An Elite Miter Saw Setup Part 1 | Must Have Accessories

Hey Spencer just wanted to thank you for sharing all your knowledge and ideas !
Just finished the wings for my 10 inch makita battery saw. Using the FS Tool SM6251 80 tooth blade.
Went with 96in wings on either side to be able to cut door casing for 8ft doors. Being from Canada the FastCap double fence was a bit $$$ with shipping and duties but I needed the bracket and it was a good thing to use right away and see the inner workings. Think it ended up costing $250 CAD. I would like to make my own as it’s way too long! Also had to source a different aluminum extrusion as that peachtree one wasn’t available on Canadian amazon and I didn’t want to have more stuff shipped from the states. They were $200 for 8ft. Add the miter saw stand support clamps and the adhesive mag tape, kreg tape measure roll, and a sheet of pre-finished maple 3/4 ply I was in for another $200 bringing the total to $650. I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out and working perfectly. Was just an absolute game changer for a bunch of raised panel wainscoting and inset moulding.
One thing I’m thinking about doing is adding dog holes to the left side wings and a spot to drop in a router. Also using two packout drawer stacks on dollys instead of the fold out legs.

Stupid question but wondering if i could get some advice. I built 4 beams i am currently installing in my house. Each run is between 16 and 20 feet. When attaching tue firring strips for tue beams to fasten to, i used a liquid nails and framing nails. I am ot certain if i nailed into any joists so i
am wondering if about 5 to 7 framing nails with the liquid nails is strong enough to hold the beams if i hit no wood? They aren't real heavy. Each 8 foot run has to be less than 30lbs. It is all pine plus i dug out quite a bit of the softer grain for aging so that took weight iff as well. Ive done quite a bit of beam work and never looked specifically to get some kind of joist support with no issues but i see alot of people saying you have to get support from the joists, so i am getting worried all of the sudden 😂. Any info to calm me down would be helpful lol

Do you prefer the dewalt 780 over your shop festool

Can you get those crown stop fences to square up ? The stock fence pulls out of square when you tighten the knob on mine. That was really disappointing given it's price. I called Dewalt about it, and their solution was to return it.

I’ve noticed my coworkers 779 doesn’t seem to brake as efficiently as my 780, don’t know if that’s wear or a feature

It is clear to me now why the DWS780 is made in Mexico and Taiwan. One single factory wouldn't be able to keep with the demand of a certain insider carpenter...😁

Any chance of that build video coming out this Friday? I need wings for 2 different jobs coming up this month and I am holding my breath. Rather listen to the expert before throwing together another hack on the job.

PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ON HOW YOU BUILT YOUR OFFSET STOP BLOCK! I just built wings off of your design incorporating your continuous crown stop, your crown coping jig and your cut list holder. Bought the best fence standard stop block and want to duplicate your offset stop block to utilize your mitered flat stock method and also for offset headers. PLEASE MAKE A FOCUSED STIP BLOCK VIDEO!! Love you man thanks and praises and prayers for your wife’s healing ❤️‍🩹

I'm just getting into the trim carpentry profession with five oaks any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for this vid Spencer. I’ll never turn away from the 780. Best saw on the market IMO. I have the Kizen fence system on mine. Do you think the fast cap fence has advantages over the Kizen? Thank you again for the recommendations and I’m looking to see more in this series. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience. You’ve been a great help towards making me a better carpenter.

Bosch 12"?

Did you stop using the Kapex altogether?

I have the 780 and like it except the light burned out. Have you had that problem with any of yours? If so, do you happen to know the part number you used to replace it?

You’ve grown and expanded and it’s mind bottling ! Good for you but I’m always gonna stay a one man band. Stay healthy Spencer!

I have a DWS716XPS running a CMT 285.672.12 blade and had to add 1/8” shimmed aluminum plate from CFS to the fences in order to get 90 degrees between fence and table. Does fast cap have an adjustment to square these up? Also got a dust collection mod from Shop Nation and highly recommend it. Significantly improves dust collection on this saw by probably 80~90%. Love the vids…very informative.

Your content is pure gold, Spencer! Thank you for all of your videos!

I put the shopnation dust collector thing on my dewalt. It works waaay better than the factory one. I’ve had my dewalt since ‘08. Replaced the bearings in it last year and she’s good as new again.

@insidercarpentry have you ever used the makita? We also use a 10 year old 780, but I would like to switch to the makita xgt soon…

Not good if you have to move because it is an absolute unit but but for a small garage shop the bosch 12" is great because you can push back the wall to take up less depth

Maybe im an oddball but i never liked the lasers or shadows for your cut line. I eyeball a straight line front to back across the blade and line up my mark to that. Really easy and works on any miter saw even the 20 year old $20 hf special my mechanic buddy has

Local mill yard only carries CMT blades, they've always worked great for me

I have the DW 779. And have upgraded it with a light kit. I run a CMT blade. It works very well for me.

Makita

Hey Spence, you always do great work love watching it. I just sit back relax after 40 years. Been a carpenter. Thanks for the videos.

Do you have a video on building closets?

Which FESTOOL dust extractor do you recommend?

You may have missed one. Guys have started 3-D printing upgraded dust collection for the 780. I’m relatively happy with mine so far. It’s an improvement. But I get you don’t use the vacuum that often.

