Does A Miter Saw Need A Stand?

Thinking of buying a miter saw? Wondering if there will be some additional costs needed to use it? Many people use a miter saw stand when they do their own wood working at home. But is this necessary?

Does a miter saw need a stand? A miter saw does not need a stand to work correctly. However, using a stand will increase productivity and accuracy. In addition using a stand will keep you in better health by keeping your body in a optimal position while using the tool.

If you want to find the best Miter Saws, click here.

Now we now that a stand is not a must have but what other details and factors should we keep in mind when deciding if a miter saw stand is right for us.

What is a Miter Saw?

Who knew there were so many types of saws. For now lets dig into the miter saw, which is also commonly known as a drop saw. This power tool is used to make quick, accurate crosscuts at many different angles. Your typical miter saw is small to ensure it is portable and can have blade sizes ranging from 8 to 12 inches.

This saw makes cuts by pulling a spinning circular saw blade down onto the material in a very short and controlled motion. The material is held against a tiny wall, which will ensure a precise cutting angle between the plane of the blade and the plane of the materials edge.

The main benefit of a miter saw is what is called the miter index. This allows the angle of the blade to be changed relative to the wall. Most miter saws will enable detailed and precise one-degree incremental cuts by providing stops at each degree.

If you have a project needing very precise angle cuts then the miter saw is the tool for the job.

Types of Miter Saws

So there are a dozen types of saws but there are also different types of miter saws. Lets dig into some of the details on the different types of miter saws that exist.

Types of miter saws include:

Sliding Miter Saw
Compound Miter Saw
Compound Sliding Miter Saw
Dual Compound Sliding Miter Saw

So what makes each one of these types different from one another?

Sliding Miter Saw

This miter saw comes with a rail system that slides the blade from front to back and will extend to the maximum cutting length. The main difference between this and a normal miter saw is the rail system provides a much greater depth of cut do to the front to back movement.

This sliding mechanism comes in handy when you have a project that is requiring deep cuts in the wood. This ensures you do not have to flip the wood to get the full cut, saving time and increasing accuracy of the cut.

Compound Miter Saw

The compound miter saw has a feature where it can adjust from left and/or right and cut down through the wood at an angle. This saw also has the benefit of adding the ability to make bevel cuts as well at its mitering.

Bevel cutting can be an important addition to a saw, bevel cuts are not easy and a compound miter saw will help get them done with ease, along with those miter cuts.

Compound Sliding Miter Saw

This is the best of all the worlds mentioned above. This saw can miter, bevel, and slide. A compound sliding miter saw can do it all.

Why would you not just get a saw that can handle many types of cuts? This is the Swiss army knife of miter saws.

Dual Compound Sliding Miter Saw

This is the enhanced version of the compound sliding miter saw. The added benefit is it not only allows you to miter, bevel, and slide but it also allows beveling to both the left and right.

Best Miter Saws are the Market

There are many great miter saws on the marker. Below are the 4 best on specific criteria.

Best Miter Saw Overall: DEWALT 12-Inch Dual Compound Sliding Miter Saw

This is the perfect miter saw for any DIYer. You can cut boards up to 8 inches wide and can bevel in one direction.

Best Miters Saw for Value: Metabo 12-Inch Dual Compound Miter Saw with Laser

This miter saw is perfect for anyone on a budget. The great thing is you don’t lose any functionality with cutting costs.

Best Miter Saw for Beginners: Hitachi 10-Inch Single Compound Miter Saw with laser

If you dont need to make complex cuts this is the perfect miter saw. Another great feature of this miter saw is the guided laser that helps any beginner make great cuts.

Best Miter Saw for Pros: DEWALT FLEXVOLT Double Bevel Compound Miter Saw

This miter saw can do it all. If price is not a factor, go with this baby!

Benefits of a Stand

If you don’t have a stand for your miter saw then where is your miter saw located? Most likely on the floor. If you have a long project that is requiring dozens and dozens of cuts then having your miter saw is going to become an issue.

Over time, using your miter saw on the floor will start to hurt your productivity and your health. Since you are spending more time bending over this is going to take more time, its not easy to go from standing up to down on the floor, cut after cut. Then along with killing your time it will eventually hurt your health. Your knees and back will start to ache from bending over time after time.

Do your self a favor. If you plan on using your miter saw for a long time and for project after project. Buy yourself a miter saw stand, you will not regret it one bit and you can save you time and health in the process.

Here is a great miter saw stand from amazon that I purchased. It works great, doesn’t take up too much space, and is easy to put away when the job in finished.

Final Thoughts

Do you really need a stand for a miter saw? A miter saw stand will help with productivity and health of the user but you do not need a stand to make the miter saw work correctly. A miter saw is an important tool to any DIYers wood working projects. It cuts angles to perfection and in some cases bevels and slides, depending on the miter saw you purchased. So how do you use this tool to the best of its ability? Many people purchase a miter saw stand. A stand will help with productivity and accuracy of the cuts and also keep you back and knees healthy. However, a stand is not 100% necessary to use a miter saw.

Does a Miter Saw Need A Stand?