My mitre saw bench was one of the first larger pieces of shop furniture I made when I started woodworking, for cutting lumber and for storage. I keep losing things in the gaps within the shelf slats however, so time for some improvements!
I have made a number of changes to the mitre saw bench since I first built it, all of which have been shared under the mitre_saw_bench tag:
- Part 1 Framing
- Part 2 Surfaces
- Part 3 Shelving
- Part 4 Manoeuvrability
- Part 5 Additional shelving
- Part 6 Adding panels
- Part 7 New fence and stop block #2
- Part 8 – Updated stop block #3
- Part 9 – Extra legs
- Part 10 – Drawers
- Part 11 – Drawer pulls
After clearing the entire bench of everything, I pulled the whole bench forwards so I could access the back panels. I removed the centre panel, which was made of a thinner plywood and required me to add additional pallet wood bracing to the back for screwing things into.
I cut some hardboard to fit on each shelf – the shelves all have small gaps between the slats, which means small items can fall through the shelf or items are less stable. I secured the hardboard in place using some small tacks and only hit my thumb with the hammer a few times!
With all the additional shelf surfaces in place, I pulled the mitre saw bench forwards again so I could access the back to fit a new more sturdy centre panel.
I acquired some thicker plywood from a shipping crate so after cutting it to size, I secured it into the centre space to provide me a solid back plate behind the mitre saw. This will give me more options for storage as I can then fix things to this thicker sheet more easily, without needing to add extra bracing behind the bench.
I moved the whole bench back into place (I am really glad I put casters on everything in the workshop!) and then used my newly acquired planer/thicknesser to thin some pallet wood down to the right size to fit as cladding in front of the shelf legs. I intend to add full frames and some sort of doors to the top shelves in future to keep sawdust off stored tools and glue etc.
I’m pleased to have tackled this upgrade – the mitre saw bench is where I store the majority of my tools, so it was quite an upheaval to move everything out of the shelves to add the new surfaces. But it will definitely make a difference having the improved shelves, the thicker centre panel, and the additional wood fronts are the start of plans for further improvements to the bench! 🔨
The Woodworking Scientist 