36 or 52 inch rails?

[Dave Chrudimsky]

So, the original plan was to get the SawStop with 52 inch rails, because it's bigger than the 36 inch rail version :). However, after attempting to fit it into my plans for an almost 20x20 shop, it occurred to me that maybe a smaller saw would be advisable. For solid wood furniture, I'm guessing that 36 inches would be fine. I am planning, however, to build some built in cabinets in our new house, and am wondering how many times I will want to cut beyond that 36 inch capacity. Can I get insight from others as to how often a person would use the whole 52 inch capacity, as well as on what types of projects that occurs?

Thanks for allowing the open ended question!

-chrud

[Greg Heppeard]

If you have a good straight edge and skill saw, you can make cuts over 30" with that. I have a 30" fence due to small shop and do just fine with it.

[Chris Padilla]

Go 36" and used a guided circular saw system (GCSS) to break down plywood bigger than that. Festool and EZ are two excellent systems to consider.

Build a nice crosscut sled for your TS.

20x20 isn't a very large shop and those 52" rails can get mighty unwieldy in a place where I assume all your things are on wheels? If you could weld your TS to the floor in one spot, then I'd consider the longer rails. For mobility, they can be cumbersome.

[Hank Knight]

Dave,

My shop is small: 17 X 23. I got a deal on a Unisaw with a 52" fence I couldn't pass up. It fits in my shop just fine, but I find that I almost never use the full 52" capacity - or even half of it. I end up stacking cut-offs and parts on the unused end of the saw table (probably not a good practice). I love the saw, so I haven't taken the step of cutting the table and rail down. If truth be told, however, I could probably use the space more than the saw capacity.

My $.02

Hank

P.S. Chris is right about the mobility issue. Don't think you're going to push a saw with a 52" fence around easily. Mine is on wheels but I hate having to move it. In my small shop, it's the 800 pound gorilla and it stays in one place.

[Tom Veatch]

...Can I get insight from others as to how often a person would use the whole 52 inch capacity, as well as on what types of projects that occurs?...

I'll second what Hank said. I have the long rails on my Jet. In about 6 years of ownership, much of that time in a 16'x24' shop, the fence may occassionally have been moved beyond the 30" mark. But, if so, it's so rare that I don't remember it. Most of the time, the far right end of the table is simply a convenient horizontal surface to cover with cutoffs, etc, or use as an assembly table.

Much better to disassemble the large sheets into more manageable size with a panel saw or circular saw/straight edge.

[John Thompson]

With the other guys as what little sheet goods I use get cut down with a circular and Pro-grip clamp. I have room for the 52".. but 95% of what I do is rip with tenoning, etc. Even though it would fit... I intentionally got the 30" as that is room that could be used for something else.

Sarge..

[Shawn Walker]

I got the 52in. rails on mine. I regularly use the extra length. I know I would be disappointed if I had went with the 30in.

[Roger Bull]

Dave,

I have the 52" rails on mine and do use the length once in a while. When I need it, I am glad I have it. Otherwise it does make good place to put things temporarily so is rarely cleaned off. :rolleyes:

Also, I have the SawStop mobile base (new) and love it. It is very easy to move the saw and is probably the best base out there. A couple pumps of the hydraulic footpedal and everything is lifted off the floor.

-Roger

[Grant Lasson]

I have 52" in a 3-car garage. It's constantly in the road. I never use the extra capacity as I mostly work on solid hardwood creations and I wouldn't want to maneuver a sheet of plywood onto the TS. (The circular saw and the fence is the way to go.)

Strangely, I'm not cutting it shorter any time soon. Does that mean something?

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have a Jet cabinet saw with 52" rails. I used the capacity fairly frequently cutting 4X8 sheet goods. Now that I have a guided circular saw system, I don't cut large sheets on the table saw. The other time I use the rail capacity is making dado cuts in long sides of bookcases. If I have a bunch of dado cuts to make that are all positioned at the same place on the material, using a setup with a short fence and making the cuts with a miter gauge is faster than using the router on a guide rail. If I were buying a saw today, I would get the smaller rails.

[keith ouellette]

I have an 18' wide shop and have 52" rails. It fits fine. Sometimes I wish I had the 72" rails but I have interest in building cabinets and book cases. I cut down my sheet goods with a circular saw and then square/clean up the cuts on the table saw.

