30-36" rail and sliding table for sheet goods?

[Brian D Smith]

I did a search both here and on a few other forums and couldn't really find the answer.

currently I have 50" rails on my unisaw. I plan to add a slider attachment and I wanted to know if I go down to a set of 30-36" rails for the saw do you think I can still rip 8' plywood sheet in half? I know the fence would have to be removed to accommodate the length.

I'm thinking about doing this because I have a router extension on the left side of the saw but once I mount the slider i'll have to move the extension to the right of the saw leaving me with no room to use the router table between the saw and the wall.

If I can knock 20" of the rails that would allow me to mount the router extension on the right and still have room to walk around the saw and use the router.

let me know your thoughts!

if this works out I may be posting a for trade thread soon seeing if anyone wants to swap some unifence rails ha.

Brian

[Ray Newman]

On my circa 1987 Uni-saw, I have the 52" Uni-fence. At one time I had a small Exaktor/Ecalibur (cannot recall which it was) sliding table attached. Instead of cutting the Uni-fence rail, I drilled new holes in the rail to move the rail to the right. Glad I did as after awhile, I realized that I really did not utilize the sliding table that much and its footprint was too big. I purchased a good track saw to break down sheet goods.

I recommend that you carefully consider just how much room the sliding table will consume.

[Brian D Smith]

Ray,

Thanks for the comments!

I was thinking on the grizzly/laguna/shop Fox sliding attachment. Smaller footprint but can still cross cut full sheets of plywood.

Was interested for the miter sliding action as well.

I have considered a track saw as well but they are in the same price range as the sliders mentioned.

I don't plan to cut my rail I would get a shorter one. I can't move it to the right because I'll run out of space that way.

Anyone see issues with cross cutting sheet goods on a smaller table. Should all be supported still on extension table as well as slider.

You don't use the rip fence for this process anyway correct!?

Just needed to get some qualified opinions!

Thanks

Brian

[Rick Potter]

I have a Uni with a Jessem slider. I have also had a large Excalibur slider and a Junior Excalibur (my favorite). Yes you can cut a sheet of ply on it, but it is not like cutting on a real slider, which I have also had. My Unifence is cut down to about 32", and I have not missed the extra width.

My final answer was to buy a DeWalt track saw for cutting down ply. I just finished a simple cutting table to fit on sawhorses. It fits in my lumber rack when not in use.

This is just my experience. Your use will probably vary, but remember....a decent track saw is no more than the slider attachment you are looking at, and takes up a lot less space.

[Bill McNiel]

I have a Delta slider on my Unisaw. A couple of years ago I bought a track saw. It it significantly better/easier to break down sheet goods with the track saw and it is very versatile. I'm not really sure why I still have the slider other than it doesn't have much resale value. You will find many additional uses for the trac saw.

[Peter Quinn]

Can you still rip? Yes, you can split a sheet with a biesmeyer style fence with about 30" of fence, you need 24" on the ruler plus about 6" additional for the steel t to make contact with the tube. Not so good for those wider panels like fridge cabinets etc, but useful for the majority of plywood casework. Can you handle 4X8 sheets on one of those little bolt on sliders? Not as delivered. They advertise a slightly better than 4' stroke, but there is no support out board for that kind of weight over the distance. Perhaps if you made a very long saw horse/out rigger to catch the weight. But if I'm trying to use a cabinet saw like a slider, the fence is an important component as a stop. You square the top, slide to the stop...now you may want 34 1/2" of fence for 36" finished height cabinet parts, which requires a 42" fence. IME a full blown slider requires at around 120SF to operate, basically a 4 sheet of plywood foot print. Not saying the bolt on sliders are not useful, just not for breaking down full sheets. The advise to look at track saws is most prudent. Safer, cheaper, much more compact than outfitting a TS to do the same work accurately. And you don't have to man handle full sheets in motion into a spinning blade! Thats a ballet I can live without frankly.