Simple Stop Block System for Miter Saws

I am making a bunch of drawers for an upcoming project and that means I needed to make a bunch of repetitive cuts. To do this easily I decided to add an extended fence and stop block to my miter saw. It is a very simple system but I think it adds a lot of functionality to your miter saw.

If you enjoy watching moving pictures, check out the video above. Otherwise, enjoy the article below.

Below are links to tools and materials I used in this article. It is either the exact tool/supply or something very close.

- Scrap wood (I used two pieces of 3/4" plywood that were 2.5" wide and 38" long)

- 3/4" pan head screws

- 1 1/2" flat head screws

- Miter saw

- T-nut

- Knob

- Drill Press

- Forstner bits

- Counter sink bit

- Hammer

- Screwdriver

Note: The links in this article are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

As I noted in the supplies section, I used some scrap plywood for this project. I choose plywood over solid wood as it is more stable and more likely to stay straight, but if all you have is solid wood, then use that!

The two pieces I had on hand were 2 1/2" x 38". I cut one of them to 22" (the remainder of this piece will become the stop block in coming steps)

Using some 3/4" pan head screws I attached the plywood to the miter saw using the holes in the fence. I made sure to line it up so that the plywood pieces meet in the middle.

If you only have one long board (i.e. 60" long), you can also use that as we will be cutting it in the next step.

The added benefit of this fence extension is that it also makes the back fence a zero clearance fence. A zero clearance fence cuts down on the amount of tear out you from the the blades.

Just simply cutting through the plywood is how to you make it a zero clearance fence.The important thing here is to make sure that both bits of plywood get cut.

I took the bit of the excess plywood I cut 2 pieces that were 3 3/4".

One will be for the back and one will be for the top. We will start with the back piece as it is more complex.

I used a 3/4" forstner bit to drill a small recess in the center. I only went down about 1/8" (until the t-nut was flush when sitting in the recess)

I then used a 5/16" to drill the rest of the way through.

If you are smarter than me than you will get a knob that is long enough that it will go all the way through the plywood and stick out the other side. Since I was using the bits I had on hand, I had to drill a recess in the back. This allowed the knob to have clearance so that it could be screwed in far enough that the threads stuck out on the other side. I used a 1" forstner bit for this recess.

Next I hammered the t-nut into the plywood and tested it out to make sure everything worked the way I intended.

To make the top of the stop block I first measured 3/8" from one of the sides and drew a line. (I used 3/8" because that is the center of a 3/4" board, if you are using a different size than adjust accordingly)

Using my drill press and a counter sink bit, I drilled 2 holes along the line.

For the front of the stop block I am actually making two separate ones. The first will use a piece of plywood the same size as the front and back (3 3/4") and the second is 14" long (pictured above) and this will allow me to make cuts that are shorter. If you check out the video I provide a more detailed explanation of why I need two different stop blocks.

To attach the top to the front I use 2 x 1 1/4" screws. I made sure to line up the top so that it was flush with the front piece.

To attach the back to the stop block I first had to figure out where to drill the hole. I placed the front and top piece on the fence and then slid the back piece in place. I made a mark with my pencil. I was then able to continue that line all the way up and over to the top.

I took the top piece over the to the drill press and drilled some countersunk holes along the line.

I wanted to have a bit of a clearance gap to ensure smooth movement of the stop block so I added a sheet of paper before clamping it in place. I then attached it all together using 1 1/2" screws.

Now we are all done! Picture #1 shows the two different stop blocks sitting on the fence.

Pictures #2 and #3 show the extended stop block for making short cuts and pictures #4 and #5 show the regular stop block for making longer cuts.

I hope you found this project as useful as I have, it came it real handy for an upcoming project and I can't believe I waited this long to improve my miter saw in this way. If you want to see more from me, please feel free to follow me on other social media.

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If this inspires you to make a stop block system of your own I would love to see it. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below.