Table saw fence?

[trackman]

When watching woodworking shows on TV I see the table saw fence is on the right side of the blade.  I have always used mine on the left side.  Does it matter?

[NC Scroller]

I have also used mine on the right BUT I have what they call a right tilt saw.  My understanding is the fense should be in the opposite side that the band tilts.  

[Brianr24]

Mine can be used on either side but on the right side gives much more room 36 inches I think. I think the left is about 12.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Brianr24

[kmmcrafts]

My table saw has a little more space on the left than the right... but I use the right more often than not because that is what is more comfortable for me to do.. I've done cuts on either side.. and the left side is just awkward for me... so I hope I'm not supposed to be using it on the left.. Maybe I have a left handed table saw LOL..

 

I don't have a lot of experience it using table saws soo I'm looking forward to what the experts have to say on this... as I've always kind of wondered myself...

[tomsteve]

1 hour ago, trackman said:

When watching woodworking shows on TV I see the table saw fence is on the right side of the blade.  I have always used mine on the left side.  Does it matter?

welp, if ya have to make a 30" rip and dont have 30" of fence on the left side but 30" on the right,it might matter.

 

[Scrappile]

I think it matters when doing a angle cut (blade at an angle other than 90 deg).  I have most always had the fence on the right the miter gauge I use on the left.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Scrappile

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Well another tablesaw question. I love these. As most people have mentioned the big thing is more room on one side of the blade than another. This could mean a big difference when cutting large stock. But the rule basically is the fence should be on the side of your dominant hand. If you are right handed then right side of blade. You always push the wood with dominant hand for best control.. remember you not only are pushing ahead but also keeping the wood riding against the fence. You always use a push stick closes to the fence for control. Now here are a couple of instances where this does not hold true. Tilt of the blade----- Never tilt a blade into a fence, always away. You do not want to trap the scrap piece of wood between fence and blade this leads to all kinds of trouble mainly kick back. So you like me will have to put fence on opposite side of blade because like me I have a right tilt saw. It maybe awkward when cutting but this is where your kean senses take over and all safety measures are needed to be followed( always at all times too) I still use push stick with right hand and just let the piece fall away on the other side.

Now another thing comes up and I do it on my saw so I must be aware of it when I switch. Most books and instructions for fences tell you to align the fence with the blade front and back. But in the older books the method was to align the back of the fence about the width of a dollar bill folded in half away from the blade. The idea and it makes sense is to avoid pinching and thus burning of wood when ripping. You relieve the tension some in the back side. If your saw has some degree of runout this shows up more so than people realize and they can not figure out why they are burning edges. f your saw was setup this way this can become an issue  when switching sides with the fence. My fence is easily setable so not much effort for me. 

Also if you are switching the fence from one side of the blade to the other the fence needs to be parallel with the blade of slightly adjusted as I mentioned. Just because it is done that way on one side does not mean that fence is true and the same only reverse happens on other side. Always good to check with reference to the blade. So not a cut and dry answer as you see. There is some knowledge needed when doing this. It becomes second nature if you do it alot. Now if you have a left tilt blade you are golden and I hate you......

[Scrappile]

Well you wouldn't hate me if I were left handed would you?  I'm not, by the way... Good input John.

[Woodmaster1]

I use the fence on the right side 99% of the time. I have 16" on the left and 55" on the right. Probably habit and ripping plywood keeps the fence on the right.

[trackman]

 Very interesting about having fence on your dominant side. I am right handed but somethings I do left handed.  On railroad I would use a spike mull to drive spikes left handed.  I have put the fence on the right side of the table saw to try and it just didn’t feel right. More comfortable to me on left side. As my artist wife always says “it depends “ LOL

[trackman]

Just checked out my saw and the blade is in the middle of table so it wouldn’t make any difference on table space.  Also the blade tilts to the left. So when I cut angles will have to move to right. 

[Chiloquinruss]

I have a cabinet table saw and the fence has a scale marker that is aligned to the table edge, therefore on my particular machine the fence is on the right to match the fence to the numerical scale.  Russ

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

37 minutes ago, Chiloquinruss said:

I have a cabinet table saw and the fence has a scale marker that is aligned to the table edge, therefore on my particular machine the fence is on the right to match the fence to the numerical scale.  Russ

When buying aftermarket fences you can get a right hand or left hand fence where the markers are printed on the rails or a tape is added. Most cabinet saws tilt left.

[WayneMahler]

Mine is a left tilt. I go by that. I think this is  all dependent on the saw you have.  

