Over the past few years, I’ve made some small (and mostly inexpensive) upgrades to my miter saw setup that have made a huge difference in accuracy, speed, and safety.
Here are 7 upgrades I now swear by:
1. The $10 Million Stick (no, seriously)
It’s a fancy push stick from FastCap that keeps your hands away from the blade.
2. A Jig for Small Cuts
I built a simple miter saw jig with a wide base, a back fence, and a rubber stopper cutout for clearance. The result?
- small offcuts stay put
- zero tear-put
- you can line up your cuts with precision
3. Repeatable Cuts for the Win
A reliable stop block setup is a must. I use folding wings with adhesive measuring tape and mount a custom white oak stop block to it (because I'm fancy).
4. Dealing With Tear-Out on Long Pieces
If your miter saw throat plate is too open, you’re probably getting tear-out on plywood, pine, oak—you name it. Two good solutions:
- Zero-clearance tape: cheap, easy, stick-and-cut.
- A custom zero-clearance insert plate: It takes longer, but gives better results and prevents those little pieces from dropping into the saw.
5. Pain-Free Dust Collection
I added a new dust chute from Shop Nation, and my lungs are still sending thank-you notes. Pair it with a decent shop vac, and you’ll be shocked at how much less dust ends up on your floor, bench, face, lungs, cat… you get the idea.
6. Auto-On Shop Vac Outlet
This might be my favorite one. I installed a double outlet that automatically turns on the shop vac when I fire up the saw, then shuts it off 10 seconds after I'm done.
7. A Strong Foundation
Most of these upgrades won’t work as well if your miter saw is sitting on a wobbly table or two sawhorses. Having a solid miter saw station makes a massive difference.
That is why I created the King Size Miter Saw Station with foldable wings, stop blocks, built-in dust collection, and tool storage.
If you want to see the YouTube video where I explain each one of these miter saw upgrades in more detail just CLICK HERE.
Take care and happy building,
- Thomas Gojkovich
Thomas Custom Woodworks