Fences: 26",30", 50" which is most suitable for home shop?

[Dave Cohen]

I am in the market for a new saw and have narrowed down the cabinet saw I want to buy to 3 or 4 options.

The G1023 has 26" fence to the right
and two other Steel City saws that I'm looking at have
30" and 50" fences to the right of the blade.

My shop is in one bay of my garage, so its somewhat narrow. I could fit the Steel City with 50" fence in there (total width of saw and fence is 82 1/4") but it would certainly take up a lot of floor space and be kind of tight...is it worth it? Its only $50 more for the 50" fence as compared to 30".

Will I regret it if I only go with 30"? I will be making kitchen cabinets soon. Or will I regret not having gotten a 50" fence down the road. Any experiences/thoughts are appreciated.
How do folks manage with 26" of fence to the right on the G1023 saws ? Is that enough to do most everyone you need/want to do?

[David Klug]

Dave; I have a 26" Vega fence and I can rip a 4x8 sheet of plywood down the middle with no problem and of course you can rip narrower strips if you want to. I have my extentions to the left of my TS so it works out very well for me.

DK

[Dick Brown]

I have a 50" fence and love it but I have a good sized dedicated shop. If I were working in a smaller shop, I would just build a sawing guide and do the large breakdowns with a circular saw on saw horses. The 50" fence,IMHO, is nice but don't use it enough to sacrifice the room in a small shop. I find the wide table for the 50" to be a tool and junk collector that I have to clean off if when I need the full width. Would not go for less than a 30" though. That would take care of 90% of the cuts you would make on a set of cabinets.
Good luck on your choice!
Dick

[frank shic]

if you're just going to be doing kitchen cabinets, the 30" should be enough to rip a sheet of plywood down the middle and then to crosscut to the average height of 30" (assuming you're going to use levelling feet).

[Matt Meiser]

I have a 30 and there are many times I've wished I had a 50. However, I always find a workaround, whether using a circular saw and guide rail or calculating how much to cut from the other end of the workpiece to get the size I need. If I came across a good deal on a 50" set of rails for my fence I'd switch though.

[Stan Smith]

I've got a Jet left-tilt 52" right extension in my 1-car garage. I couldn't bear to part with it when we moved from where I had a 20x24 shop. I got rid of my router table cabinet and put the router in the extension. I alreday had panel cutting jig that I paid $85 for. It's a circular saw mounted to a plate w/bearings that rides on aluminum angle pieces (1 short and 1 long). Even though I have a wide extension, I can't wrestle an 4 x 9 ft sheet of 3/4" mdf or other heavy plywood to cut it on the TS. I guess I'm saying that I wouldn't buy a 52" again in my current small shop or maybe even in my previous shop. However, if I had a big shop, I'd certainly have one.

I was spoiled at our other house for sure. I've had to sell my 16-32 drum sander, Jet 13" planer, Delta dj-20 8" jointer, and my shopfox morticer. I've replaced them with portables. I can relate to the difficulties in working in a small shop. As to equip., I would go more for quality than size. If I was just starting, I might consider some of the combo machines such as those from Mini Max. FWIW

Stan

[Deck Reagan]

My shop is on one side of our two car garage. I recently went from a 30 inch fence on my contractor saw to a 52 inch fence on my Jet cabinet saw. I love the 52" fence. I may not always use the 52 inches but it's nice to have if you need it and I love the extra table space to stage boards, etc. I was a little leary at first but it really doesn't take up that much room.

deck

[Steven Wilson]

An American style cabinet saw with a 30" fence will have a 5' frontal area, with a 50" fence 7'; not much of a difference. So, go with the 50" fence. If you hate it you can always cut it down to 30".

[glenn bradley]

If I had room I would go with a 50". As you are tight, I would say 30" minimum but, it depends what you are going to be doing. I went with a 30" and as it turned out I would have had room for the 50" (oops). I only occasionally need more than 30" so it isn't really a problem but would be nice every now and then. I do use just under 30" regularly but again, that's me.

[George Carion]

I have a 50" fence in the single car bay of my garage. It takes up a lot of space, but the extra extension is nice. If you do end up getting 50" fence you'll need wheels. I keep my saw pretty close to a wall. When I'm sawing longer boards (4FTish) I'll just wheel it away from the wall far enough to have things work out.

Oh, and I intend to use the table extension as a router table in the near future. That'll save on space.

[Doug Shepard]

I've got a PM66 with the shorter rails and have really never felt I was missing anything with the long table and outrigger legs. I was trying to keep things around the same shop footprint as my previous contractror saw. It's a couple inches longer but shallower due to the motor not hanging out the back.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I have a General 650 with 32 inch rip capacity.

I would have liked to have the 50 inch, however I don't have room for it.

I think fence length will be more important to you, I have the 42 inch Bes, and the length allows you to rip longer pieces more accurately.


Regards, Rod.

[Eric Larsen]

I went with the 50" fence, mainly because the price was right. But also because I plan on building a workbench top.

http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com/Products.aspx?nav=ByPart&ClassID=332232&Part=1792018K

And while I'm at it, since space is a big concern in my one-garage-bay shop, I plan on adding storage underneath. That way I have a total Frankensaw.

While I like the idea of a router table built into the fence, I can see where it could also be a royal pain swapping between the two constantly. A stand-alone router table seems like a wise use of space for me.

[Danny Thompson]

I have a 50-incher in my garage shop and love it, but there hasn't been a car in there for years. I use it way down on the right for my router.

[frank shic]

And while I'm at it, since space is a big concern in my one-garage-bay shop, I plan on adding storage underneath. That way I have a total Frankensaw.


great name for a saw, BTW!

