Popular Woodworking 2003-11 № 137, страница 16

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Q & A

Left-tilt Table Saws: Are They Just Hype?

Is There Any Reason to Buy a Left-tilt Table Saw Instead of a Right-tilt One?

I'm finally taking the plunge and getting a table saw and have noticed many of the higher-end saws offer a left-tilt version.

What are the major advantages/disadvantages of a blade that tilts left instead of right? I assume there is a big safety advantage because the blade will tilt away from the fence, right?

Jay Oppenheim Columbia, South Carolina

Tilting the blade away from the fence is one advantage, but it actually presents itself as a safer way to work because of where your waste piece falls when making a cut with the blade at an angle. When using the rip fence (and working on the left of the fence) to make a bevel cut, a left-tilt saw will allow the waste to fall below the blade, while a right-tilt saw will leave the waste resting on top of the blade, where it could get thrown back at you.

Another advantage of left-tilt saws comes when ripping bevels on two edges of your material. With a left-tilt saw, the rip will be

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more accurate because the point of your bevel won't slip under your rip fence.

That said, when you use your miter gauge on the left side with the blade beveled, the situations are reversed, with the right-tilt saw being safer.

In all honesty, with the newest rip fences (the Biesemeyer-style, as well as the Unifence) available on almost every table saw, you can work from either side of the rip fence, though the rip capacity with your fence on the left side is usually limited to about 12".

What it all really comes down to for me is that I'm right-handed, which means that it's easier for me to change the arbor nut on a left-tilt saw than on a right-tilt.

— David Thiel, senior editor

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Popular Woodworking November 2003