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Justin Jones RDH
03-28-2010, 12:40 PM
This is my first post and I would like to thank all of you upfront for any advice.
I have limited wood working experience but my goals and ambitions are sky high. My ultimate project in terms of cost and equipment size, like many, is a full set of custom kitchen cabinets. I have several years before I start this project but I also have a lot of learning to do in the meantime.

As the title suggests, I am in the market for a cabinet table saw. I have my eyes set on grizzly for price/value reasons. I am not sure what size to get for a cabinet project (in regards to rip capacity). I know that I will be building face frame style cabinets and I would like to stick to standard cabinet dimensions. I plan to primarily break down sheet goods with a circular saw then transfer to the TS. I have a few books on building cabinets that I am working on right now and it looks like the largest cut i will have to make is 30.5" for a base cabinet. Is this correct?

I was considering the G0690 but it looks like the maximum capacity for that saw is 29.5". Would this force me to go with a 52" capacity saw?

I should note that I have a few classes I am taking to get me started with this project and my kitchen cabinets WON'T be the 1st serious project i attempt.

Lex Boegen
03-28-2010, 1:14 PM
If you want to rip and crosscut sheet goods on the table saw, then you'll need the 52-inch rip capacity. Personally, I'm not comfortable with working with full sheets that way. 3/4 inch ply weighs 75 pounds for a full sheet, and MDF and melamine weigh even more. In addition to the wide rip capacity, you'd also need large and sturdy infeed and outfeed tables to work safely. I prefer to do my initial cuts with a circular saw, then cut to final dimension on the table saw. If you have the space and budget for the large cabinet saw and support tables, then go for it. You'll save yourself some time and effort in the long run.

scott spencer
03-28-2010, 1:18 PM
Welcome to SMC!

The classes and a book or two on woodworking and wwing tools are always good idea.

A good TS is the heart of most traditional shops. While a 3hp cabinet saw might be more than the bare basics, it's a purchase you're not likely to ever regret because it'll be more than capable of just about everything you'll encounter, will do a great job, will be a pleasure to use, and will maintain value well.

Grizzly has a solid reputation for value. Since the G0690 is a left tilt saw, it's not likely that you'll ever need the rip capacity on the left side of the blade. It's possible to rob capacity from the left side and move it to the right by sliding the front rail over by a few inches. It's a pretty simple 10 minute task...The front rail is a two piece system consisting of a mounting angle bracket and the actual rail tube that the fence glides on. You mount the angle bracket to the saw as directed, but slide the front tube over to the right by the distance of one bolt hole (so no drilling is required), and simply bolt the rail down using one less bolt, creating 10" more rail capacity. You'll need to relocate or replace the measuring tape, and fill the gap between the front and back rail to the right of the wing with some sort of extension (a router table in my case). Leave the back rail completely stock. You may also want to build some support legs, but the given the weight of the saw it'll likely be very stable even with them. I've done this to my last two saws and have gained about 10" rip capacity to right as a result, netting 40" and 36" rip capacity.

I typically have my sheetgoods rough cut at the homecenter, then trim them on my TS.

Justin Jones RDH
03-28-2010, 1:20 PM
Lex-
I understand why someone might buy the 52" but I will be breaking down ply with a circular saw. I am basically asking if there is any way to make a shorter fence work for a cabinet building application.

Justin Jones RDH
03-28-2010, 1:24 PM
Scott- thanks for the reply.
Do you have any pictures of your TS modification?

glenn bradley
03-28-2010, 1:34 PM
Justin, I have done as Scott describes with my Biesemeyer fence. I found that the stock 30" was frequently NOT enough. I have found that the new 40" reach has met my needs with only 2 exceptions since I did it. Oh, and its free.

The fence tube used to extend to the left of the mounting rail:

146567

Now my fence reaches to a comfortable 40". I have 3 cast iron wings to the right of the table but you can build the supporting surface from any stable material. My old saw had a framed MDF table to the right as it came with stamped wings that were useless.

146568

scott spencer
03-28-2010, 1:38 PM
Scott- thanks for the reply.
Do you have any pictures of your TS modification?

I do have some pics that are not specifically of the mod but they should give you an idea...it's really a minor mod.

Here's a look at the left side of the front rails on my former 22124.
Before:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/22124-19-1.jpg

This pic shows where it sat in relation to the bracket after sliding the rail.
After:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/TSTOP.jpg

Right side wing and router table extension:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/RT/NRT3.jpg

Justin Jones RDH
03-28-2010, 1:48 PM
Thanks for the pictures guys. I appreciate the post

Bruce Page
03-28-2010, 1:56 PM
Justin, welcome to SMC. There are always work-arounds but if you have the space I would recommend getting the 52”, the price difference between 30” & 52” will be soon forgotten.
I have a 50” Biesemeyer setup and while I don’t use the full capacity often, it is sure nice to have when I do need it.