If I was only interested in building furniture I wouldn't care about the extra capacity.

[Cary Falk]

I have a 52" rail on my unisaw. I was orginally going to cut it down but ended up shifting it to the left so I have 24" on the left and 42" on the right. I use the 30-40" length pretty often. It also makes a handy table. I have my saw on a mobile base and find it pretty easy to move. I move it pretty often because I share my 3 car garage with cars.

[Greg Muller]

I have 52" rails and love it. The far right also has a router lift built in. If I'm not using it for long cuts, I'm using it for routing. If I'm not using it for routing, I'm using it as a staging area for assembly.

I had the 30", but wished for 52" for years and finally got it.

I actually have two shop areas, one for large power tools (TS, jointer, planer, DC, mortiser, sliding miter saw, and band saw, etc) and the other for sharpening, glue-ups, finishing, etc... The TS is in a small area, but I would never trade away size for mobility.

Some people think size matters, some don't... I just know that Jessica Simpson is popular, and it ain't for her singing...:rolleyes:

Greg

[Victor Stearns]

I have the 52" rails on my TS. I would not down size to the 30". While many have a good point in that you do not need the 52" capacity, it only takes once or twice to really appreciate them. My TS is in a very crowded three car shop. I did put my TS on wheels and moving it is very easy. Given the chance, go for 52.
Victor

[Anthony Anderson]

I was in the same boat as you. Although, I wish I had your problem of the shop only being 20x20. My shop is 12x23 with an 8x12 "L" extension at one end. I was going to go with the 36" fence, due to space limitations, but at the last minute I changed my mind and went ahead with the 52" version and 5hp. I am glad I did. I have used the extra fence capacity on more than one occassion and when I am not using it the fence table board doubles as an assembly table\workbench. I would have definately kicked myself if I didn't get the 52" fence. It is not as big an intrusion as it would seem, actually only 16" extra. The key is organizing the work flow. I did that the best I could and the SawStop with the 52" fence fits fine. Would I like to have a bigger shop? You bet, but the 52" fence can\will work in a smaller space. Good Luck and enjoy your SawStop. Regards, Bill

[Michael Lutz]

When I bought my PM 66 I decided to go with the 52" fence. I have a 17' x 23' shop with a staircase and mechanical equipment. I have it on a mobile base and jockey it around from time to time. I put the right extension table against the wall. I have my RAS on a mobile stand in front of the table that can help on the infeed side for wide boards or can be moved out of the way for working on the router table mounted in the right extension. I also use the TS as an assembly/glueup table where the extra width helps.

Mike

[gary Zimmel]

I have a unisaw with 52" rails. I don't have an issue with space so for me it was an easy choice to go 52". I don't go past 30' every day, but when I'm doing the final cutting on say a table top or building more cabinets for the shop it sure is nice to have the extra lenght.
If I uprade my TS it will have 52" rails again.

[Brian Penning]

What am I missing here? If you have a good outfeed table can't you simply have the offcut side against the fence(add the blade width)? Within reason of course.
I mean you're not going to put a 1" offcut side against the fence with a 4' wide sheet, but 10-12" against the fence isn't a problem. Again, that's with a good sized outfeed table.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/Bri68/Miscilaneous/IMG_3216.jpg?t=1201604219

[Fred Craven]

This is a perennial question. When I got my saw, I opted for the longer rails. It seemed like a good idea at the time. but now... the saw just takes up too much space. (in my case the rails are actually quite removable, but I'm usually too lazy to do that)The only reason to have such capacity seems to be to cut down sheet goods. But for that a panel saw or a guide system is a heck of a lot safer. Now that I have a festool system, I don't plan on doing that again.:D

I am constantly tempted to cut off a portion of my rails so as to make my saw easier to move around, and take up less space. But I have resisted the idea. But I'm pretty sure I'll shorten them one of these days.

[Al Willits]

Have the shorter, wish I had the longer.

In fact been thinking of picking up the 52" rails or seeing if someone wants to trade, been enough times I was short that I will go longer sooner or later.

Besides, like mentioned, it makes a good router/staging area.

I'd measure and see how the longer rails will work in your case.

Al