how much will a 30" rip on a TS limit me

[Matt Zuko]

I have been shopping for a TS. I like to make raised panel panneling, bookshelves, and other built-ins, and soem furnature. My question is how much will a TS" that has a Rip capacity: 30" right, 12" left limit me, as opposed to a 52" rip. Thanks

[Gary Venable]

I have a 36" rip and I have not found it to be a limit at all. If you are going to be working with a lot of sheet goods then the 52" fence may be more desirable, but I generally I break down sheet goods with a guide and a circular saw then do final cuts on the table saw.

-Gary

[Steve Griffin]

Not much at all for what you describe. Of course it's nice, but you can always set your rip fence to take off the waste piece for the rare times you need more width.

For a small shop, it's always a matter of priority.

Rating rip capacity on a T-Saw I would put:

Sliding table, good blades, good dado set, dust collection and outfeed table far above rip capacity. Got all those? Then next up is upgrading rip capacity...

-Steve

[scott spencer]

30" shouldn't limit you too much....52" is nice to have though, especially for the added table space. If the saw you're considering is a left tilt, there's a good chance that you can slide the rails from left to right by a little bit, thus robbing some seldom/never needed ripping capacity from the left side and adding it to the right. I've done exactly that with my last two left tilt saws that had 30" and 26" stock rip capacity, and increased it to 40" and 36" respectively.

[Bill Huber]

I only have 27, that was just all the space I had to work with. I have never really needed any more for ripping. As was stated, I break down all my sheet goods with a skill saw.

I would think with a 50" rip capacity you would really need a nice big out-feed table to go with it.

[Prashun Patel]

If you are doing a lot of plywood ripping, then 52" is a nice-to-have.

I've only had a 36" rip capacity and find it fine for what I do. There are other ways to skin the wide-rip cat, including a circular saw and a straight guide, which I personally find easier and safer to wield.

[David Weaver]

If you have any space limitations and need to move your saw, you'll appreciate that you don't have a huge table to the right of the saw.

I got a hybrid about four years ago and was using sheet goods and jumped the gun and went to a 50" set of rails and table and sold the 30" rails to someone who wanted them. I wish I never would have. Anymore, i'd rather just use a circular saw and rail than hoof large sheet goods up onto the TS, but I don't use them now, anyway.

My saw has to be moved every time I use it, and there are far more times I wish I would've never gotten the bigger rails. The only upside I've found for the kind of work I've been doing since (all solid wood) is that I can put more stuff to the right side of the fence when I'm too lazy to put it where it belongs.

If it's going to be stationary forever, I would do what scott mentions - just move the rails to the right and improvise if you need a cut to the left. Spend the money on bigger rails later if you find you absolutely need them.

[Will Overton]

I had a 30" rip capacity on a saw where I could have easily shifted the rails and had 36". I intended to do it as soon as I needed the extra capacity. After five years I replaced it with a SS that has 36" capacity. I doubt I'll ever need that.

I do cut all my plywood with a track saw.

[David Giles]

A 30" rip is just short enough to be irritating. A standard cabinet box is 36" high. Allow 3/4" for the top and 4" for a separate base. That makes the box sides 31.25" high. The Incra LS has a 32" capacity and I've often worked in the 30-32" range. When more than 32" is needed, it's usually a lot more (say 48-60" range).

[Matt Meiser]

I moved the 30" rail on my Biesemeyer over and got about 40" out of it since I never use the fence on the left side of the blade. Then I built a kitchen with 42" upper cabinets. :rolleyes: That's about all I've ever been short on capacity for though. And, since I've got a Festool saw it was really only a minor inconvenience and I was doing most of my initial breakdown with that anyway.

[keith micinski]

If you have the space get the 52". I had a 52" and while I was swapping saws and building my new side table for the 52 I was using a 30 inch shop Fox and I wanted to blow my brains out. Anyone that says 30 is good enough is someone that has never had a 52.

[Bill Miltner]

I had a 52" on my prior saw. Now I have 30" and do not miss the 52" at all. I have always used a crosscut sled for wider/longer pieces. If I had a 2,000 sq ft shop and was crosscutting full sheet of plywood the a 52" might be in order but not in my more modest shop.

An added bonus to the 30" is more room in the shop.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Honestly, don't use my 52" capacity very often at all. But - I have the room [just barely], and I would do the same thing again.

And to take Bill H's comment one step further - not necessarily "need", but "can have" - I have the outfeed table "squared off". Great assembly surface - drop the blade and pull the fence, and I have 6' x 6'. Any rumors that much of the time it is just a "stuff holder" are scurrilous and opprobrious. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. ;) If I ever got into projects where a router table would be important, it has always been in my mind that the right-side extension would be used for that.

And, yes, I do have an actual point - all things being equal, get the biggest one that will comfortably fit in your shop, IMO.

[Chip Lindley]

Matt, about 2% of the time you will wish you had more than 30" rip capacity. For most basic uses, you will be very happy and can save some space.

But, just in case, and IF you have the space, go for the 50" fence. The extra table length is a handy place for assembly and for a router lift!

[johnny means]

Imo crosscutting entire sheets of plywood against a rip fence is impractical and a bad practice in general (you are counting on your factory edges being square). Your money would be better a spent creating a really nice crosscut sled. A sled would guarantee square cuts and be less likely to lead to ruining a workpiece or worse due to kickback. Also a crosscut sled can be used to cut 7.5' sides or narrower parts, unlike a 52"rip fence. Better yet put the extra money aside for a future sliding attachment from Grizzly.

[glenn bradley]

I am sure this varies with the craftsman and what he does. I found 30" to be a bother often enough to shift my Beis tube to the right one set of holes. At 40" I have yet to run into an issue. That doesn't mean I won't but the 30" reach was a problem pretty often.

As I said, it depends on the person and what they do. My 6" jointer was nearly worthless to me. My 8" jointer has done 98% of what I require. YMMV.