I’m Lee Dumond, and this is Busted Knuckle Woodworks! We do custom woodworking, cabinetry, and build handmade indoor and outdoor furniture in Austin, Texas, USA. We post build videos, tips and tricks, tool reviews, and some funny #shorts as well!
Catch our video podcast on our second channel: youtube.com/@TheNewCrankyWorkshop
Thanks Lee for the details on building a practical miter saw fence. I’ve been thinking about this for years, but haven’t built it, for the reasons you described. Now that I’ve seen your way of adjusting the fence left and right i will finally build one. I like the way you embedded the t track low in front, instead of on top. The in line stop looks perfect (I didn’t know they existed). Much better than a flip down stop for this purpose, IMHO. No need to size the width of your fence to the length of your flip stop. I also like the way that the fence attaches to the saw. I don’t always want the fence attached, so this design is ideal. Thanks too for the reminder to wear a mask when cutting MDF. That stuff makes a lot of very fine dust that no one wants in their lungs. All this to say thanks from your newest subscriber.
Only one suggestion to anyone making one. I’d recommend using epoxy to fasten your T track. You have little holding especially in MDF with short tiny screws.
Hi, my name is also Lee. Great minds think alike lol. Also the same humor. Loved the video. I’m a tool maker, bike builder and woodworker so I use a lot of shallow draws honestly. However it’s an awesome idea. Me being the anal perfectionist I am I would have put a piece of thin sheetmetal on the front of the drawer. I have sheetmetal equipment so I can lol. Paint finish would have come out better I think. But hey that’s just me 😂😂 good job young man. 🤙🏻🤙🏻
Excellent my man! I can't do metalwork for 💩 I'm afraid. When I used to race bikes I used those shallow drawers a lot too, but not so much of a need for all of those now.
@@BustedKnuckleWoodworks I really enjoy your videos. I’m trying to get ready to do a garage shop tour soon. Metal and wood. You can cut wood with metal tools but you can’t cut metal with wood tools lol. Actually that’s not true. You can cut aluminum like T track with carbide saw blades. Years and years back I used to cut mortis and tenon joints in a Bridgeport milling machine lol. I don’t know how to show you a picture of something. I’d love to see if you can figure out how this wooden object is made. I’ve stumped every engineer who ever looked at it. Anyway good job , you bet I’ve subscribed, keep em coming 🤙🏻🤙🏻
Another thing you can do with this sort of set-up is to stack if you have multiple panels to glue up. Set up the first panel and clamp with a hex nut, set up another piece of strut over he first caull's clamp bolts. Lay in the next panel to glue up and then add another strut and more hex nuts. This way you can glue up a lot of panels without worrying about them shifting or being knocked over by the shop cat. Thanks!!!
@@BustedKnuckleWoodworks I did electrical work in the cell phone industry. We used to stack the super strut like that when we had to build cable tray for DC power lines. Super strut is exactly that, super. So many things you can do with it. I also agree that the 1-5/8 is so much stiffer than the 7/8. I only wish they made it out of aluminum. Thanks for all the tips!!!!
Just found this! Great idea on the strut material Lee, although I was always taught that a caul should have a slight almost imperceptible curve to the clamping face that ensures a uniform pressure from the centre outwards across the glue up board as you tighten them down, (flat ones tend to just clamp on outer edges only )so here's an idea, you could always try planing a curve onto a softwood board, then rip it into strips, & cover them with tape or wax, to attach to the struts as a sacrificial non marring glue proof face,
I will never understand people's obsession with ridiculously long fences for their miter saws. Give me all the base support in the world, but long fences are more of a detriment than a feature in my opinion.
I agree. There is no reason to have any more of a fence than what is installed on the saw. I just built my miter saw station and the stop block is in the support based on either side.
For precise cuts, those support stops aren't worth much, unless you're shooting for "close enough". I'm really talking about "fine woodworking" here. You're right, if you're chopping studs for framing that's a different story.
@@BustedKnuckleWoodworks - the longer fence doesn’t create more accurate cuts. That is like saying you need a 10ft rip fence on a table saw in order to do long rips. It is nonsense. When you hold the workpiece against the fence by the blade, that is where the accuracy comes from. If the blade angles aren’t calibrated properly and accurate cut will never be made. If I need a higher level of precision I use a crosscut sled or finish the cut with a shooting board.
Hi Lee. I saw this a couple of weeks ago and filed it in the old memory banks. I now have a need for these and amazingly remembered your video. This is great info. & I love your humor and presentation. Good enough to get me to subscribe. I'm looking forward to seeing more. Tomorrow I'll be busy at my local big box store....
