After I moved the planer to its own rolling cabinet, I permanently mounted the miter saw to a rolling stand. In order to provide better material support and make repeatable cuts, I needed to build some wings on the left and right sides. Here is a finished picture of the project and a link to the Youtube Video
Wing Construction
I started by ripping and cross-cutting the individual wing pieces. Below is a picture (upside down) of the wing cross section to get a better idea of the cross section. The horizontal pieces are made from 3/4″ MDF as well as the rear fence. The center “web” pieces are made from 3/4″ plywood. The height is dictated by the height of my saw and the Kreg Miter Saw track system requires the fence to be 2 1/4″ above the top surface for the swing stops to work properly. The plans for the wings came from Kreg’s product manual.
Making the wings is very straight forward. Drill pocket holes in the web pieces and screw into the bottom of the top. Then flip it over and countersink some screws from the bottom into the web pieces. To attach the rear fence, I also countersunk and screwed it into the upper and lower horizontal pieces and also to the rear web. I used glue in all the joints. The 3/4″ MDF made the wings very heavy. If I were to do it over again, I would make the horizontal pieces from 1/2″ MDF.
Attaching Wings
I had to mill and attach a few pieces of wood to the rolling cart for the wing attachment. Then, I set the wing into place and figured out where the hinge should sit on the wing and marked it. Then I squared the hinge on the bottom of the wing and drilled/screwed two holes. Just in case I had to square it to the miter saw fence. I should have also mentioned that I did my best to square the miter saw fence to the edges of the rolling stand.
Going back to the rolling cart, I set the wing on the cart and used a support tripod to hold the outboard side. In order to flush the wing to the miter saw, I used playing cards as shims. The 2X4 has been milled straight and clamped to the miter saw. From below, the wings are 2 playing cards below the miter saw bed. I probably should have tried to get is closer to flush, but its okay. I also shifted the wing until there was a ~1/8″ set back from the miter saw fence. Then drilled and screwed the hinge to rolling cart.
Wing Supports
The wings will need something to support them when they are folded out. So, I used some leftover oak and made some stout braces. The triangular support braces are made with half lap joints and are ~22″ X 22″ . The braces were made on the table saw and glued together. After the glue dried, I flushed them up and mounted them with a continuous hinge.
To level the wings, I placed a threaded insert in the top of the brace and used a 1/4-20 bolt and an lock nut. A small block attached to the bottom of the wing rests on the bolt head.
Finishing Touches and Dust Hood
After getting the wings and support braces figured out, I added hardwood edging to the MDF wings with glue and pin nails.
After a light sanding, I applied two coats of wipe-on poly and attached the Kreg Track to the rear fence.
The dust collection hood was my last item to tackle and I have been using a plastic “Big Gulp” hood for while with my miter saw and have been surprised by the good results. So, I wanted to come up with a simple way to mount and adjust the hood location based on miter angle. I came up with the picture below. I piece of wood with the hood attached and slots cut in each end to allow it to shift left to right. A threaded insert is placed into the rolling cart and the plastic knob has a bolt extending through it.
I haven’t had a chance to use it much, only playing around, so I will see how it holds up.
