220 ceiling drop for the TS, which side to go with?

[Stuart Welsh]

I’m in the last stages of tweaking the outlet locations in my new shop. I’ve decided that the machinery located in the center of the room will have an option for a ceiling drop to avoid too many cords running across the floor. The table saw is my biggest concern.
I have a Unisaw that I’ve never used as I’ve been purchasing items off Craigs for the last year in anticipation of this new haven for me. Prior to this my experience with a full size saw has been years ago and the cord ran across my father in-laws garage floor. So I’m a little unsure as to the best place to locate the 220 drop from that ceiling. Dust collector pipe too for that matter. Should I go to the left to the right the blade? Far right or left or somewhere in between?

[Jeff Erbele]

I’m in the last stages of tweaking the outlet locations in my new shop. I’ve decided that the machinery located in the center of the room will have an option for a ceiling drop to avoid too many cords running across the floor. The table saw is my biggest concern.
I have a Unisaw that I’ve never used as I’ve been purchasing items off Craigs for the last year in anticipation of this new haven for me. Prior to this my experience with a full size saw has been years ago and the cord ran across my father in-laws garage floor. So I’m a little unsure as to the best place to locate the 220 drop from that ceiling. Dust collector pipe too for that matter. Should I go to the left to the right the blade? Far right or left or somewhere in between?

What you do most and how you work matters.

4 x 8 sheets and and ripping wide materials probably are the things that will be of greatest concern.

How you work - which side of the fence do you work on by default.
For example I feel most comfortable with the fence right of the saw blade.
When cross cutting, the miter gauge and longer piece of stock is to the left of the blade. If needed my stand support rollers are to the left.
If nothing else matters in cross cutting, the drop piece or discard is to the right of the blade.
All things considered, a ceiling drop would be out of my way, most of the time, to the right of the blade, probably on the out feed side. Restated, behind the table, to the right and far back, or 45 degrees to my front, right. Restated again, put the cord where the short stock and skinny, smaller, stock pieces usually end up.

If you can't decide, or want to allow for unforeseen situations make the drop cord longer than you need to plug in the saw. That way you can move it and tie it or clamp it out of the way. You can also put large hooks in the ceiling a couple of feet away from the box on the ceiling, then drape the drop cord over a hook that works best and move it to another if needed. The hooks could be 2, 3, or 4 feet from the box and you don't need to screw them in until a situation develops where you need them.

Avoid coiling the excess cord as you will create a resistance type heater, like an electric kitchen range burner. It can and will overheat your cord, trip a breaker, and be a general hazard - fire potential related. Instead of a coil, loop it back and forth like an "S".

If you have dedicated machines on dedicated ceiling drop cords, you may want to consider twist lock cord ends.

[Matt Day]

Mine is to the far right. I've got a support column for the house right there so I run the cord down it. I've also got a router table in my extension wing which I can use for most tasks with this setup.

[Steve Milito]

You can always attach screw hooks to the ceiling to route the cords to where you want.

[Stuart Welsh]

I'm with you on fence to the right of the blade but hadn't considered the relation of blade to miter when cross cutting. I have to think about that but my gut was to go with the cord positioning you mentioned. Maybe I'll locate the outlet dead center and as you suggest use hooks. Another option is to create a swing arm that could pivot the cord to various positions and at the same time hold slack as well as reduce the strain on the hanging cord. BTW I have already added twist locks to my plan but thanks for the suggestion.

[Zane Harris]

Again, as others have said already, the side of the blade that you normally put your fence on is probably the side where you want your drop to be. But, you might also want to plan ahead and have a very heavy duty extension cord made up to go to along the floor and to a wall outlet for the occasional times when a ceiling drop, no matter where it is, is in the way. Just make sure your connectors are all the same type, and of sufficient ampacity for your needs. Also make sure the cable for the extension cord is of sufficient wire gauge for your ampacity needs. This will end up being a fairly expensive extension cord, but in the long run well worth the cost to make sure you don't burn the place down or burn up the motor on the saw.