[tomsteve]

13 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

 

 Most books and instructions for fences tell you to align the fence with the blade front and back. But in the older books the method was to align the back of the fence about the width of a dollar bill folded in half away from the blade. The idea and it makes sense is to avoid pinching and thus burning of wood when ripping. You relieve the tension some in the back side.

wise to make sure the blade is aligned to the miter slot,too.

 

[MrsN]

I heard once that using the fence on the left side of the blade was a European method. I have no idea if there is truth to that.

Edited October 3, 2018 by MrsN

[Bill WIlson]

Just a sidebar observation, but most woodworking/DIY shows demonstrate poor practice when it comes to using the table saw.  You will almost never see a blade guard installed on a TV table saw.  Some are better than others when it comes to showing proper techniques and set-ups, but I cringe when I watch some of them.  I know the claim would be that the guard obscures the camera's view of the actual cut, but I think it's more important to always show the guard installed during operation.

[new2woodwrk]

I've asked this question in other forums quite a while back.

The responses I got were very similar to the ones posted here.

I use mine primarily on the right side of the blade - because I have quite a bit more room on the right side of my saw a Delta 36-725 contractors saw - which I absolutely am happy with  - had a craftsman and upgraded.

The delta has an extended side on the right side of the saw so it feels "natural" for the fence to be there normally.

I do sometimes move the fence to the opposite side of the blade for specific cuts such as bevel cuts near the end of a board because my blade tilts right. Rather than flip the board and run the risk of tear out it make sense to cut from the opposite side

HOWEVER!

One issue is that my cuts are never 100% at a 90 or any degree - there is always a slight off cut - usually it's about 1/64 off every 24 inches. This is due to fence alignment, blade alignment and previous cuts. I have no problem with the 1/64" over 24 inches for myself and the work I do.

When I move the fence to the other side, I have to compensate for that measurement or just do a little extra sanding or trimming on the piece depending what I'm making

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

16 minutes ago, new2woodwrk said:

I've asked this question in other forums quite a while back.

The responses I got were very similar to the ones posted here.

I use mine primarily on the right side of the blade - because I have quite a bit more room on the right side of my saw a Delta 36-725 contractors saw - which I absolutely am happy with  - had a craftsman and upgraded.

The delta has an extended side on the right side of the saw so it feels "natural" for the fence to be there normally.

I do sometimes move the fence to the opposite side of the blade for specific cuts such as bevel cuts near the end of a board because my blade tilts right. Rather than flip the board and run the risk of tear out it make sense to cut from the opposite side

HOWEVER!

One issue is that my cuts are never 100% at a 90 or any degree - there is always a slight off cut - usually it's about 1/64 off every 24 inches. This is due to fence alignment, blade alignment and previous cuts. I have no problem with the 1/64" over 24 inches for myself and the work I do.

When I move the fence to the other side, I have to compensate for that measurement or just do a little extra sanding or trimming on the piece depending what I'm making

 

Not sure what you mean in that statement about not 100%. It is always a good idea to check that the blade is 90 degrees to the table top and the easiest way to do this is use a draftsman square. I have several of different size and angles and I rely on those alot for accuracy. Just make sure any time you check for blade tilt that the square is resting on the plate of the saw blade and not on a tooth. Also it is laying flat on the table and not on the throat plate which may be set a few fractions below the table and may not be level on all 4 corners. 

A fence should be dialed in on both the front and back edge to the blade and not the miter slots. As I mentioned I keep the back of my fence canted away from the back of the blade about the thickness of a dollar bill folded in half. Works for me. I then have to take this in consideration if I flip the fence to other side or else the wood will now be pinched on the back side of the blade and that is never good. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, tomsteve said:

 

Tom you are correct. In fact that is where you start when tuning a tablesaw. The miter slots are the most constant thing or measurement on a tablesaw. They are machined with accuracy for depth and straightness or else a miter gauge would not push smoothly through them. Now the blade is set to match the miter slot for straightness. This is done by one of 2 ways. Moving the whole table top (cabinet and some hybrids ) or by moving the trunnions holding the blade mount. (contractors saw) Need to loosen both front and back trunnions here to set properly. There are many specific tools and gauges to do this but a simple block of wood can do the same thing. I can go into detail how this is done if anyone needs to do this and not sure how. In the end you want the front tooth of the blade to be the exact same distance away from the miter slot edge as the back tooth. 

Now you want the miter gauge to match this set up. I never go by those markings on the gauge or detents if your gauge has them. Now on better gauges you can set the gauge to be accurate. Again I use my draftsman squares when setting the moter gauge to the blade. A good 90 degree square works well as does a 45 degree or 30 degree square.

Now the fence is dialed in to the blade.

Will warn you if your saw has any runout in the blade arbor or the blade itself than all measurements will be affected. Happy sawing. 

