jigging my workshop so I can attach easier to my planned extraction system base on Robgul design (blastgates tomorrow) it will be next to my workbench so I am going to
1. Put it on a base with lockable castors
2. Raise it to same height as workbench about 900mm
If I find this too high I can always just pull it out to cut long bits
1. Put it on a base with lockable castors
2. Raise it to same height as workbench about 900mm
If I find this too high I can always just pull it out to cut long bits
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
Your bench and set up are a lot tidier than mine, but I'm wondering, are you left handed?
I have the stops to the right of the saw. To me having them on the left would be weird.
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artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
Possibly the ideal height of your saw bench would be a ratio of your height. If you are 6' 6" you might not be comfortable at the same bench as someone 4'.
I am 1.88m tall possibly a bit more in my work boots, and the bench my saw sits on is 870 mm from the ground. It's been there for a while and I am quite comfortable at it.
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Doug71
Established Member
Your bench and set up are a lot tidier than mine, but I'm wondering, are you left handed?
I have the stops to the right of the saw. To me having them on the left would be weird.
Normally a right hander will have the stops to the left of the saw.
Generally a right hander would hold the keeper piece against the fence and stop with their left hand while operating the saw with their right hand, the offcut then falls away to the right.
Everyone will answer this slightly differently as body proportions and cutting needs are varied. You could experiment using blocks of wood or mini platforms to support your mitre saw until you get the height that feels right for you.
TheUnicorn
Established Member
I would be operating the saw with my right hand, so feeding in from the left, with blocks on the right
As far as the height of mitre saw / bench, I don't have a permanent set up, I have a board with raised platforms on either side, with a gap for the saw, the saw and board setup then sits on a standard bench and clamped in place. So the operating height is about 100mm above my bench height.
If I were building a permanent setup I'd use trial an error with my current setup until I was certain on the height, but I would be starting with a point roughly halfway between my wrist and my elbow
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
Same here.
I hold the off cuts, the keeper pieces aren't going anywhere jammed between the blade and the stop.
I am usually cutting 2+ m lengths so nothing falls away.
Maybe we should have a poll.
Are you a left stopper or a right stopper.
Apologies to the OP, back to the main topic.
Rorton
Established Member
Im right handed, and have my stop on the left - the piece im keeping stays under my left hand while I hold it, and right hand operates the blade
robgul
Barry Bucknell is my hero
Yep - that's me - right-handed, stops on the left . . . The bench to the left has a normal top with T-track for the fence (and a couple of other tools/jigs) and the bench top on the right of the saw is an MFT - I don't have a fence for the MFT/tracksaw combo but use 40mm bench dogs to set the workpiece against. AND before anyone asks I have to remove the box around the saw to make 45degree cuts - but that's not often and I would normally use the separate compound mitre saw for them.
TheUnicorn
Established Member
The more I think about it, I adapt my technique in accordance to the job / cut. If I'm cutting a long length into several shorter pieces, I'm feeding in from the left, stopper on the right. But if I've got several pieces that I'm cutting down to length (evening out pieces to a standard length from scraps and offcuts) then my stop block is on the left, and I'm essentially feeding from the front. Feeding from the right would mean crossing my left hand through the path of the blade, in theory the blade has stopped spinning, but why take the risk.
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
I was wondering about that.
I do quite a lot of angle cuts, so don't box mine up so tight.
OK - I write left handed, Play golf right handed, snooker left handed and years ago tennis right handed, table tennis left handed. I would choose to operate a hand drill right handed but OK LH.
Mitre saw - preferably stop to the right, hold keeper with LH and operate with RH.
Embarrassing moment 2 days ago. Went to cut my first ever 45 using bevel on mitre..... didn't remove left hand fence. ouch!
Mitre saw - preferably stop to the right, hold keeper with LH and operate with RH.
Embarrassing moment 2 days ago. Went to cut my first ever 45 using bevel on mitre..... didn't remove left hand fence. ouch!
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