Why do you prefer the "left of the blade" position for a table saw miter gauge

[Frank Pellow]

In the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=32395, I asked why most manufacturers (such as JessEm and Incra) of after-market long miter gauges for table saws assume that people will be using them on the left side of the blade.

Jim Becker responded with: "BTW, the reason that the miter gages are setup for the left of the blade is that is where most people use them. There have even been some models that really wouldn't work on the right side very well, such as the Incra 2000.".

So I asked why most people prefer to "left of the blade" position, but I received no answers. I expect that this is because the question is buried within a thread with a title that gives no clue to the fact that there was such a question within.

Last Friday, I bought a JessEm Mite-R-Excel and assumed that I would want it on the right side of the blade since that's where I have a lot more table (because of my large saw table extension).

Please let me know your reasons (other than the manufacturers pre-disposition) for using the miter gauge to the left of the blade.

By the way, I would like to be convinced that I should be primarily be using my newly acquired miter gauge to the left of the fence.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Frank........I suspect it's because the manufacturers started that..............to keep something from binding between the rip fence and the blade.

[scott spencer]

I prefer it on the left side so I can push with my right hand.

[Mark Carlson]

Frank,

I stand to the left of the blade because thats the way I was taught. When using a fence it makes sense to stand to the left so you can apply force against the fence as you push thru the blade. I've seen lefties try to stand to the right and pull a board against the fence and it makes me cringe. When using a miter guage it just feels more natural to stand in the same position with my right hand pushing the guage and the left hand holding the stock against the miter fence. If I have a really long board I sometimes do it on the right for support but I prefer the left side. Now that I have a Jessem Slider I will always be on the left.


~mark

[JayStPeter]

Frank,
I agree with you that there is probably no absolute reason to go that way. I expect that people are used to standing to the left of the blade. That's where my switch is and where I prefer to stand, so I'll stay there using my miter gauge.
You can clamp a block to your fence and use it as a stop block for repeatability. Biesmeyer even sells one that makes their fence exactly 1" off when using it. Since most of the high end gauges come with some sort of flip stop, that may not be as important anymore.

Jay

[Steve Clardy]

To the left. Thats tha way I was taught, and everyone else does it that way that I've seen.

[David Duke]

As others have stated don't know of a reason not to use the right side miter slot but since I have used the left for over 30 yrs I don't see myself changing, I have on occasion used the right side but it just didn't "feel" right and I work under the assumption that if it don't "feel" right...it probably isn't.

[Mike Cutler]

Frank.

If I had to guess, I would suspect that the reason that people prefer the left of blade location is two fold. One, it is the way that we are taught, and two, if you are right handed the left of blade positions your chest and abdomen are out of the line of the blade. Ironically though, if this were a true rationale. We would position the fence to the left of the blade also.

I'm not sure why Jim believes that the Incra 2000 will not operate in the right miter slot. I have been using it in that position for over 5 years on my Jet contractor saw. It actually worked better for me in the right slot because the miter fence was completely supported.

Personally I prefer the miter to the right , and the fence to the left. With the fence in the left position my hands never cross over the blade. I lead and control with my left hand, and push with my right, but I can switch hands and go "lefty" if necessary.

I like the miter(Incra 2000) to the right because there is more table for stability in my setup. This position allows me to use either hand to manipulate the miter, and the material. For some reason, if the miter is to the left of the blade I have to, by default, push with my right hand and gude with my left, and don't have the option of "switch hitting".

My current configuration is a JessEm Mast-R-Slide to the left. It's a new setup for me and I'm still feeling out my technique, feels a bit funny but is a much safer position for the hands. The Incra 2000 is still setup to operate to the right of the blade. The fence is on the right on my General 50-220, and is to the left on my Jet contractor saw. Both saws are positioned back to back and use the other as an outfeed table.

Bottom line is to use the miter in the configuration that you are most comfortable with.


PS. For the sake of argument, and in Jim's defense. I have never really liked the Incra 2000. I just paid so much for it, that I forced myself to use it. I find it equally cumbersome and "clugey" in either slot.

[Allen Bookout]

It seems to me that if you are making bevel cuts, and are using a left tilt saw that it would be safer to use the miter gauge on the right side of the blade. Conversely, if you are using a right tilt saw that it would be safer to use it on the left. This way the piece that is trapped against the miter gauge would not be subject to kick back. So if you get used to using the correct side, according to Allen, then you never have to think about it.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Because that's where I'm standing. If it were on the right, I'd have to reach across the blade or retrain myself to stand to the right of the blade. Since I'm right handed that would feel uncomfortable because I my left hand would be closer to the blade.