[glenn bradley]

My fence is to the right, my overarm collector mast is on the right. Part of my layout strategy led me to declare the right of the TS as no-man's-land. This has worked out well and the invisible limit line is the right side of my fence when it is in the extreme right position on the rails. This area now takes care of power, DC pathways and a little storage fixture for my sacrificial fence material and sled ZCI parts.

[Chris Friesen]

My tablesaw is up against the wall on the right. Hasn't caused any problems that way, though I do have long rails.

[Stuart Welsh]

But, you might also want to plan ahead and have a very heavy duty extension cord made up to go to along the floor and to a wall outlet for the occasional times when a ceiling drop, no matter where it is, is in the way. Just make sure your connectors are all the same type, and of sufficient ampacity for your needs. Also make sure the cable for the extension cord is of sufficient wire gauge for your ampacity needs. This will end up being a fairly expensive extension cord, but in the long run well worth the cost to make sure you don't burn the place down or burn up the motor on the saw.

For the TS and all other tools utilizing a drop I'm wiring an alternate outlet on the same circuit for those times I want to run the power down low.

[Steve Milito]

I have a small loop attached to a one hook near the receptacle as strain relief even though I use twist locks, it then runs close to the ceiling by hooks and twist ties. I then run drop wire down the post for the overhead saw guard and then under the table to the back of the machine.
I've never had the wire in the way since doing so.

[Ole Anderson]

In my case, I decided that it would be easier and less out of the way to run both the cord and DC hose across the floor. But then I don't any tools on the far side of the saw, so stepping over it isn't a frequent occurrence. If I went to the ceiling, it would be at the end of the extension table (52" rails) so it would never be in the way of cutting plywood.

[Stan Krupowies]

I considered installing a ceiling mounted cord for my TS but in the end I went with wall mounted because I like the ability to easily get to the outlet and unplug the saw. I "almost" always unplug it when I'm changing blades or anything else where my hands have to be too close to the blade. I understand that placement of the saw would certainly limit available options for outlet mounting but where ever it's placed you should have the ability to easily disconnect power. If it becomes too inconvenient to unplug then that leads to not unplugging and that could lead to trouble IMHO.

[Steve Milito]

I considered installing a ceiling mounted cord for my TS but in the end I went with wall mounted because I like the ability to easily get to the outlet and unplug the saw. I "almost" always unplug it when I'm changing blades or anything else where my hands have to be too close to the blade. I understand that placement of the saw would certainly limit available options for outlet mounting but where ever it's placed you should have the ability to easily disconnect power. If it becomes too inconvenient to unplug then that leads to not unplugging and that could lead to trouble IMHO.

I use an over sized extension cord. The connection is purposefully placed so it's in a convenient location with a loop for strain relief. It's actually easier and more convenient than having it plugged into the wall.

[Alan Bienlein]

Mine is to the right and above the saw at the front. I mounted two outlets on separate circuit on the bottom of the loft storage that my dust collection pipe is attached too for the table saw. I can easily reach up and unplug them when ever I need to. In the picture the orange cord is for the outlets in the out feed table. One of the two black cords is for the table saw and the other is for my router in the extension table in the saw.

With everything as you see it I still have 45" of cross cut capacity and 52" if I remove the router fence.
IMG_20131101_163453.jpg

[Zane Harris]

I considered installing a ceiling mounted cord for my TS but in the end I went with wall mounted because I like the ability to easily get to the outlet and unplug the saw. I "almost" always unplug it when I'm changing blades or anything else where my hands have to be too close to the blade. I understand that placement of the saw would certainly limit available options for outlet mounting but where ever it's placed you should have the ability to easily disconnect power. If it becomes too inconvenient to unplug then that leads to not unplugging and that could lead to trouble IMHO.

Use a short extension cord to go from the ceiling box down to a height where you can easily reach it to unplug it for blade changes and other maintenance as needed.