Rip Capacity on the Left

[Greg Rogers]

That makes sense, but the post I was unclear about said, "The stock can still be cut face-up on a left tilt saw, with the fence to the right. Just a matter of cutting "bottom-to-top" versus "top-to-bottom." Results are the same." I'm still confused about that. BTW, I came across this because I was trying to decide where to mount my new Accusquare M 1040. I ended up setting it up with 37 1/2" to the right so I can easily square up material for a base cabinet, which was about as wide a piece I could think of really needing to rip.The M 1040 said it could have 10" left and 40" right, but I'm not sure what kind of math they were using. Actually, I don't think they took into consideration the amount of space the fence itself takes up. I've seen better directions, and worse.

[scott spencer]

I did the same thing as Jim on my Shop Fox W1677 in 2008....have not needed the capacity on the left with that saw, or any of the 2 previous left tilt saws since 2003.

[Van Huskey]

Although old I will also speak to the oP's question. It depends on what you work with and how you work. Just one example is if you cut rabbits on long pieces sheet goods or glue ups on the TS. Imagine cutting a rabbit on one end of a 7' piece with the stock on the left...almost nothing to support it. If anyone has been watching Rough Cut just replay the trellis video which is an excellent use of the fence on the left to index cuts for dado cuts for joinery. So even outside sheet goods and veneer issues left fence placement can be useful. More than once I have wished for more left rip capacity. There is always another way to skin a cat and in those instances where I did not have enough left rip capacity for the way I wanted to make the cut there was another way to do it.

[Rod Sheridan]

When I owned a cabinet saw, I often used the fence on the left for making the mirror image stopped dado in a top for example......Very useful for those of us who are routerless.........Rod.

[Mike Schuch]

This is very informative to hear valid reasons for using the fence on the left on a left tilt saw. My Biesmeyer rails project a foot to the left of my saw top. This has always seemed useless to me for anything other than a ball buster. The factory rails and the Vega fence on my PM65 where flush with the left edge of the table and never left me wishing for more left side capacity. By hearing how others use this left of the blade capacity I can reflect that these operations are things that "I" perform in a different way. That extra 12" of rail to the left of the table is coming off of the Biesmeyer on my PM71... the pro's don't outweigh the cost of floor space for "ME"!

[Van Huskey]

Absolutely, if you work in ways you never used it then you certainly won't miss it. Besides joinery which Rod and I (maybe others) mentioned there are some times when making certain cuts (usually off a full sheet) where it can come in handy also but that is rare.

[Derek Gilmer]

In my limited shop space there are times having the fence on the left side of my right tilt is handy. Like if I'm breaking down plywood to make 14" wide shelves. Having the entire right side of the saw and router table in the wing to support the majority of the plywood is handy.

[Gary McKown]

Derek, I'm sure that works for you, but I would never rip 14" from a sheet of plywood with the remainder on the cutoff side. I believe it is far safer to have the largest piece against the fence, and would cut off 14(+) inches at a time, then prepare to final dimension. One can only get 3 14" rips from a sheet, anyway, so there is plenty to play with. And, I still would have the right table and extension to support the largest piece.

Running the entire operation from the right side, you would only need 34(-) inches of rip capacity.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I may be a unique case because I'm ambidextrous, but I like having decent rip capacity on the left side. It gives you a fair amount of flexibility. One use that I have for it is with sacrificial or special fence faces- I make H bridges for my Bies style fence. (I mounted some T-channel to the top so I could secure it using bolts)

If you make one side sacrificial and the other side normal then it is easy to quickly swap between types without having to take the jig off the fence.

[glenn bradley]

Guess I should have mentioned that I shifted my Bies rails to the right on my left tilt saw to gain an extra 10" of rail to the right. I have 10-1/2" of usable fence to the left of the blade but almost never use it.

[Norman Hitt]

I believe they are referring to which side the tooth's cutting edge contacts initially. Veneered goods like most sheetgoods cut cleaner with the good side up. This mens the cutting edge plunges through the veneer which is supported by the underlying material. If the veneer is down, the cutting edge plunges through it and into open space as it continues it's journey around the blade. Unsupported material tends to tearout, veneers even more-so than solids (in general). This is why for cross cuts you see backer boards in play.

Glenn, I think in this case, Jim's reference of top and bottom was referring to the top and bottom of the panel as it is installed in a cabinet, (not the face or backside of the panel), ie; the face side of the panel is UP for the cuts on both edges/sides of a panel because he rotated the panel instead of flipping it over , which accomplishes the "No Chipout" on the face side like you were describing, with both cuts being made with the fence on the right of the blade. (I've probably explained this so it is now really clear as mud).