[Vaughn McMillan]

I use primarily the left-hand side of the blade, for the various reasons listed above, but I also occasionally use the right-hand side if I'm cutting a little off a long board. Like many folks, I also have more table to the right than to the left, so sometimes the extra support outweighs the other advantages for using the gauge on the left.

- Vaughn

- Vaughn

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Being Left handed, it works better for me.

Bruce

[Corey Pionk]

It might have something to do about the fence being in the way also. Since it would be a pain to have to remove your fence everytime you want to cut on the right side of the blade with the miter guage if you stock is long.

[John Gornall]

When I was 15 I started in a shop where all the fences and all miter gauges were to the left of the blade. I was trained by a shop boss that was very safety concious. He preferred to stand to the left of the blade pushing with his right hand and steadying with his left hand for both crosscuts and rips. He wouldn't have leftys in the shop.

Later when I went to buy my first saw I was surprised to find the fence to the right of the blade. I set the saw up and tried making a 24 inch cut through a piece of plywood. As a right hander I had 2 choices: stand to the left of the blade and reach across the blade to push with my right hand and steady with my left hand or stand to the right of the blade and become a lefty pushing with my left hand while steadying with my right. The 3rd choice of standing right behind the blade was out of the question.

I converted the fence to the left side right away.

If you have the fence to the left, you are standing to the left, and your hands are to the left of the blade and you have a kick back it will miss you.

If you have the fence to the right but you are standing to the left a kick back will hit you.

One other issue is operator height. Table saws are all about the same but operators aren't. One famous saw guy is rather short and I have found some of his safety ideas don't suit us 6 footers.

[Don Bergren]

Simplistic answer probably, but it just feels right to me to be on the left of the blade.

[nic obie]

It's not rocket science,

if the rip fence is used as a stop for crosscutting the mitre gauge needs to be on the left side.

Frank, that is why the big side of the table is on your right, so you can set the stop for longer lengths.

Just teasing......

I'm left handed and using the left mitre slot just seemed natural.

[Larry Norton]

Frank, after reading your comment in the previous post, I became a little concerned because I'm planning on buying the JessEm. I've never used a miter gauge on the left, and I'm not sure I want to start now. I really don't like the idea of 4ft of a 6in. wide board hanging unsupported over the end of the table. I may change my mind and buy the Osborne. I'm going to email JessEm to see if I can get more info. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Up until now, the only miter gauges that I have used have been those that came with the various table saws I have used over the years and I have (mostly) used those to the right of the blade. So "to the left" feels strange, but I think that I will try my new JessEm (mostly) to the left for a while and see if I can get used to it.

[Frank Pellow]

It's not rocket science,

if the rip fence is used as a stop for crosscutting the mitre gauge needs to be on the left side.

Frank, that is why the big side of the table is on your right, so you can set the stop for longer lengths.
But, all the after-market miter guages that I know of come with built in stops which implies to me that they do not intend the fence to (normally) be used as a stop.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, after reading your comment in the previous post, I became a little concerned because I'm planning on buying the JessEm. I've never used a miter gauge on the left, and I'm not sure I want to start now. I really don't like the idea of 4ft of a 6in. wide board hanging unsupported over the end of the table. I may change my mind and buy the Osborne. I'm going to email JessEm to see if I can get more info. Thanks for bringing it up.
Larry, I did figure out how to use the Jessem to the right. I ended up with a scale reading upside down and a stop that is a little akward, but it was possible.

I do have a good adjustable set of (General International) rollers that can be easily postioned with any of my machines so it will be simple for me to get the necessary support when I use the miter gauge to the left of the blade. But, its not as simple as using the table.

Larry, please let me know what Jessem tells you.

[nic obie]

But, all the after-market miter guages that I know of come with built in stops which implies to me that they do not intend the fence to (normally) be used as a stop.

Frank,

Don't you have a chop saw for the little stuff?

I only crosscut panels with my table saw. I used to use a sled now I use a format style saw. Why don't you use your Festool stuff for crosscutting? I would thing it should work. :D

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,

Don't you have a chop saw for the little stuff?

I only crosscut panels with my table saw. I use my table saw for the little stuff. I used to use a sled now I use a format style saw. Why don't you use your Festool stuff for crosscutting? I would thing it should work. :D
Nic, no I don't have a chop saw. I have been using my Festool Multifunction Table for crosscutting larger pieces (any board over two feet in length). My thought is that, with the larger miter gauge, I can up that to much longer boards.

