A while back, I got my hands on a FastCap “Best Fence PRO” miter saw stand and was asked to review it. Instead of doing the usual review after using it only a few times, I put it to the test for almost two years.
I wanted to know if the stand really worked for me…or not.
Pros for the Best Fence PRO
Right out of the box, I noticed that it was really easy to put together. My helper and I assembled the stand in less than a half hour. The instructions that come with the Best Fence are really good and make the assembly simple.
During the assembly, we noticed that—unlike other miter saw stands—this stand is extremely adjustable. You can customize the stand to accommodate any miter saw built within the last 10 years or so. |
Starting at the ground, the legs are substantial, stable, and adjustable for height. No matter how irregular the ground might be, you can extend the legs individually, and tool free. Just depress the ball catches and slide the tubing in or out.
The legs also have locking stops that keep them either in the upright position for when the saw is in portable mode, or in the extended position when the saw is set up and in use. When you rotate the legs, there’s no fussing with a nut to tighten or clumsy strapping needed to secure the legs—just simple positive locking bullet catches for the two positions.
The extension wings can be adjusted vertically to create a flat plane with the saw base. You can dial that adjustment in precisely with just a slight turn of the knob—a serious and much needed feature for any miter saw stand.
Another knob, this one on the front of the stand, adjusts the extension wing horizontally—from front to back, so you can also dial in the alignment of the extension wings to the fences on the saw! |
I was extremely pleased with these two adjustments—they made it very easy to set up the stand for my Kapex, and to change out that saw to my larger Makita, for when I’m cutting bigger stock. I don’t like to work with the extension wing fence flush with the saw fence—any board with a crown over 1/4 in. can jam the blade.
The wings are easy to attach, too. They’re secured to the mounts with metal pins that fit tightly through the wings and into the mounts.
All of the pins and locking nuts are attached to the saw body so I never need to go look for pins or nuts when I set the saw up.
I’ve used this stand for all of the trim carpentry I’ve performed for the last two years, and I’ve even dropped a beam or two on it as well—the Best Fence is no loosey-goosey, it can take real jobsite abuse.
After two years, I’ve gotten to know the stand pretty well. No matter which saw I’m using, there’s always one attached to the stand, locked in place, because the portability of the Best Fence is impressive, too: the tires and the wing extensions double as handles, so I can “wheel barrel” the stand around any jobsite.
I pull a tool trailer around to all of my jobs and the stand rides in the trailer always loaded with saw. The whole rig might be heavy, but I lift only half of it at a time and then wheel the stand in or out of my trailer.
The tires are locked by a pin that slips into the hub of the tire mount on each end of the stand so the stand doesn’t roll around while I’m pulling the trailer.
And getting in and out of someone’s home with the stand is a piece of cake. The tires are big enough so that one person can pull the stand—with the saw attached to it—up exterior steps and through a customer’s front door. Once inside a home, one person can open the legs, extend the wing supports, and mount the wings in under a minute.
Each wing is built the same, but each is distinguished by its integrated tape measure which is an essential feature on any miter saw stand—I use those tape measures repeatedly every day.
On the right side of the saw, I zero out the material and mark measurements without having to pull out my tape measure. |
On the left side of the saw, I do the same, but set the material at the measurement and mark the zero point. |
A magnifying lens sure makes it easy to set the fence exactly where I want it. Mine is almost always dead-on accurate. But occasional fine tuning is easy to do. |
The built in through-bolt and double nut allows you to extend or retract the flip stop incrementally, in either direction.
Like I said, with nearly two years of hard miles on this stand, I know its positives and I’m familiar with its limitations, too.
Limitations of the Best Fence PRO
First of all, this stand isn’t meant to support big beams—it’s great for cutting KD 2x4s, but for anything bigger, I always use roller stands, too. Once the wing supports are extended horizontally, they tend to sag under the weight of heavy lumber. But FastCap does have some handy “Third-Hand” support poles that work great for supporting heavier loads.
Also, when you set the saw up on the job, be sure you give yourself plenty of room to get around the front of the saw because the tires take a little getting used to—they can reach out and grab your belt or tool vest as you walk by.
The wings that came with my stand are only 64 in. long, which works fine for most of our work, but I wish I had a 90-in. wing. Luckily, if you’re like me and want longer wings—or just one, FastCap will sell you additional 64-in. wings that you can connect to your existing wing set up. FastCap will even supply you with custom-length wings—just about any length you want. For anyone doing serious finish work, I would recommend purchasing three 64-in. wings. That way you can precut standard door casing using the flip stop. I’ve been rigging up a homemade wood extension as a stop whenever I cut casing legs, especially for 8-ft. doors.