[OCtoolguy]

17 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Well another tablesaw question. I love these. As most people have mentioned the big thing is more room on one side of the blade than another. This could mean a big difference when cutting large stock. But the rule basically is the fence should be on the side of your dominant hand. If you are right handed then right side of blade. You always push the wood with dominant hand for best control.. remember you not only are pushing ahead but also keeping the wood riding against the fence. You always use a push stick closes to the fence for control. Now here are a couple of instances where this does not hold true. Tilt of the blade----- Never tilt a blade into a fence, always away. You do not want to trap the scrap piece of wood between fence and blade this leads to all kinds of trouble mainly kick back. So you like me will have to put fence on opposite side of blade because like me I have a right tilt saw. It maybe awkward when cutting but this is where your kean senses take over and all safety measures are needed to be followed( always at all times too) I still use push stick with right hand and just let the piece fall away on the other side.

Now another thing comes up and I do it on my saw so I must be aware of it when I switch. Most books and instructions for fences tell you to align the fence with the blade front and back. But in the older books the method was to align the back of the fence about the width of a dollar bill folded in half away from the blade. The idea and it makes sense is to avoid pinching and thus burning of wood when ripping. You relieve the tension some in the back side. If your saw has some degree of runout this shows up more so than people realize and they can not figure out why they are burning edges. f your saw was setup this way this can become an issue  when switching sides with the fence. My fence is easily setable so not much effort for me. 

Also if you are switching the fence from one side of the blade to the other the fence needs to be parallel with the blade of slightly adjusted as I mentioned. Just because it is done that way on one side does not mean that fence is true and the same only reverse happens on other side. Always good to check with reference to the blade. So not a cut and dry answer as you see. There is some knowledge needed when doing this. It becomes second nature if you do it alot. Now if you have a left tilt blade you are golden and I hate you......

I am somewhat ambidextrous so I am able to use my fence from either side. But, my preference is having the fence to the right side of the blade. My saw is a left tilt so the blade tilts away from the fence. I always try to keep the fence adjusted as you said and it has always worked out. The one thing that I do that many others don't do is.....I removed the guard(s). I don't believe in guards. I think folks put too much faith in them. Without a guard, I MUST think about what I'm doing and pay close attention. I also don't use the riving knife because it's a pain in the rear end. It would be really nice if the mfgrs. would make a riving knife that just snaps in place so that it can be easily removed/installed. In my case, it's held in place with two small bolts. So, it remains in the drawer of my toolbox. Along with the guard. Just my way of doing it.

[Bill WIlson]

45 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

.... The one thing that I do that many others don't do is.....I removed the guard(s). I don't believe in guards. I think folks put too much faith in them. Without a guard, I MUST think about what I'm doing and pay close attention. I also don't use the riving knife because it's a pain in the rear end.

While I can relate to what you say and there was a time when I did very much the same thing, I have to strongly disagree with the philosophy.  The guard is a physical obstacle between the blade and your hand.  It's your last line of defense, (unless you have a SawStop).  Most table saw accidents occur in the blink of an eye.  Often the victim doesn't even know exactly what happened.  Having a guard covering the spinning blade can mean the difference between a bad scare and a visit to the ER and perhaps even permanent disability.  Trust me, it isn't worth it.  The riving knife or splitter works to prevent binding, which is a common cause of kickback.  Removing both seems like you are asking for trouble.  I respectfully encourage you and all others to either learn how to live with the guard and splitter on your saw or upgrade to something more functional for you.  The woodworking forums are full of guys who used a table saw for years without the safety devices, with no problems.  Then one day, disaster strikes.  Please reconsider your current methodology.

OK, I'm climbing down off of my soapbox now.  You may resume your regularly scheduled programming. 

[Rockytime]

My riving knife and blade guard are in a land-fill somewhere. Removing them were the first thing I did with my saw. I am not recommending this but for myself it is OK.

[rjweb]

Rocky, the riving knife is to help and prevent kick back, RJ 

[OCtoolguy]

39 minutes ago, Rockytime said:

My riving knife and blade guard are in a land-fill somewhere. Removing them were the first thing I did with my saw. I am not recommending this but for myself it is OK.

I fully understand what Bill said but, like you, my first table saw, bought used, was a 12" commercial Craftsman. It had been used by a home builder. He had tossed both items also. I learned to work without either and I also learned RESPECT for my saw. I have seen what it can do. My neighbor used both on his saw and still managed to nip the ends off 3 of his fingers. I take guards off of every too I have that came with them. I also figure out a way around trigger locks. Sorry Bill, but that's just the way it is for me. And now I see I'm not alone.