There are lots of folding portable stands for miter saws with lots of clever ways of collapsing and expanding, but they are all still just saw stands. And when they are all folded up, they just take up space. Not so with the new Portacube work station from Portamate.

Instead of a complex, scissoring framework of tubes and brackets like most saw stands, the Portacube is made of sheet metal panels that fold out or rotate. The result is a study stand that can serve as an expandable worktable even when the saw is still mounted.

Closed up, the Portacube makes a compact package that can serve as a small worktable or roll away on sturdy 10-inch wheels.

From cube to stand

When fully collapsed, the Portacube is a 31-inch square table with a nice flat metal top. It has a heavy tubular handle that collapses out of the way but pulls up easily to wheel the stand around on 10-inch wheels. When you arrive at your destination, adjustable legs make it easy to level the stand.

To access your saw, you release two lever locks and rotate the tabletop, revealing the saw mounted securely underneath, and then lock it into the upright position. Wings on either side of the table lift up and lock into horizontal position, and adjustable sections can also be raised to support long workpieces in the saw.

On the jobsite

I’ve been using the Portacube on my homebuilding jobsite and have found it more versatile than most saw stands. Folded up, it will easily roll through a 32-inch door opening. With its relatively wide footprint and leveling legs, it makes for a very stable and sturdy saw stand. But the real versatility is folding the saw away and using the up-to-7-foot flat surface as a worktable.

Designed to accommodate most miter saws, the Portacube worked well with both Bosch and Delta miter saws I tried. However, the left side clearance required me to remove an extension table from the Delta saw to allow the stand to close up. Because of the adjustable table platforms, the Portacube could also make a great platform for a small planer. Learn more at www.portamate.com.