I make most of my cut lists on paper, and I like to stand at my saw and look right at the cut list without having to look for it.
So, I’ve been sliding the flip stop down near the saw, close to where I’m standing, and using an alligator clip to secure my cut list to stop where I can see it.
Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with the folks who manufacture this stand—they seem motivated to constantly improve the features and accessories, which is probably why my gripes are so minor.
So in conclusion, is this stand perfect? I’ve never worked at one that is. However, after two years of use, I can tell you that it’s durable and operates just as well as the first day that I used it. It’s a vast improvement over any stand I’ve used in the past—especially a sawhorse and long planks! The Best Fence is a really nice jobsite stand that can help produce shop-like productivity and precision. I plan to continue using my Best Fence and will be ordering an extra 64-in. extension wing in the near future.
Sure, if you’re a guy who likes to build and use his own stand, then that’s great. Me, too! But time is short. For any trim carpenter who is currently using a roller stand (or saw horses), and looking to upgrade, you’ll be hard pressed to match the portability and adjustability of this stand.
To learn more about the stand, including pricing, visit the FastCap website.
I’ve also owned a FastCap Best Fence for at least 3 years and think it is a great stand. But it is not perfect, as mentioned. Knowing FastCap, they are still making improvements to it and trying to get closer.
By the way, I’ve since retired and now the stand is in use in my shop and functions just fine there as well.
I got my hands on an old saw helper stand, it’s super heavy duty, which means also super heavy!! But it’s a great system, especially for framing and siding projects!
Great article Scott, that’s a good summary of the stand. I use mine for trim work and like the flexibility and accuracy. Fastcap has been great to deal with, they have sent spare parts and answered all of my questions.
A few things readers may want to note.
You have the older version of the stop, there’s a new version.
Expect to take a little time to setup the wings and mount the saw. As shown above Fastcap supplies baltic birch strips to mount your saw. If you’re going to mount multiple saws, the strips may have to be mounted in one of three positions so that the saw table lines up with the wings.
Once you have the saw mounted you may have to drill a very precise hole in the wing so that you have the right gap between the wing and the saw.
Fastcap’s crown stops don’t provide continuous support (I’m listening Gary!).
Steve,
Thanks for your comment and for reading the article. Yes, if you try to mount different saws onto the stand, some small modifications will have to be made every time. That’s why I try to leave a dedicated saw on the stand. If and when I buy a new saw to use in place of the one that I have, I’ll make the modifications that are necessary. Thanks, again.
Nice write up, very thorough.
While the Fastcap set up looks extremely well thought out, the wheels would be a deal breaker for me. They add bulk and weight that just isn’t necessary. Takes up way more room in the trailer or truck.
Let’s say you arrive at the owner’s house in a snow or rainstorm, park 30 feet from the door, and then have to wheel your saw through wet and mud. Now wheel it up their stairs., and another set of stairs if you’re on the second floor. No thanks.
I’ve been using a saw helper ultra fence for over 20years, and wouldn’t sell it for 5K, I like it that much.
My saw helper setup goes into the house in 3 light and quick trips, no mud, snow, or dirty wheels up stairs. I can use a stop to the left out to 9′, no add ons needed.
I feel the same way about wheels on portable table saws-bulky nuisances that are unnecessary. I’ve seen the Bosch and Saw Stop wheeled rigs on sites, and both are inferior to a Rousseau type set up with a proper outfield table-roller stands are worthless except in a pinch.
Sure you want a mobile base for a Unisaw or some such if you bring one onsite, which we do on larger jobs. But wheels for today’s
plastic portable tools? No thanks.
I’ve been looking for a setup for a second miter saw, and would seriously consider the FastCap set up if it came similar to the old ultra fence-a collapsing center saw stand, and 9′ wings.
Regarding the weight of the ultra fence-they’re light (my 3 components minus the saw weigh about 30 lbs.
Surprised nobody has bought the design, and started remanufacturing them…
Mark,
You are right. I’ve used the ultra fence you mentioned and like that system, too.
Yes, we do deal with the weather and have to get into people’s “finished” homes……even upstairs……as well.
And yes, on occasion, we even have to take the saw off of the stand to get into certain areas of a project. I think adjusting to each individual site’s condition and doing whatever it takes is just in the nature of what we do.
The wheels do take some getting used to, and won’t be a good fit for some guys. I personally like the ease and portability of having some tools mounted to wheels (I have my Bosch table saw on a rolling stand, too), because sometimes we move in and out of jobs so quickly and I think rolling the heavier tools makes my life easier.
Thank you for your comments. I really enjoy comparing notes on different setups.
Agree Scott, I always like to see others’ setups.
