Can the rear rail on a SawStop be removed?

[tim walker]

52" Cabinet saw. It really serves no purpose that I can see and it would allow my out feed table to get closer, Thanks.

[Andrew More]

What are you using for an insert? One mine it holds the mdf table onto the rest of the saw.

[Jonathan Jung]

Like Andrew says, the rails help attach the melamine table off to the right of the cast-iron. I kept the rail on the back side and used it to support that edge of the outfeed table I made.

[Jim Becker]

What Johnathan said is how I've handled this in the past. If an outfeed solution is "free standing" the way around having a gap is to overhang the outfeed top so it carries over the saw's rear rail.

[Frank Pratt]

I use that gap to catch all kinds of debris that I have to clean out

[Michael Dean]

The rails are also important in supporting the two bolt on wings. Without the rails, you would be relying only on the bolts used between the wing and the main table casting to support the wings. Removing the rail will add stresses to the wings they weren't designed for, possibly causing warps and alignment issues in the years to come. It seems there are much better ways to reduce gap between the saw and an out-feed table than removing the rail. With only a 2" gap between the saw and the outfeed, there's no structural difference in the way the work piece will be supported. The difference is just the way it looks. If that is important to you, simply design your table will some overhang on the tablesaw side. If the outfeed is already built simply dimension a piece of wood that attaches to the top of the rail to close the gap. Paint/stain it to get the look you want.

[John Lanciani]

The rails are also important in supporting the two bolt on wings. Without the rails, you would be relying only on the bolts used between the wing and the main table casting to support the wings. Removing the rail will add stresses to the wings they weren't designed for, possibly causing warps and alignment issues in the years to come.

Countless thousands of Delta, Powermatic, etc. table saws and shapers with wings only supported by the mounting bolts from the wings into the side of the main tables. Well within the design parameters to be supported that way without need of external reinforcement.

[tim walker]

Thanks all. Outfeed table is completed sans painting. I took in to account overhang for for the dust ports but not the angle iron on the back. Suppose I will just build a permeant filler for it to close the gap. Thanks for the feedback.

[Jim Dwight]

Tim,

i also built a filler table like others suggest but I didn't always have it. I found making my outfeed table about 1/4 inch lower than my table saw surface minimized the need for continuous support. But occasionally a bowed board acts up if it is unsupported.

I'm also sure there are other ways to support the side wing of the saw and the extension table but I challenge whether they will be as sturdy or as well aligned. The rear rails is attached during assembly so it can be detached but then you have to come up with another way to support the top. Far easier to make a little filler table.

Jim

[Doug Garson]

Don't fill the gap, it is actually an advantage to have a small gap so you can reach around (not over) the blade and pick up the workpiece after a rip cut more easily rather than having to walk around.