i'm thinking very seriously about upgrading my slider to get a few big features that i don't have on my current slider. it's a big investment, but i think it would pay off over the long term. the length of the slider would remain consistent (10') as it's fine for me, and fits in my shop. but, the rip capacity requires some thought, and that's where i'd like to solicit feedback.
on my current slider, i have ~52" or so of capacity, but, the rip fence doesn't easily come off and get out of the way. so, the capacity needs to be that big, because i often have to shove the fence all the way over to ensure the piece i'm cutting clears the fence. with the new saw, i'm seriously thinking about a dramatically smaller rip capacity (33"), mainly because with this saw, the rip fence rolls off the end of the table and disappears below it. so, it's out of the way of the cut.
the smaller rip capacity means a smaller overall footprint on the machine, which, in my case is actually very helpful. but, of course, i'm banking on the fact that i rarely cut stock on the right of the blade that's wide, and rather, do the wide cuts on the slider side.
i have options here as these are made to order - i can increase the rip capacity, but, it increases the footprint. the smaller, the better. i would appreciate opinions of those with similar industrial-size saws. thanks in advance.
--- dz