Left Versus Right of TS Against Wall?

[Terry Thillemann]

I'm creating a small wood shop in my basement which is rectangular. My TS has 1 wing to the left, 2 wings to the right, and a RT extension all the way to the right. I'm planning to position the table perpendicular to the long wall and am confused which side should be closest to one of the walls, the left or right. If I put the left side closest to the wall the RT will have room for me to work in front of it without moving the saw; however, this limits how much material can go to the left of the blade, 22" on my saw with ~38" to the right. I'm new to the hobby so am not familiar with whether I'd typically have the larger piece of wood on the left or right of the blade. Putting the right side of the TS to the wall allows more space for the left but then I have to roll the saw out whenever I want to use the RT.

Thoughts?

[glenn bradley]

The piece against the fence is usually my "keeper". This means it is usually smaller than what I am cutting it from (although not always of course). My saw is right-side-to-the-wall. I should mention that this is also an area where electrical and DC ductwork pass and is pretty much a no-man's land in my shop.

My current rig:


327297 . 327296

My previous saw:

327298

[Mike Wilkins]

Sounds like you need to install some type of mobility to your set-up. I have always placed the right side of my saws against the wall, but I don't have a router table in my right side wing. You are right that a left-mounted saw will limit your cutting capacity there, which would be limiting for a lot of tasks. There are lots of options for adding mobility bases to woodworking machines.

[Ben Rivel]

Sounds to me like you need to have room on both sides of that setup which means youre going to have to get it mobile so you can move it when needed.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

My gut reaction is to keep the longer end to the right. If you are trying to cut something that will be sticking out too far on the left, then pre-cut as close as you can (say 1") to the final cut size using something like a track saw or just use a circular saw without it. You will waste more wood this way, but, you can still work in the space that you have. When I use the track saw to break down wood, I first put down some Styrofoam like sheets, place the board on top, then adjust the cut depth to just clear the bottom of the wood and I cut into the Styrofoam. I can then do the final cuts on the table saw. Some people use only the track saw and choose to go without the table saw, but, they usually buy the festool system.

[Terry Thillemann]

Yes, I have a mobile base on it and can move it I'm just wondering if I'd consistently have it one way versus the other so I can plan my electrical / dust collection accordingly if that should impact anything. Thanks for the feedback.

[cody michael]

I would say with hard wood you would not have any issue with rip cuts, with sheet goods, you would depending on what you were cutting, how often do you plan on cutting down a 4x8 sheet of plywood etc verse cutting hardwood.

are you planning on cross cutting with the tablesaw? if yes I would think you would want right side against the wall..

[Prashun Patel]

I have mine with the right side to the wall.

I cross cut on the left side, and rip on the right side. If I need to rip something wider than the saw, I use a circ saw with guide.

Given that there are miter slots on either side of the blade, you COULD crosscut from the right as well as rip from the right, which would allow you to keep the wall on your left. The only issue is that you will have to remove the fence to cross cut each time. The other option is to rip from the left and cross cut from the right. If you do not do many wide rips, then this could be a viable option. The downside of that is bevel cuts would be harder on the left (if your blade tilts left). But you could then again switch your fence for those odd times.

Try it one way. There is no right/wrong way. Only the most comfortable for you.

[David Eisenhauer]

Same here, right side (long side) to the wall. But, it was set up that way to accommodate my typical workflow as I process material through the various steps. I wanted my saw up front in the shop and ready to accept wood (mainly ply at the time) as it was offloaded from my truck. I believe work flow should be considered.

[Charles Wiggins]

I have the right side to the wall as well. I tend to crosscut lumber on my SCMS, so the longest thing I might cut is a 4' x 8' sheet good. If I were going to cut it in half I would only need 4' to the right of the blade. If I am cutting off-center I bias to the left and use a support stand. In reality, I most often break down sheet goods with the track saw, so I rarely have anything to crosscut that comes anywhere near the wall.

[Wade Lippman]

Yes, I have a mobile base on it and can move it I'm just wondering if I'd consistently have it one way versus the other so I can plan my electrical / dust collection accordingly if that should impact anything. Thanks for the feedback.
I also have my router table in my right side, and I use the right side as a work table; so the left side has to be up against the wall.
Occasionally I have to move the table a foot away from the wall for a large piece of wood, so I have the DC and electrical set up so that can be done without any extra work.

[lawrence dosson]

right side to the wall as well I stand to the left out of the blade path for safety for me if that side was to the wall it would be very awkward