Right or left tilt table saw

[Dave Bureau]

Can anyone tell me advantages or drawbacks on right or left tilt saws. I see the long arm of the fences are all on the right side so there must be something other than being for a left or right handed person.

[Mark Singer]

One reason is the small rip against the fence will not be trapped forcng it to be kicked back. that is the main reason , but there are others

[scott spencer]

There are pros and cons to each design. As Mark pointed out, a LT saw bevels away from the fence for added safety. It's possible to slide the fence to the left side of the blade on a right tilt saw to achieve that same benefit, but it places the workpiece on the opposite side of the fence from what most of us are used to which poses different safety risks. A downside to a LT is that the tape is referenced to zero at the farthest right edge of the blade for most applications. On a LT saw, if the blade thickness changes it skews the zero setting and either needs to be readjusted to zero by moving the cursor, shimmed, or a separate measuring tape used. On a RT saw the thickness of blade does not skew that setting.

That said, I never saw it as a very big concern. I tend to use the same thickness of blades or use a separate tape measure if I change blade thickness. There are other differences....on a RT saw the orientation of the arbor nut thread is reversed, and lends itself to tightening the nut with the left hand. It's a small issue to some, but that aspect of my RT saw drove me nuts....a LT saw has the threads in a normal orientation and is easily tightened with the right hand...my dominant hand....the "righty tighty" rule applies! I found that feature to outweight the more minor inconvenience of blade thickness changes skewing the zero reference, but it's really a matter of preference IMO....there's no right or wrong decision. I give the RT/LT debate very little weight in a TS buying decision, and would not let it kill an otherwise great deal on nice saw.

FWIW, I've owned both and prefer LT.

[Aaron Beaver]

Here is a thread on this subject that has some good info

Click here (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=45124)

[Nancy Laird]

Dave, there are two recent threads discussing this very issue.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=45124&highlight=left+tilt

and

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=44266&highlight=left+tilt

Might want to check these out before you go any further. Otherwise, we will be chewing old cabbage. (That's an old Southern expression, if anyone cares.)

Nancy

[Dave Bureau]

yes i checked out the other threads. thanks for the replies

Dave