TS Panel Sled - fence in front or back?

[Matthew Hills]

Should a panel sled have its fence in the front or back of the sled?

I love my current TS sled -- dialed in for excellent accuracy, zero-clearance support, and it used up my purpleheart (an early indiscretion). This was built with a fairly traditional style -- front fence for mechanical support, and the rear fence is the reference surface for cutting square. But it has one drawback -- a 12" capacity.

I'm planning to make another sled for squaring up panels.
Examples I've seen typically run on one side of the blade, with a runner in a single miter slot and a single fence.
I've seen examples with the fence in the front and at the back of the sled.
What is the impact of choosing one over the other?

Since the front/back description is ambiguous, I think of the "fence in the front" meaning that the fence reaches the blade before the work piece. E.g.,:
386741


Thanks,
Matt

[Bill Adamsen]

For a tablesaw likely easier closer to the operator so that the sled can rest on the TS surface (depending on size of sled). On the slider, for sheet goods, I put the fence away from me because it is easier to rotate and reload the sheet goods after sled retraction.