Replies

1. 
   rslatm | Aug 28, 2002 07:13pm | #1

   Did you check the archives? Generally a beat to death topic on all forums. No right or wrong answer. Whatever you are comfortable with or used to seems to be the general consensus. One of each would be a simple solution.

1. 
   bobpowers | Aug 29, 2002 02:58am | #3

   Maybe it's been beaten to death, but the reason I purchased a left tilt Unisaw has not, I believe, been mentioned.  My shop, at the time, was in my basement.  Ceiling height was just under 7 feet.  I had very few places to put ducts for the dust collector.  The duct for the saw was to the left of the only spot I could locate my table saw.  Since the dust collection port was on the left side of the left tilt saw, I had no other choice. 

   So there really is no end to these threads, is there?

1. 
   tschmaling | Aug 29, 2002 06:17am | #4

   someone made an interesting point way back, and i don't have a lefty to check it. when you tilt a righty, the arbor flange is positioned, and the trunnions are engineered to pivot around the imaginary axis of where the right side of the blade meets the level of the tabletop. thus, no matter how thick your blade, or even if you have a dado stacked in there, the fence always reads the true measurement to the end of whatever you cut off. with a lefty, the flange is on the other side, and thus as soon as you have a thicker blade or a dado stack, the distance of the right side of the blade to the fence is varied, and then math gets involved.... we all know what happens when math gets involved... lol

   here's my take... if the above is true (again, i have no access to examine the theory), then the left tilt isn't for me. as soon as the machine is making you rethink things for something so routine as tilting the blade, then it becomes less of a tool, and more of a hindrance (what is a tool but something to make a process easier?). people have been using right-tilt forever, and with the proper preventative measures, accidents can be avoided. at least they have been in my garage so far...

   but that's just my opinion, i could be wrong.

1. 
   bobpowers | Aug 29, 2002 07:13pm | #5

   You may well be right.  However, in the four years I have had my Unisaw, either my measurements are so inaccurate in the first place or I compensated in some other way and can't tell the difference..  The only time my fence markers are wrong typically is when I switch from a thin kerf to a regular blade.

1. 
   tschmaling | Aug 29, 2002 08:42pm | #6

   now my inexperience will show when i ask if thin kerf blades make a difference on a right-tilt, also. thinking about it, i would imagine it may just a hair, but to what extent i'm clueless. have you ever tried a stacked dado? that would probably be the best test.

   my roomate just picked up a dayton left-tilt saw, so we'll see how he likes it!

   Edited 8/29/2002 1:45:47 PM ET by tschmaling

2. 
   PaulGeer1 | Aug 29, 2002 08:59pm | #7

   We're using a left tilt TS now in our shop and you are right a stacked dado is closer to the fence depending on the number of chippers installed, making fence rule inaccurate. I'm still getting use to it!

   Paul

   Edited 8/29/2002 2:04:58 PM ET by PAULGEER1

3. 
   bobpowers | Aug 29, 2002 09:21pm | #8

   If the arbor and washer are in a fixed position, such as in the 90 degree setting, any change in thickness as in blades, number of chippers, etc., is reflected in the distance to the fence.  I have my rule set to the thickness of the regular blade that I use most of the time.  When I install my thin-kerf blade, I put a red sticker on the blade guard to remind me of the difference I must add.  If I use a dado set, I measure every time.

   Regards,

   Bob

2. 
   vacabby | Aug 29, 2002 02:55am | #2

   I have used a Delta for nearly twenty years with a right tilt.   I just purchased a new Grizzly left tilt and am very impressed with it.   I like the idea of the waste not being  trapped between the blade and the fence.   On smaller stock I have done the opposite for years by placing the fence to the left of the blade for that purpose.   I does boil down to personal preference however.   Happy woodworking whatever your choice.