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Thread: Why do you prefer the "left of the blade" position for a table saw miter gauge

  1. #1
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    Question Why do you prefer the "left of the blade" position for a table saw miter gauge

    In the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=32395, I asked why most manufacturers (such as JessEm and Incra) of after-market long miter gauges for table saws assume that people will be using them on the left side of the blade.

    Jim Becker responded with: "BTW, the reason that the miter gages are setup for the left of the blade is that is where most people use them. There have even been some models that really wouldn't work on the right side very well, such as the Incra 2000.".

    So I asked why most people prefer to "left of the blade" position, but I received no answers. I expect that this is because the question is buried within a thread with a title that gives no clue to the fact that there was such a question within.

    Last Friday, I bought a JessEm Mite-R-Excel and assumed that I would want it on the right side of the blade since that's where I have a lot more table (because of my large saw table extension).

    Please let me know your reasons (other than the manufacturers pre-disposition) for using the miter gauge to the left of the blade.

    By the way, I would like to be convinced that I should be primarily be using my newly acquired miter gauge to the left of the fence.

  2. #2
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    Frank........I suspect it's because the manufacturers started that..............to keep something from binding between the rip fence and the blade.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
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    I prefer it on the left side so I can push with my right hand.
    Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

  4. #4
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    Frank,

    I stand to the left of the blade because thats the way I was taught. When using a fence it makes sense to stand to the left so you can apply force against the fence as you push thru the blade. I've seen lefties try to stand to the right and pull a board against the fence and it makes me cringe. When using a miter guage it just feels more natural to stand in the same position with my right hand pushing the guage and the left hand holding the stock against the miter fence. If I have a really long board I sometimes do it on the right for support but I prefer the left side. Now that I have a Jessem Slider I will always be on the left.


    ~mark

  5. #5
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    Frank,
    I agree with you that there is probably no absolute reason to go that way. I expect that people are used to standing to the left of the blade. That's where my switch is and where I prefer to stand, so I'll stay there using my miter gauge.
    You can clamp a block to your fence and use it as a stop block for repeatability. Biesmeyer even sells one that makes their fence exactly 1" off when using it. Since most of the high end gauges come with some sort of flip stop, that may not be as important anymore.

    Jay
    Jay St. Peter

  6. #6
    To the left. Thats tha way I was taught, and everyone else does it that way that I've seen.


  7. #7
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    As others have stated don't know of a reason not to use the right side miter slot but since I have used the left for over 30 yrs I don't see myself changing, I have on occasion used the right side but it just didn't "feel" right and I work under the assumption that if it don't "feel" right...it probably isn't.
    David

  8. #8
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    Frank.

    If I had to guess, I would suspect that the reason that people prefer the left of blade location is two fold. One, it is the way that we are taught, and two, if you are right handed the left of blade positions your chest and abdomen are out of the line of the blade. Ironically though, if this were a true rationale. We would position the fence to the left of the blade also.

    I'm not sure why Jim believes that the Incra 2000 will not operate in the right miter slot. I have been using it in that position for over 5 years on my Jet contractor saw. It actually worked better for me in the right slot because the miter fence was completely supported.

    Personally I prefer the miter to the right , and the fence to the left. With the fence in the left position my hands never cross over the blade. I lead and control with my left hand, and push with my right, but I can switch hands and go "lefty" if necessary.

    I like the miter(Incra 2000) to the right because there is more table for stability in my setup. This position allows me to use either hand to manipulate the miter, and the material. For some reason, if the miter is to the left of the blade I have to, by default, push with my right hand and gude with my left, and don't have the option of "switch hitting".

    My current configuration is a JessEm Mast-R-Slide to the left. It's a new setup for me and I'm still feeling out my technique, feels a bit funny but is a much safer position for the hands. The Incra 2000 is still setup to operate to the right of the blade. The fence is on the right on my General 50-220, and is to the left on my Jet contractor saw. Both saws are positioned back to back and use the other as an outfeed table.

    Bottom line is to use the miter in the configuration that you are most comfortable with.


    PS. For the sake of argument, and in Jim's defense. I have never really liked the Incra 2000. I just paid so much for it, that I forced myself to use it. I find it equally cumbersome and "clugey" in either slot.
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 03-06-2006 at 5:20 PM.

  9. #9
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    It seems to me that if you are making bevel cuts, and are using a left tilt saw that it would be safer to use the miter gauge on the right side of the blade. Conversely, if you are using a right tilt saw that it would be safer to use it on the left. This way the piece that is trapped against the miter gauge would not be subject to kick back. So if you get used to using the correct side, according to Allen, then you never have to think about it.
    Last edited by Allen Bookout; 03-06-2006 at 5:55 PM.

  10. #10
    Because that's where I'm standing. If it were on the right, I'd have to reach across the blade or retrain myself to stand to the right of the blade. Since I'm right handed that would feel uncomfortable because I my left hand would be closer to the blade.
    Dennis

  11. #11
    I use primarily the left-hand side of the blade, for the various reasons listed above, but I also occasionally use the right-hand side if I'm cutting a little off a long board. Like many folks, I also have more table to the right than to the left, so sometimes the extra support outweighs the other advantages for using the gauge on the left.

    - Vaughn

    - Vaughn

  12. #12
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    Being Left handed, it works better for me.

    Bruce

  13. #13
    It might have something to do about the fence being in the way also. Since it would be a pain to have to remove your fence everytime you want to cut on the right side of the blade with the miter guage if you stock is long.

  14. #14

    Which side of blade?

    When I was 15 I started in a shop where all the fences and all miter gauges were to the left of the blade. I was trained by a shop boss that was very safety concious. He preferred to stand to the left of the blade pushing with his right hand and steadying with his left hand for both crosscuts and rips. He wouldn't have leftys in the shop.

    Later when I went to buy my first saw I was surprised to find the fence to the right of the blade. I set the saw up and tried making a 24 inch cut through a piece of plywood. As a right hander I had 2 choices: stand to the left of the blade and reach across the blade to push with my right hand and steady with my left hand or stand to the right of the blade and become a lefty pushing with my left hand while steadying with my right. The 3rd choice of standing right behind the blade was out of the question.

    I converted the fence to the left side right away.

    If you have the fence to the left, you are standing to the left, and your hands are to the left of the blade and you have a kick back it will miss you.

    If you have the fence to the right but you are standing to the left a kick back will hit you.

    One other issue is operator height. Table saws are all about the same but operators aren't. One famous saw guy is rather short and I have found some of his safety ideas don't suit us 6 footers.

  15. #15
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    Simplistic answer probably, but it just feels right to me to be on the left of the blade.
    Don

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