But, this is an experiment and I may find that I revert to the Festool. It's an experiment because my brother-in-law has agreed to by the JessEm miter guage from me at the price I paid for it if, after a month, I decide I don't "need" it.

[Gary Herrmann]

Since I got my new TS, I've been using the gauge on the right, because the Jessem sliding table replaced the left wing of my General 650.

[Frank Pellow]

Since I got my new TS, I've been using the gauge on the right, because the Jessem sliding table replaced the left wing of my General 650.
If you have the JessEm sliding table, why do you even need a miter gauge?

[Norman Hitt]

Although I am Right handed, I'm also like my Dad was, in that anything done one handed was/is Right handed, but "Almost" everything done with both hands would be considered Left handed, (except shooting a rifle/shotgun is considered right handed when the left hand is on the forestock and the right hand on the trigger).

Although I have used both right and left tilt saws, Mostly I have used left tilt saws, (all that I have ever owned have been left tilt), and I started out using the fences And Mitre Guages on the Right, and Standing on the Right side. I have on occasion done it the other way, but it just never felt "Natural" to me.

As Usual, I seem to be 180* out of phase with most everyone else.:D

[George Matthews]

So I asked why most people prefer to "left of the blade" position, but I received no answers. I expect that this is because the question is buried within a thread with a title that gives no clue to the fact that there was such a question within.
.

I prefer the left. I also read, and agree that it 'feels right'. I suspect it may have more to do with your dominate eye. To test that theory, read this explanation in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominant_eye

If that is the case, dominate right eyed workers would prefer left side mitre and right side fence. I suspect it has more to do with stooping to check the alignment of the blade and the cut line?

[Kyle Kraft]

Personally, I like to position my miter gauge on whichever side of the blade works best/safest for the job at hand, and if neither criteria is a factor, then I use it on whichever side of the blade its currently set up for.

By the way, should the toilet paper come off the roll on the side nearest the toilet or the wall??

[Steve Clardy]

Personally, I like to position my miter gauge on whichever side of the blade works best/safest for the job at hand, and if neither criteria is a factor, then I use it on whichever side of the blade its currently set up for.

By the way, should the toilet paper come off the roll on the side nearest the toilet or the wall??

Lol. Wife puts it towards the wall. I put it nearest the head. Easier for me to find. We fuss about that.:eek: :rolleyes: ;) :D

[Frank Pellow]

Personally, I like to position my miter gauge on whichever side of the blade works best/safest for the job at hand, and if neither criteria is a factor, then I use it on whichever side of the blade its currently set up for.

By the way, should the toilet paper come off the roll on the side nearest the toilet or the wall??
The problem with doing this with the JessEm miter gauge is that the scale, the stop, and the extension all have to be set up to favour one side or the other. Yes, once set up, it can still be used on the other side but (assuming that you don't want to take a lot of time), you would lose the use of all these features when temporaily using the miter gauge on the other side.

[Tom Drake]

To the left. Thats tha way I was taught, and everyone else does it that way that I've seen.

Ditto! It also is comfortable for me. I am out of the way too.

[Gary Herrmann]

If you have the JessEm sliding table, why do you even need a miter gauge?

I like it for cross cuts of long heavy boards that I want fully supported by the extension table. And since I already had a very nice Woodhaven miter gauge, why not use it?

[Lee Schierer]

I can think of at least three reasons.

First most people are right handed so working to the left of the blade makes it easier to see and a more natural position for the majority of users. This puts their dominant hand in control of the miter gage.

Second. The rip fence normally goes to the right of the blade. Having the miter gauge to the left lets you do both operations if you want without removing the fence or the moiter gage from the top of the saw. Again for right handed people this works better.

Third. My table saw has two slots so I can actually use my miter gage to the right, which I do when I need the extra table support that is available on that side of the saw.

[Lou Morrissette]

I find it more comfortable using the left slot and my Incra 2000 is a PIA to swap over. I also use the fence and block to make repetative cuts and that allows me to make longer supported cuts.

Lou

[Frank Pellow]

...
But, this is an experiment and I may find that I revert to the Festool. It's an experiment because my brother-in-law has agreed to by the JessEm miter guage from me at the price I paid for it if, after a month, I decide I don't "need" it.
I spent about 6 hours today trying in the order of 30 different types of cuts (mostly with the miter gauge to the left of the blade) as well as one real project involving about 50 cuts and saw kerfs (all with the miter gauge to the left of the blade).

The results:


:) I am already comfortable operating to the left of the blade.

:) I am happy to say that my brother-in-law will not be getting the JessEm Mite-R-Slide.