Narrow workshop - Sawstop choice

[Guy Dotan]

My shop is narrow: 9.5'W x 25'L (to be exact, out of the 25'L there is a 9' section that's 11.5'W.) I am in the process of buying a table saw and I am pretty much set on the 3HP PCS.
I would love to get help/opinions about whether to go with the 30" premium fence or the 36" t-glide fence. I know that the t-glide should be better, but being a newbie I am not sure I have enough space for the 36"

Overall dimensions of the sawstop:

30": 61 3/4″ w x 31 1/8″ d x 34″h
36":69 1/8″ w x 33″ d x 34″ h

Thanks!
Guy.

[Robert Engel]

The key is going to be the distance from the blade to the wall. This will limit how long a board can be Xcut or how wide a sheet can be fed.

The narrow saw leaves just over 4 feet of space, and that's with the right side up against the wall.

based on that, I would guess you will have in 60" +/- of space between blade and wall.

I would go with 30" fence.

[Raymond Seward]

If you go with the 36"....and put the extension against the wal you'll have approx 3' on the other end...that's enough room to walk around it. You could get the mobile base to move it if you are so inclined....but in the end how often would you use the extra 6"? That would be my determination...

[Jebediah Eckert]

For the fence alone, go with the 36". The T Glide is far superior to the "Premium" fence. I think you will be bothered more by the inferior fence, then you will notice the extra 6".

if you end up deciding you will be moving the saw around the shop because of space, get the industrial base. That one works much better for making turns and maneuvering. The integrated base works fine for side to side but is less maneuverable making turns etc.

[Mike Cutler]

Guy

My shop is 9' wide by 19' long. I have a General Table saw with a 30" fence and a JessEm Mast-R-Slide attached to it. Without the Mast-R -Slide I could have a 36" fence if I wanted to. It can be done.

That space also has two bandsaws, a 15" planer, 6" jointer, second table saw, Miter saw/mortiser station, and a 3HP shaper. DC is outside.

[Guy Dotan]

First - wow! what a great community! Thanks all for the help!


The key is going to be the distance from the blade to the wall. This will limit how long a board can be Xcut or how wide a sheet can be fed.

The narrow saw leaves just over 4 feet of space, and that's with the right side up against the wall.

based on that, I would guess you will have in 60" +/- of space between blade and wall.

I would go with 30" fence.

I own a track saw, so cutting sheets is not a constraint for the table saw.

[Guy Dotan]

Guy

My shop is 9' wide by 19' long. I have a General Table saw with a 30" fence and a JessEm Mast-R-Slide attached to it. Without the Mast-R -Slide I could have a 36" fence if I wanted to. It can be done.

That space also has two bandsaws, a 15" planer, 6" jointer, second table saw, Miter saw/mortiser station, and a 3HP shaper. DC is outside.

That's a lot of tools! My DC will be inside and it is not small... (Oneida V-3000). I'd love to see a picture if that's not too difficult.

[Ben Rivel]

Go with the 36", the fence alone is worth the upgrade. Get it on the ICS mobile base and you can move it around where ever and whenever you like.

[Guy Dotan]

Go with the 36", the fence alone is worth the upgrade. Get it on the ICS mobile base and you can move it around where ever and whenever you like.

Talking about mobile base: Sawstop is offering a free mobile base or a free overarm dust collection. I was leaning towards the overarm...

[Jebediah Eckert]

Read my earlier post in regards to the base. Unfortunately the free base is the integrated one and not the industrial one.

The 3hp PCS should still come with the blade guard that has the dust collector hook up. All your really getting for free is the hose and bracket. If you think you can get away with integrated base, that is the better deal I think. But if it needs to spin around and move, especially in a small space, your going to want the industrial base.

[Jon Nuckles]

I think the integrated base and the overarm dust collection are the same price. If you want the dust collection accessory anyway, you won't get a "better deal" by getting the integrated mobile base for free instead. On the other hand, I bought both and certainly agree that you get more for your $200 with the base than the overarm. FWIW, I am very impressed with the integrated base, but I have a very large shop right now and don't need to negotiate tight turns on the rare occasions that I move my PCS with the 52" fence. Everyone seems to rave about the industrial base, so I can only assume it is that much better.

[Ben Rivel]

Talking about mobile base: Sawstop is offering a free mobile base or a free overarm dust collection. I was leaning towards the overarm...
Id go for the overarm as the integrated mobile base is not nearly as nice or convenient as the ICS mobile base. They are two different setups entirely and the more confined your space is the more you would appreciate the ICS mobile base. Something else to keep in mind, the overarm has to extend past the table extension on the right side of the blade so that stock can move past it. So it will add a few inches to the overall with of the saw setup.

[Frank Pratt]

My experience: The T-glide is so much better than the premium that I didn't even consider it. If the 6" is critical, you can just cut 6" off the T-glide rails.

When I bought mine they had the free mobile base deal going, but I wanted the ICS base. Lee Valley agreed to take the PCS base back & give me full credit towards an ICS base. So that's what I got.

