PLUS100 Universal Miter Saw Stand

After spending some time working with fully assembled displays of a StableMate Plus100, a Stablemate XWC-36, and a DeWalt DW723, the Plus100 is the miter saw stand I ended up buying.With the Plus100 costing about $100 less than the DW723, you might expect it to look and feel "cheap." Absolutely not! It's all heavy duty galvanized steel except for the precision all-aluminum mounting clamps for the miter saw. Seeing this stand in person rather than looking at the picture above or even at the StableMate web site gives you a much better appreciation for its quality construction. For example, the angled brackets for the work supports in the picture look a bit flimsy, but they're actually 1/4" solid steel. I believe the manufacturer's claim that this unit will in fact support 500 lbs. The legs might sink into soft ground, but this baby won't bend.If you read the reviews posted here at Amazon for the Plus100's more expensive brother, the StableMate XWC-36, you'll see several comments that it takes about three hours to assemble that model. With the Plus100, the legs, extension arms and the keel beam come out of the box fully assembled as a single unit. All there's left to do is put together the work supports, the stop plate, the handle, and finally mount your saw on the clamps. It took me less than 15 minutes to completely assemble to the finger-tighten stage, then maybe another 5 minutes to tighten the nuts with a small wrench (the only tool you need) and to adjust the work support brackets so they were perfectly on line with the miter saw table.If you want to add wheels, more work supports, etc. look at StableMate's website for various accessory packages you can buy for the Plus100. But, with spare parts laying around most workshops, you can easily make an additional stop plate or more work supports. Even attaching the wheels of your choice shouldn't be much of a challenge for the average do-it-yourselfer.I think all the miter saw stand manufacturers claim their products will support all miter saw brands. However, some extra work on your part might be necessary to make that statement true. The "universal" mounting clamps are designed for saws that have the front mounting holes directly in line with the rear mounting holes. If your miter saw's mounting holes are not in line front to rear (as mine aren't), the standard suggestion is to cut a piece of 5/8" or thicker plywood slightly larger than the saw base, fasten the wood to the saw base, then fasten the mounting clamps to the wood.I took a different route and just cut a piece of angle iron to the necessary length, then drilled two holes to match the rear (closer together) mount holes on my miter saw, and one hole at each end of the angle iron to bolt it to the Plus100 mounting clamps. (If that's not clear, I think you can click on my name to email me. Put Plus100 in the subject line, otherwise your email might get lost in my spam folder.) I made that angle iron support after I ordered the stand, so by the time UPS delivered the Plus100 (4 biz days w/free shipping), I was all set to go. By the way, StableMate provides all the nuts & bolts you'll need to attach your saw to the mounting brackets, even if you have to go the extra step and mount it to a piece of plywood.The mounting clamps let you slide your miter saw left & right about 12" which is almost but not all the way to each end of the beam. Sliding my saw over as far as it will go, the closest distance the blade can get to the work support/stop plate is 16". So, if your project involves making a lot of identical cuts less than 16" long, you'll need to make your own stop plate and clamp it on. I suspect the same is true for the XWC-36; I don't know how close the DeWalt can get to each end.Sorry for rambling on and on like this, but I know how frustrating it can be to make a purchase decision based only on a tiny picture and a brief features list. Hope this is of some help for you.UPDATE: November 21, 2006. I've had this saw stand for a year and a half, and I'd now rate it 10 stars if that was possible. But, the reason for this update is that about a year ago I replaced my plain miter saw with a sliding bevel miter saw. Not ever having used a sliding miter saw on a miter stand, I wondered beforehand if the whole outfit might tip over, or come close to tipping with the saw in the full back or forward positions. My concern was unwarranted. The Stablemate remains, well, absolutely stable even when used with a sliding miter saw.

I bought mine yesterday from another store and when I opened it I found the main frame smashed and bent in two different places on both rails. As another reviewer has stated, his was damaged also and he had to wait for new parts. I'm not waiting, I'm returning mine this morning ASAP. I don't care how 'inexpensive' an item is (and when did $$$ become inexpensive?), there's such a thing called quality control - which StableMate has apparently never heard of. Oh, and I got a kick out of that little blurb in the manual ''If damaged or parts are missing please do not return to place of purchase... blah, blah'' - BALONEY!

I found this stand to be cumberson. Their was no stop on one of the arms it comes completly out of the socket, the other one has stops on it. The angle of the holder is not inline with the saw base.

Ended up sending it back. No wheels was too much of a hassle. Bought the Rigid Utility Mitre Saw Stand (Home Depot) instead. Home Depot sells the Rigid for $199 but sometimes it goes on sale for $149. What a great mitre saw stand! Wheel it around easy as pie and set up and take down are super easy. Costs twice as much as the Stablemate but it's worth the difference. Be prepared to drill four holes if you have a non-Rigid mitre saw like I did (I have a Makita).

I've used the Stablemate for about a year now with my Makita 10" sliding miter saw. I have little but praise for the combination. I did need to deburr some of the holes before the snap-in stops worked correctly, but I'd rather have a piece of equipment that's too tight versus one that's too loose. It will only get looser with use, not tighter. It's not so heavy the wheel kit is necessary unless your back is weak enough you shouldn't be lifting a miter saw. The attachment system that clamps the saw to the stand works quite well for my Makita. Sets up and breaks down in seconds. I'm impressed that the Stablemate folds down small enough that I can put both the saw and stand in the back of my 1985 Honda Civic along with several tool boxes. Other brands I've seen don't fold down nearly as compactly.This saw stand is much more stable than ones costing several times more. It's heavy duty without being very heavy. It's a good, simple, basic design. I don't expect anything to ever go wrong with it.One little improvement I could suggest: some of the parts are held on by nuts that work loose over time. I've lost a couple of them. Nuts with nylon inserts or a drop of locktite near the end of the bolt to reduce the number of lost nuts would be an improvement. This issue makes one wonder if the designers actually use the product. If they do, you can bet they've done something about it on their personal models. (Or else they keep a box of spare nuts in their truck.)I reserve five star ratings for products that are perfect. The loose nuts and the very minor issue of needing to deburr some of the parts cost the Stablemate the fifth star. However, these very minor issues aside, this is certainly a five star product in use.

I had recently purchased a a compound sliding miter saw and needed a stand for it so I could build some shelving and a workbench for my basement. After researching on Amazon, I stumbled across the StableMate and man am I glad I did. I review the reviews for a little while and figured I would take everyone's recommendation.Once it arrived it took less than 30 minutes to get it put together. Once I did, I mounted my new saw to the quick release mounts and set it up in the driveway. My driveway is slightly off camber for drainage purposes and the StableMate was as advertised, super stable and easy to work with. The wood extensions and stop worked great. Since that first use, I used it close to a dozen times on various weekends while making cuts for shelves and a workbench.This stand is pretty much bomb-proof and will last me for a long time. If you are in the market for a miter saw stand, look no further as the StableMate is the one you need.