Now I’ve always been in love with DIY and home improvement. I love decorating and making things with my hands. But recently, I discovered the joys of woodworking. I quickly realized that I needed to upgrade my tools to include a compound miter saw. That being said, I needed a more permanent place to store my saw and to safely cut longer pieces. I researched online and found plans by Ana White for a mobile miter saw cart that included additional storage, perfect for a small workshop.

The plans provided by Ana White were really simple and easy to follow. The cart is completed using only 1 sheet of plywood. All of the big cuts (the cutting of the sheet of plywood) were done at the hardware store, which made it supper easy to transport in my car.

When you include the cost of 4 folding hinges ($12.98 a piece), the total cost of the project was roughly around $119. The total time invested: 1 Saturday. If I could do it again, I probably would have followed the advice of The DIY Girl and gone with some sort of piano hinge and wood beam support. But I’m quickly learning, with every project I learn something new.

So here’s a visual outline of my new miter saw cart.

Step 1:

Unloading the wood after a trip to Lowe’s.

Step 2:

Measure the height of the saw to the base to ensure a level cutting plane.

Step 3:

Laying out the 2x2 pieces that act as shelf support for the top and bottom of the cart.

Step 4:

Going crazy with the pocket screw jig. (You don’t need this many pocket screws. I just got my Kreg R3 Jr. Pocket Hole Jig System and was just having a good ole’ time.

Step 5:

Now attaching the base and top shelf.

Step 6:

Finally attaching the 1x3 support boards to complete the actual cabinet.

This cart has a huge opening. It’s actually designed for
a much larger miter saw. So I decided to add additional shelving. A girl could never have too much storage.

Step 7:

It’s important to use locking wheels. The last thing you’d want happening is for the cart to move mid cut.

Step 8:

The key to installing these hinges: an additional pair of hands. Please, phone a friend. It will save you a lot of grief and awkward side poses, propping up the board with your head.

Step 9:

Tah- Dah!!!!

Step 10:

It needed color. Prime 1st.
Plywood is very porous and rough (well the cheap grade of plywood I got). So to reduce the number of layers of paint required to get the desired outcome, I recommend prepping the wood with a good primer, then paint. I will admit gray was not my 1st choice, but I had left over paint from a previous project. This paint being a semi gloss should make dust removal a little easier (fingers crossed).

Okay now… Lets get to cutting

For a complete materials list and detailed instructions head
over to Ana White at http://ana-white.com/2012/04/plans/miter-saw-cart.

For more information on ToolBox Divas and my blog head over to http://blog.toolboxdivas.com