The Old Chop Saw

   First I have to apologize for the mess.  Sometimes when I am thinking about my next project I take some pictures of the way things looked before I started.   Then when I publish the picture I look at it and go "oh my gosh".   When I work around these areas, things are right where I laid them down last and I kind of have a concept of where things are suppose to be.    Once in awhile when we are going to get company, I tidy up the place and it looks nice, but I can't find my stuff for days.

  Now I have had my miter saw and my homemade miter saw station for decades it seems.   It worked fine.   My station needed to be tweaked a little and my saw was starting to have imaginary problems for me. So when this Hitachi chop saw came on sale I decided that it would be the perfect gift to get Pam for mother's day.  (She seemed a little disappointed, but it definitely was better than a sander.) 

   I went through my scrap plywood pile and pulled out some pieces that I thought I could make work for building myself a new miter saw station.    I know I should be shopping for "American Made" so try not to beat me up to bad for not doing that in this instance.    I do have a few debates with some of my woodworking buddies as to whether one should buy high priced tools or if one should shop for bargain tools.  My theory is to get something not too cheap yet something that I can afford and build a few jigs to make it perform as well as the expensive tools.     Once in awhile I am a little disappointed, but most of the time it works for me.

    The last time I built my previous station, I used my miter saw more for construction type projects such as remodeling etc.   The past few years I use it more for smaller furniture, games, and toy like projects.   Back in the old days when I cut a 2x4 72 inches long - down come the blade and close was close enough.  Today I like to be square and right on.    Back then I used a lot of screws and nails to hold things together.   Today I try to used more joints and glue.   (I don't know if that is an evolution process or is it going over the hill.)

  In the old days I would just build it and use it as is.  Bare wood.    No protection.   This time I applied two coats of varnish and then rubbed in a coat of wax.    Using paste wax has become a new thing for me.   I like the appearance and I think it will help the boards slide along my platform a little easier.

 That is my new miter saw and my new miter saw station.   All is square, level, and straight.    I have already used it quite a bit and it works well.

   By the way, I can't seem to find my hammer.  Nor my square.  How about the nozzle that fits on my vac?    Do you have any idea where I might have placed those?

(No trouble finding my sander.  I can't lose that no matter how hard I try.)