Frank

[Dan Lee]

I've got a 50" but probably 90% of my work could be accomplished with 30". I also like having the right side extension table with router mounted in it

[Prashun Patel]

It's a personal decision. Do you love the versatility of a larger fence more than you love the used floorspace?

I'm in the same boat as you. If I were you, I'd get the smaller fence. Then I'd get a good circ saw and make a knockdown cutting grid and straight edge guide for $20. That'll allow u to cut anything with a little setup.

I usually rough cut large panels with the circ saw and then true up the edges with the t-saw.

[Paul Johnstone]

My shop is in one bay of my garage, so its somewhat narrow. I could fit the Steel City with 50" fence in there (total width of saw and fence is 82 1/4") but it would certainly take up a lot of floor space and be kind of tight...is it worth it? Its only $50 more for the 50" fence as compared to 30".


To me, the wider fence is worth it. I have the wide Beismeyer fence, which is either 50 or 52.. It's really handy to have for a couple of reasons..
1. Crosscuting 1/4 thick plywood.. I would never attempt to crosscut a full sheet of 3/4 ply, but 1/4 inch plywood is light
enough that it is safe (IMO, at least). I often have to cut a 4' or 32" slice off.. Without the wider fence, that would have to be done with the circular saw.
2. Wider support for a crosscut sled, crosscuting longer pieces.
3. The extra width becomes a handy table.. When you have a cut that doesn't use the full width, you can temporarily put the radio, and random tools to the right of the fence.. although maybe this is a disadvantage :)
For $50 more, it is a total no brainer for me.. Sure, you can get by with a 30" fence, but the only reason to get something smaller than 50" (IMO) is if you absolutely can't fit it in the space. I have my the right side of my saw butted up against the wall, to minimize floor space used, although the trade off is I lose access to some wall space.
I think this arrangement is better than the traditional way of sticking the tablesaw in the middle of the shop.

[frank shic]

i should add that one of my main reasons for going with a shorter fence is so that i could have enough room for an exaktor sliding table - no need for circular saw/guide on those wide cuts any longer!

[Eric Larsen]

I've got a 50" but probably 90% of my work could be accomplished with 30". I also like having the right side extension table with router mounted in it


Eric the Threadjacker strikes again.

Is there really any downside to putting a router plate on your table extension? It'd save valuable shop space, that's for sure. I'm just setting up, and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of a standalone table vs. mounting it in the saw.

[Steven Wilson]

If you're considering an exaktor sliding table then do yourself a favor and look at a real slider. A typical sliding tablesaw (or euro combo) has a fairly small rip capacity but very decent capacity on the slider. Something like a MM Lab300 would be nice in a small, non-sheet good oriented shop. Then use a Festool setup for breaking down large sheet goods.

[Matt Meiser]

Eric, I simplified my shop quite a bit a year ago to make room for more hobbies. One of the things I did was move from stand-alone New Yankee Workshop inspired router table to one mounted in my extension table. I still need to come up with a dust solution for underneath, but I built a fence that clamps to my TS fence when I use it and that works out great. It did take a little getting use to using the table from a different position, but not bad at all. The only real drawback has been the new dings in my fence from sliding the fence right into a router bit when I went to use the TS and forgot to lower the bit first.

I use mine with the fence to the right of the router, which means I feed work past the router bit from the front of the saw to the back. Many of the commercial solutions have the fence to the left of the bit, so you feed stock back to front. That won't work if you have an overarm guard.

[glenn bradley]

Eric the Threadjacker strikes again.

Is there really any downside to putting a router plate on your table extension? It'd save valuable shop space, that's for sure. I'm just setting up, and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of a standalone table vs. mounting it in the saw.

There is no 'right' answer. I use an extension on the left of my left tilt saw as the motor cover protrudes out the right. More correctly; I prefer the router extension on the left and am glad I didn't have to move it to the right when I changed saws. You will hear from both camps.

I enjoy the increase in table surface allowed both tools when they are combined. As my left extension is still in place and my router extension continues to the left after that I rarely have to remove the router fence to use the saw if I'm working back and forth. The router fence is normally stored on hooks under the left wing between TS and RT. Perspective in the pic is a little odd. There is about 36" between TS blade and RT bit positions.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=54205&d=1167872143

[Stan Smith]

I have no problem in using the TS or router. In fact, I can just clamp my inca router fence to my jet ts fence. I do have to put on and take off the dc fitting and hose on the router though.

My Jet Unisaw is mounted on an HTC mobile base. I did add some shelves made from waferboard underneath so I guess that makes my setup a relative of the "Frankensaw."

As another pointed out, it is nice to have an extra large surface to use for various things and assembly.

[Dan Lee]

Eric the Threadjacker strikes again.

Is there really any downside to putting a router plate on your table extension? It'd save valuable shop space, that's for sure. I'm just setting up, and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of a standalone table vs. mounting it in the saw.

Like Glenn said I dont think there is a right or wrong. I've always had a 50" fence/extension table and to use space efficiently I've always had my router lift in the extension. I've also managed to squeeze a small dust collector for the saw and router under the table. I can't think of when saw/router combo has caused a conflict.

One thing I would like about a seperate cabinet is more convinient bit storage, I store my bits in a wall cabinet an arm or 2 reach from the table so its not to bad.

[Dick Sylvan]

I have a 30 and there are many times I've wished I had a 50.

Well for the last 10 years I've had a 30 inch as well, but have rarely needed anything larger. When I did, I always found that the circular saw could solve the problem. I much preferred the extra 20" of space.

[Cary Falk]

I thought 50" was too long and 30"" was to short. I bought a 50" and planned on cutting it down so I would have roughly 42 to the right. I ended up shifting the fence 12" to the left and now have 24L and 42R. It doesn't seem that big to me now that I did that. I love the extra room to put stuff.