Lee, I LOVE the videos... BUT, I have always been told, when cutting always "maintain control" of the piece of wood that is between any stop and the blade. Control= holding on to, a clamp, push stick, etc. In your vid you are cutting stock with you holding on to the wood on the left side of the blade while showing the the piece of wood between the stop and the blade. The idea is, the piece of wood could easily get bound up and kick out and is the one needing control, while the other side NOT bound and will usually just bump out of the way. I managed a shop that cut stretcher/picture frame molding. We used a system that had two people and two chop/mitersaws independently cutting next to each other. Nothing fancy, just two people with two Makita saws standing next to each other. The saws were about 24 inches part. Standing facing the saws, the one on the left would pre-trim/miter cut the end and then slide it to the person on the right and they would cut it to length using a fence stop block.The person on the right side would have the piece under control because it was between the fence stop and the blade. After 6 years and well over a *million (seriously) cuts we only had 12 recorded kickback moments. Of those 12, 10 were from the person on the right not holding/controlling the block. Take notice I believe of your second cut. As the saw returns to the upright position the piece between your stop block and the blade starts to lift slightly. Of the 10 kickback we had, 7 were from the person letting go after the cut and allowing the saw to return to the upright position, without holding the cut piece in place. Once the blade was no longer in contact with the piece, raising above material, obviously in wasn't a problem. *Million... okay I really didn't count, but during our rush holiday season we would make 30,000+ frames (plus the other 8 months of the year x 6 years). Each frame has 8 cuts... that my friend is a LOT of miter cuts!!! Soooooo, if I'm wrong... PLEASE correct my thinking on this one!!!
Extremely helpful, thank you! I bought one several months ago and still haven't used it, because the instructions (IMO) are pretty bad, and I've finally figured tonight that I'm missing the clamping bolts. So it's off to the hardware store in the morning. It amazes me how little effort companies put into developing their assembly instructions. A simple series of sessions of asking people (who've never seen the product before) to assemble the product using the instructions would work wonders. I have a few other suggestions for Jessem if they're interested.
I preordered and in their rush to get the first orders out, the instructions were basically just photocopies and not very clear. I also offered several suggestions for improvement.
I was about to be an idiot and correct you but I learned to Google things before putting my foot in my mouth. I've known this system as Unistrut but Unistrut is just a different brand. Another viewer recommended the 1 5/8 profile system which would definitely be much more rigid. Something to keep in mind on wider thicker glue-ups. Very good idea though. I loved the ending!
You are definitely correct about using the beefier struts for wider glue ups. They also make a 3 1/4” strut that’s probably overkill unless you’re gluing entire timbers together 😂
fun idea! When I need to do repeatable cut in carpentry I just put scrap 2x4 stop and tied it down with standard clamp that comes with this miter saw. For long sizes the stop is built in in your support bracket that extends from the saw or saw wheeled stand. ;)
Great video and an even better idea I have all of the parts yo make one so that is my next project thanks for this great idea and build, Keep them coming.
Hey Lee, I saw a comment from you on a video by the Worst Workshop and your subscribe video was playing. As soon as it got to the "Arms on an Angel" cut, i broke my mouse smashing the subscribe button. Cheers!
When I saw your cover picture, a light bulb went on. I don’t have this saw, but i have other uses. You’ve made a portable t-track! I can attach this to my work table, my table saw, etc and put clamps and stop blocks wherever I need them! Good job.
I have a link to it in the description for Rockler but you can usually find it cheaper on Amazon. In the Part 2 of this video I talk about how you can build one without T-track using a dovetail bit.
I don’t think the slots would line up with the holes in the miter saw, and the front wouldn’t be flat. I show a lot more about how to line it up in Part 1 of this video
I have that same saw with that same base and have wanted some convenient way of setting up stop blocks that remained portable. I love this! I wonder if there's a way to rig up a holder on the bottom side of the base that would store the rails when the saw is folded up. The tricky part would be making sure it didn't interfere with the scissor mechanism.
The stuff in your hands is not “Superstrut” You used “Thin-strut” or Unistrut, which is indeed flexible. You shouldve use “Super-Strut” or “Deep-Strut”.
Dude, I actually showed the screenshot from where I bought it. “Superstrut” is a BRAND NAME, like “Kleenex”. They make it in all sizes. www.homedepot.com/p/Superstrut-10-ft-14-Gauge-Silver-Half-Slotted-Electro-Galvanized-Strut-Channel-ZB14HS10EG/202714280
Hello from Canada Lee. Just a quick Thank You for this great idea. So simple and so cheap compared to Rockler clamps. Keep up the amazing, educational, easy to follow , and fun videos. And thanks for all you do for us newbie wood workers.
Excellent idea and excellent video, but it looks like the slot shaped holes in the super strut would fit bar clamp bars much like the single position wood cauls, and work way better than bolts and wingnuts. What I'm saying is maybe you're a genius and just don't know it. Thanks for the idea(s)! 😊 👍
Unfortunately the slots in the struts don’t leave a lot of room for the clamp to press down on. (Plus it actually makes the whole setup a bit more expensive…)