50" vs. 30" Fence Choice

[Charlie Barnes]

Help me out folks! I'm going to be ordering a Powermatic PM2000 in the next few days and I'm stuck trying to decide between the 50" and 30" versions. I have a 2 car garage shop so space is a premium (actually park one car inside...sometimes). I'm upgrading from a contractor's saw with a 30" fence. I was initially thinking about going with the 50", but I've had my current saw for 17 years and never had a need to rip anything wider than 30". This will probably be the last saw that I buy, so my gut tells me to go ahead and get the 50". However, my head is reminding me that I'm space constrained and I've never needed the extra capacity.

Here's the question: Why should I buy the 50" version over the 30"?

Thanks.

[Vernon Taylor]

That extra capacity is nice and with that new saw you will find yourself taking on new projects. I believe that saw has a built in mobile base so that may make it easier to store.

[Dave Cohen]

I struggled with that question for a long time, and have a similar sized shop, when I came across a used JET cabinet saw with a 52" fence. I bought the saw and built a mobile base and a cabinet to sit under the extension table.

I think I'm actually more efficiently using the space in my shop now as compared to when I had the contractor's saw because of the cabinet (which BTW moves with the mobile base's rails). And I always have that rip capacity if I want it. Its a much more solid area to be working with sheets of plywood.

[Richard Dragin]

I like a larger fence and then incorporate a router table into the extension. A very effecient use of space.

[Mike Marcade]

If you can get a mobile base that works with the table legs it should give you the best of both worlds right?

[Pat Germain]

I put a 50" fence on my saw because that's what was available at Rockler. I found I could still store my saw against the wall of my garage. Since the extension table hangs over stuff on the floor, it made no difference. The extra capacity has come in very handy for sheet goods. It's also nice to just move the fence out of the way for mose crosscuts instead of having to remove it.

[Charlie Barnes]

Thanks for the advice guys. I kind of suspected that the recommendation for 50" would win out, but it's always good to cross check once in a while.

However, the mention of an integrated router table muddies the water since this too is a secondary option that I had been also considering. I currently have a separate router table that I'm able to store under part of my old workbench, so I think I'm going to pass on the integrated one for now...unless I can be persuaded otherwise!

Thanks again.