Makita LS1013 I had a few. Kapex was a nightmare to tune and Dewalts are too heavy/award. Far from perfect but my production days are over.

I switched from a DWS780 to a Milwaukee 2739, I’m in the platform and being cordless is a game changer especially working with other trades and sharing temp power at trim stage. Accuracy is great and a 12.0 battery lasts all day on the saw for me no going back. But full disclosure the DWS 780 is a great saw used it for years before making the switch

I have been super curious about the red house tools miter saw wing setup it is a little pricey but looks like a great concept for wings ready to go and reasonably mobile. Does anyone have these and what are your thoughts. Also I have seen the cut hub setup which is hands down the highest end setup I’ve seen or heard of but $3000 is just too much for me to justify

I use the FastCap Crown stop fence myself and they are definitely the best stops I’ve ever used. You do excellent work and you were a great teacher.
Thanks!

Hi Spencer. Your miter saw segment is very informative and I look forward to more on this subject! I have been a Makita Miter Saw guy since I was 18 years old.....I am now 63 and continue to enjoy the newest Makita Miter saws available. I also have gone cordless for some time now, however that works for me and I know is not for all carpenters/DIY people. Look forward to more on your Miter saw series as I think it is the MOST important tool for a carpenter/DIY person. Thanks again for all you do!

I'd love for you to share thoughts on initial fence setup when you start a new job. I've heard to leave the wings slightly behind the saw's fence when cutting rough framing to accommodate for any bow in the boards, and to use a string line to get everything dead in line (a real time suck!) when cutting milled stock. Very confusing. Would appreciate any insight, and thanks for your well thought out videos!

How is your wife doing. Thank you for sharing this video.

I would buy dw780's for a fleet like yours. Working by my self i've switched over to the makita forward sliding saws. Just like the makitas track saw it has taken ques from festool. I would have suggested it for your shop saw as it fits against the wall and has far superior dust collection to the kapex.

An important note about the dw780 and why I stopped buying them is they redesigned the saws in 2019. When OSHA required a dual trigger deWalt took the chance to change a bunch of the metal parts over to plastic. There is a recall because the blade guard breaks the start of the dust port when it comes back down. The area under the splitter inserts is also a little different and clogs up when you rotate the miter angle.

Both versions have the same model number but the double trigger instantly identifies them.

I have both the 10” and 12” Metabo chop saws both over 15 years old now, never had to replace anything on them. The 10” has a laser on it and I don’t have a problem with it. I use Leitz blades from Germany, they last forever and can be sharpened many times. I also have a small 8” De Walt snip saw which is over 25 years old and looks like an exact copy of the Elu brand which were superb machines. As with all things you buy for your business, buy the best you can afford most German and Japanese kit far outlast other machines in my opinion 😉

I have had good luck with the AGE 100 tooth blades. I believe they are the cheapest ($115) full kerf blade available (that im aware of) and I can run them the same amount of time as your getting out of the FS blades. Can't beat the 780 for professional trim work IMO. Large cutting capacity, light as far as 12" sliders go, readily available, relatively inexpensive, accurate and stays accurate even if your guys tend to abuse it. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Oh I forgot Spencer ? Your in my prayers

I switched to a Kapex last yr. It just got to be a back breaker hauling my Mikita 12” around. I believe Festool fixed their motor problem and I have the full set up with cart, wings w/ the extensions, crown set up ect.,. Now you’re in a little bit of a fix? You have several employees and I don’t think buying 10 Kapex miter saws is possible? However I am a one man show, and even if I wanted to hire someone in my area it would be a long search and too much cash. In am in Nor Cal near Sacramento. Not So-Cal I don’t go there that’s past crazy town!

Nice shop. How many SF is that?

Dws780 is my saw and I have the Smart Cut system which is ok, I wish I got the Fastcap system instead

I've always thought you were a one man band but I'm guessing you've got multiple guys working for you?

I'm pretty crude with my outfeed setup. I just have my saws set up to use any 2x stock. It actually works really well because there's no hesitation about screwing down some stop blocks, crown stops, and 45⁰ pieces for when you need to do steep angles. I also get to use 12-16' 2x outfeeds for when I'm doing 18-20' PVC trim and decking. The simplicity is very convenient and effective. I've considered upgrading but haven't found a good enough reason yet. I always have outfeeds as long as there's 2x material on site. Saves me space on storage and transportation when I don't need to worry about hauling some custom wings. 2x10s seem to be the sweet spot. I have 6' for small jobs and 12' for when I'm setting up camp. Works great.

I got the Fast Cap crown stop fences a while back and they are awesome!

You mention that the FS Tool blade is ~$250, but the Forrest Chopmaster is ~$335!! I love my FS Tool blades, despite them being imports

I use the same zero clearance inserts and they work great, reasonably priced and great service. Ridge carbide may be a good blade choice as well, haven't bought any yet but James Hamilton (stump nubs) speaks highly and I met the president at a tool show recently and was very impressed, definitely worth a look.

100% quality info yet again! Can't wait for the wings vid! Thanks for sharing.

Wow, what a video there’s no wonder you’re making money when you’re thinking at this level!