Thread: Which tilt side for a table saw?

In the US most saws are used with a sled in the groove on the left of the saw and their saws tilt left and you cut mitres with the material against the fence. In Europe most of the saws use a sliding table which rides close to the blade and their saws tilt to the right, their mitres are cut on the table. The US ones that have a sliding table are usually an addition to a 'normal' saw and are a distance from the blade.

As to which is better depends on what you are used to, both camps claim that their system is the right one.

Having had both in a production environment that spent all day cutting panels for loud speaker production I found that the right tilting blade with the fence near you (Wadkin 4 ft stroke) was the most comfortable for crosscutting panels, with the fence on the far side (Altendorf 8 ft stroke) better for ripping full sized sheets.

I never warmed to the idea of using a sled and prefered to do all of that type of operation on the Wadkin.

So it really depends on what type of work you intend to use the saw for and how much room (and money) you have.

Advantage of left tilting is that the good face of the material being cut is on top and so less chance of marring the surface and any tear out will be on the inside face. The blade also faces away from the fence which is safer (unless you put the fence on the left of the blade, which some with right tilting do).

A cabinet or hybrid saw will always be the better choice than a contractors saw. The motor is connected to a trunion that is not attached to the table. This means you will have a much easier experience setting up the saw and will stay that way for a very long time. Setting up the blade parallel to the mitre slots and then the fence parallel to the mitre slots will be far easier and more accurate than with a contractors saw. Fine woodworkers in 99% cases will have cabinet saws not contractors saws which were built......well for contractors in the field!!

Cast iron will always be the better choice to pressed steel. Pressed steel will have more chances of being slightly warped and harder to level with the main cast iron table. Lighter definitely does not mean better when it comes to stationery tools.

A good quality (Beismer) T-square fence with beefy front rail is the way to go if you want accuracy and consistency. Just look at the high end cabinet saws and their fences.

At the end of the day if something is cheap it will also, by default, usually mean compromise somewhere and that usually means reduction in quality and accuracy.

cheers

1. For a conventional table saw (i.e. without a Format type sliding table), left tilt is better; in my opinion. I've owned both.

I now have a Minimax combination machine with a sliding table. I prefer the saw function of this machine but I recognise that a conventional table saw still has its advantages; price not being the least significant!

2. The rear rail should only be there to support the wings. Do not buy a saw with a "double locking" fence. Nobody has ever made a good one. They are guaranteed to frustrate you. The T-square type of fence is more than strong enough.

3. The hybrid saw is better than a contractor type saw, for a lot of reasons. The cabinet type saw with trunnions not attached to the top are best of the three. The trunnions are heavier for a start.

4. Light weight is a definite advantage if you have to be mobile. However, more mass has its advantages too. With an appropriate mobile base, mobility is not really an issue.

Thanks for the responses guys. It's great to hear from those with experience.