Gerry Grzadzinski
03-28-2010, 5:02 PM
Cabinet sides are usually 34-1/2" high, so you can't cut them with a 30" fence. At least not easily. :)

Mike Wellner
03-28-2010, 5:08 PM
Panel saws or track saw for sheet goods are safer and easier for one person.

John A langley
03-28-2010, 5:20 PM
go with the 52'' you won't be sorry this is from a cabinetmaker

Paul Ryan
03-28-2010, 9:18 PM
Justin,

If this will be one of your only cabinet jobs, and if you dont have a ton of space in your shop. Then I would go with smaller fences. 36" is real nice size. I had a saw with 30" and that was a little small at times, but for some reason 36" has been perfect. If you have a larger shop and you can handle 52" then spend a few extra bucks and get the longer. Larger is almost always better. In my case I dont have room for the extra 16", it would cause lots of issues that I dont need to fight with. The grizzly is the way to go if you can shift the fence when you need to and move it back when you are making furniture. I mostly just make furniture have done very few cabinets. When I do, I break them down with the circular saw and go to town on the table saw. But if you can spare the extra space and will be making more cabinets in the future, go with the larger fence.

John Thompson
03-28-2010, 9:41 PM
Once you break the sheets down.. around 40"-42" should be sufficient for cabinets. I would definitely go with 52" if you have the space for that once in awhile situation. But if you are very limited and the extra lenght ties up a traffic pattern as it would in my shop... I simply pulled out the saw-zall with a metal cutting blade and took 10" off my end rails so I now have a rail to accomodate 42".

I mainly work with solid wood and could get away with shorter the vast majority of time but... better to have it than not and need it even on rare occasion as stated...

Welcome to the Creek...

John Coloccia
03-28-2010, 9:51 PM
The other option that is normally overlooked is to simply have your local mill/lumber yard do the handful of cuts you can't make at home. For example, I routinely have my lumber yard break down wood for me, or cut to size. Just a couple of months ago I had them flatten a table top for me on their wide belt sander. Cost $15. I had them cut sticks for stickering wood for me...about 50 of them. Cost $15 + materials. They're fast, accurate and cheap.

Just a thought. Except for bandsaws and hand power tools, where bigger can be a compromise sometimes, bigger is almost always better, but there are other options if cost and/or shop footprint is a problem.

Justin Jones RDH
03-29-2010, 7:32 PM
Thank you all for the help. I will be designing a shop (within reasonable dimensions) around the tools I plan to purchase and your advice is well appreciated.

Nathan Callender
03-29-2010, 8:21 PM
If you have a small area (1-2 car garage or similar) then there's nothing wrong with the 30" rails. Like everyone has said, you can move the rails over if you need extra space. I'm currently building a kitchen full of cabinets, and my fence is 36". I could move it over to get an extra 14" for sure, and that would allow me to cut a sheet of plywood in half, but I haven't done it yet (and I'm almost done) so it's not really needed for me anyway.

The most critical dimension for me has been the width of the sides/top/bottoms of the cabinets. Those have to be dead on and all the same, but they aren't going to be any more than 24" for standard cabinets, so most fences will accomodate that. It's more important that the cut is repeatable.

I've found that I can cross cut with a homemade edge guide and circ saw to within 1/64" which is more than adequate for cutting those parts to length. The item that I wish I would have bought for this build is an 8 foot track/clamp system for the circ saw (and a better circ saw!). That would have made life much easier.

If I were doing this for a living, I would get the 52" rails, but I would also have a panel saw, a full track saw system, and probably a full sheet cnc router. :-)

tyler mckenzie
03-29-2010, 8:39 PM
go 52", there's nothing like messing around when your capacity is maxed out.

Rod Sheridan
03-30-2010, 8:36 AM
When I purchased a cabinet saw, I had it custom ordered for a 32" wide rip capacity. (Standard was 50" on the General).

I rarely make cabinet pieces wider than 30".

In my opinion cross cutting sheet goods using the rip fence isn't a great idea since rip fences make things parallel, and when I'm cross cutting I normally want a right angle. This means sled or sliding saw.

If you need accurate crosscuts on sheet goods, a track saw is good, or have your supplier cut them for you.

As others have said, wrestling full sheets of material requires large support areas, and huge work space, better to break them down with a track saw, have the supplier do it, or cut them oversize with a circular saw and then carry the pieces to the table saw for final cutting.

Regards, Rod.

Michael Liechty
03-31-2010, 10:13 AM
I've been using a Grizzly 3 HP left tilt TS for years. I find with a cut off sled, that really all I need. Though I do use a track saw more and more, just easier to set up and it has nearly replaced the TS except for dadoes.

ML