To me, the most important thing with any system are the (continuous) wings and the stops. If they’re accurate and easy to deploy, that’s all that matters in the end.
The wheels/stand/whatever is really just a “delivery system”. Only really needs to be stable once set up.
Thanks again for taking the time to write such a complete review.
Mark
I could use a stand like that for my miter saw. I have a saw horse
where I use my miter saw, but what I notice his stand is almost level where he can stand and cut moulding almost at eye level.
he has installed wheels on it for easy travel where he can install the
whole unit.
I had the opportunity to use the the Fast Cap best fence pro system for a while. One was sent to a friend of mine who asked to do a write up for Fine Home Building, so we put it to the test on jobsite. Quite honestly neither of us was impressed, it was heavy, not easy to move from the 1st to the second floor. The extruded aluminum fence was beautifully made but the attachment to the stand and the saw was not very stable, lots of loose connections. Both of us have owned the saw helper ultra fence systems and in my opinion there is no comparison.
Hi. Great article. Thanks for the review. I was curious about this stand. On a different note, what tool vest are you using in those pictures? I’ve been looking for one that I would be happy with.
Sam,
I really enjoy the vest. It’s a Bjornklader Carpenter Vest and I buy the online for around $100. Good luck.
I have had the best fence saw stand for a year now……..I can tell you that Paul and the whole Fastcap team are second to none. As with anything, I have my own little issues with this system, but have “NEVER” purchased anything from a company that is more willing to help after you’ve purchased their products. The system I purchased was the “Best Fence 4″ set up. This was going to be used with my new Bosch 12” gliding miter saw. I chose this option as it was $300.00 less than the “Best Fence Pro 4 System” and the only difference was the 4 “PAB or Precision Adjustment Blocks”. To begin with, the only gripes I had was the extensions had to be removed in order to slide the factory fences off the Bosch saw in order to cut 6″ or larger base boards, the airless tires kept flat spots on them causing a bumpy ride, and the rubber feet had worn and no longer would protect a finished floor surface. I never called Fastcap to ask about this and just dealt with it. After a year of heavy use from doing ADA compliant handicap ramps to high end precision trim and molding work, the standard system became increasingly harder to set up and adjust for precision miter work, this was probably due to constantly having to slide the wings away to remove the factory fences from my Bosch saw. This also created the inability to use the sliding fence feature for greater support when cutting larger moldings. I finally broke down and called Fastcap to place an order for the PAB blocks and asked if this would fix my problem. I was told the guy that actually does the assembly of the best fence was at lunch but they would have him call me back. As promised, he did, and even called a second time because I missed his first call. Working with me over the phone, we found that the blocks would not solve my sliding fence clearance problem, but would greatly improve set up and adjustment. Man, he was right about that! It was a huge improvement. Also, they are working with me on a solution for the clearance issue. After speaking with them again today and sending detailed pictures, I learned they are purchasing the same saw in order to better address the problem. Fastcap is aware of the tire issue and offered to send me new ones, but I declined. I already purchased new air filled rims and tires from Harbor Freight, at 3 bucks each! They did send new rubber feet for the stand and when I asked about the rubber hand grips sliding off and how to correct this, he explained how to re-glue them, and sent me 4 replacements just in case one ever got lost. Now that is customer service! Just to clarify, I do not work for Fastcap nor do I know anyone who works there. I paid for my Best Fence Stand and Pro Adjustment Blocks, they were not provided for a review, good, bad, or otherwise. I am simply blown away with the level of customer service from a “Made in the USA” company. I live in Florida and they are in Washington State. You want to make America great again? Start with buying from a company like Fastcap!!!
I still find making my own miter saw stand works best for me.I can customize it right from the start and save a lot of money!
A friend of mine is making a unique saw/miter saw stand from a discarded ambulance stretcher. When completed his aim is to have a stand that will fold at one end when it hits his truck tailgate and unfold when it is pulled off the truck bed at the jobsite. His stretcher is almost exactly the right height for comfortable sawing.
Hi Scott
Good review of the FastCap miter stand. one question, how is it with laying say 1×10 or 1×12 materials on the wings? are the wings stable enough with say a 16′. Nothing worse than cutting a 16′ 1×12 and its off balance because the wings are too narrow and it crashes to the floor. The wings look fairly narrow but tough to tell in the pictures?
thanks
Jay,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. The depth of the wings is about 6 inches. I don’t seem to have much trouble with material falling off of them, but I can’t say that it’s never happened. The wings are strong, but when supporting and cutting long heavy lengths we employ roller stands about 4 or 5 feet beyond the ends of the wings for added support. This seems to work great and using the roller stands is what I’d do with most any portable saw stand on a job.
Take care,
Thanks Scott