I think the overhead collection is too restrictive. It's got that long, narrow pipe that connects to the 4" dust port. I have my guard connected with a 4" flex to the OH duct right above & even it doesn't have enough flow if your cutting a sliver off a board & the left side of the guard is open.

[Charles Lent]

My shop is wider than yours at 14 X 26'. I have a 54" Unisaw and Unifence in the approximate middle of it with the extension table end far end up against the right wall. I never use it for breaking down plywood, but I can't bare to cut the table and rails down, so have left them full length. It sits on an HTC mobile base, but I only move it to clean under it. My 6" jointer is along side the left end of the saw table, and my miter saw is against the left wall. There's still about a 3' wide walkway between the jointer and the miter stand in my shop.

I'm thinking that you could do a similar arrangement with your shop if you went with a 36" saw fence. This would make the left edge of the saw roughly 6' out from right the wall, leaving you enough room to add shelves or parts bins along the left wall across from the left end of the saw and still have more than a 2' walkway past the end of the saw. If you have a jointer and miter saw you would have to find another place for them. This would keep the space in front of and behind the saw as open as possible for feeding long stock through it.

I do all of my plywood panel break downs on a cutting table outside the shop and then trim them to exact size inside on the Unisaw. I do almost everything else inside, except for surface planing. My DeWalt 735 is attached to a Delta Miter Saw / Planer stand, and it sits on end in the corner of my shop until needed. Then goes outside where it's set up and used. This way it only requires about 2' X 2' of shop space when being stored inside.

I keep some of my routers (4), a router mat, a sawzall, and a few other small items under the saw's extension table. I have a swing up outfield table that almost doubles the top of the table saw's size, but it's only the width of the saw and does not include the width of the extension table. There is usually a large tool box containing my Leigh FMT Pro M & T jig and another similar tool box holding my Leigh D4R Dovetail jig under the out feed table, so it doesn't get folded down much and I should have just built it as a cabinet that attached to the saw to form the out feed surface instead of just a fold down top.

Charley

[glenn bradley]

What others have said; the "Premium Fence" is a non-starter. If there is a dealer near you go put your hands on both and you will see what we mean.

[Jebediah Eckert]

My experience: The T-glide is so much better than the premium that I didn't even consider it. If the 6" is critical, you can just cut 6" off the T-glide rails.

When I bought mine they had the free mobile base deal going, but I wanted the ICS base. Lee Valley agreed to take the PCS base back & give me full credit towards an ICS base. So that's what I got.

I think the overhead collection is too restrictive. It's got that long, narrow pipe that connects to the 4" dust port. I have my guard connected with a 4" flex to the OH duct right above & even it doesn't have enough flow if your cutting a sliver off a board & the left side of the guard is open.


Do this if you can, return the integrated base for a credit. I know Jon said the two accessories cost the same and I'm sure he is right. But with that saw you already get the blade guard with the dust collection port. How much can it possibly be for some 2 1/2" hose, an adapter, and maybe some string to support it from the ceiling? My hose goes up a wall, tied to the ceiling, and just dangles down to the blade protector.

[Peter Aeschliman]

My experience: The T-glide is so much better than the premium that I didn't even consider it. If the 6" is critical, you can just cut 6" off the T-glide rails.

^^This. It's not difficult to cut the fence tube and angle iron. Angle grinder with an 1/8" thick abrasive cutoff wheel... or if you don't have a grinder and you're cheap and patient, a hack saw will do it. The glide fence is way way better than the "premium" fence.

My advice, buy the 36", set it up in your shop, and cut it down if it's sticking out too much!

[John Schweikert]

I own a PCS with the 30" fence on the ICS module base in a 12'x24' bow roof shed. The saw and fence have been superb.

I will say for anyone who is interested in buying the premium fence, it is excellent! I use it all the time, it's heavy, straight, locks solid, glides beautifully over the table top and always stays a 1/1000" from blade or miter slots. In all functionality, I see absolutely nothing inferior about the premium fence to the t-glide fence.

[Guy Dotan]

Thank you all!!! I think I will go with the 36". I am also pretty convinced that I do not need the overarm.

I am not sure how much I will move the saw around... So I will either get the integrated base to have some mobility and be able to better clean the shop or try to get a $199 credit and decide later what I want to buy...

[Harvey Miller]

The room with my PCS is in is 12' by 14' with a 2 foot wide workbench on one side (10 feet wide where the saw is). I went with the 36" fence, based on advice from the forums with no regrets. Before buying I mocked up the saw's footprint with wood strips on the floor and worked around the space for a couple days to get a feel for it. I also made a mobile base for it with four swivel casters out of 5/4 red oak (I couldn't handle the cost of the ICS base). For me the flexibility to roll the saw up to the wall when it's not in use is pretty handy. Of course, if I cleaned up I probably would never need to move it!

[Mike Cutler]

That's a lot of tools! My DC will be inside and it is not small... (Oneida V-3000). I'd love to see a picture if that's not too difficult.

I'd have to clean it up a bit. During the winter it's a catch all for anything I need to do, so this will motivate me to clean up all my junk.:eek: