Tablesaw rail question

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OK I have been saw shopping. Hopefully around the first of the year, a new model will adorn the shop.

Why would a person want 50" plus rails? I have put all the thinking into it I can and cannot come up with a reason to get them. Like I have room anyways.
 
You don't need long rails... but they make it easier to cut sheet goods if you were doing a lot of cabinet work. That space is also a very handy 'table' area.
 
I've got both Short and long Rails. I've got the short ones on now.

My problem is the short ones are too short and the long ones are too long!:rofl:

Didn't really have enough room in the shop and I removed the long rails during my last re-org.

I have the short ones on now and while they are handling a lot of the work, there were a few times I would have liked some more length.
 
If you can fit them go for them. I have the pioneer 3hp cabinet saw with the 50" biesmier style fence. I added the Excalibur 65" sliding table. In order to fit that on there the instructions said to cut the rail to the left of the saw. Instead I re drilled the rails and shifted them further to the right giving me about 60 inches to the right of the saw. Having the sliding table allows me to cross cut sheet goods but I also have almost 5 feet to the right of the blade and I set up a stop block on the fence to make my cuts. You would be amazed how often I am trying to get that last 32nd out of the fence.
 
Steve i think this is a question of are you a "production type shop" where your saw is going to have lots of space and an in and outfeed table and dedicated to a single location.

Answer for me is no to all of the above. I need mobility. Short rails makes mobility easy.

Want to cut sheets down use a saw horse and flat sheet of solid pink insulation and good old circular saw. Way safer and space saving for the amount i cut a huge 4x8 sheet.

If i were a cabinet shop i would either build a panel saw or buy one. So it would still be a circular saw except hanging against the wall.

I would think if you gonna plan on using really long rails and cutting sheetgoods on a table saw what would need to go with it is a sliding table on one side to no?:dunno:

My view would be to put the money into the saw rather than the extra rails.:)
 
I don't think its a matter of what everyone else has for fence rail length but what and how you intend to do with your table saw. Just think back on the projects you have built and see how many times you needed more than a 36" crosscut.

I grew up with a 50" crosscut capacity and in the shops I worked in it was a regular thing to crosscut pieces up to 48" wide for cabinet bottoms. The first saw loml bought for me after we moved to Texas only had a 36" crosscut capacity and I couldn't stand it. I ended up moving my fence rails to the right to get that extra capacity. It serves 2 functions now cause she also bought me a second fence for the saw that I use for the router thats mounted on the right side. Right now my saw is only 14" wider than a saw with 36" crosscut capacity.:wave:
 
Alan & Rob, I have went over and over in my head about what I have cut. 34 1/2" is about max. That is why I am thinking 36" I was/ am looking for that thing I might have overlooked. So far, I haven't overlooked anything.
 
How tall are the end cheeks on a base cabinet? Seems to me that my Dad had his saw set up to rip up to 37" for this reason & you can scoot most rails that much. I think it's just a bit more than needed. I actually moved my long rails to the left a bit because my Unisaw is a right tilt & I wanted to be able to place the fence to the left of the blade for a bevel cut. I can go left about 24". If I remember right I have 40" some inch's to the right of the blade yet.
 
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I like the longer rails, but then I do sheet goods a lot. To me, it is easier and safer to have both hands on the larger part of the sheet when cutting, and push it right past the blade. Harder to control a large part of the sheet to the left of the blade after the cut exits the wood. It's just too heavy. And like Kirk said, when not needed, it's a great place to stage smaller pieces being cut, and after the cut. Gives a place for a larger under table cabinet to hold all of the table saw necessities. And if you want a router in the TS extension, lots of space for that without interrupting your sawing needs. BUT, if you don't have room for the bigger table, all of the pluses I've mentioned are worthless. You have to have room to get around.
I have the 50" rails, then I've moved them to the right so I have a full 65" to the right of the blade...nothing to the left. That suits me just fine. Yes, I did have to build a bigger table to replace the factory one. :thumb: Jim.
 
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