Left Vs Right Tilt

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graceful
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Left Vs Right Tilt

Post by graceful »

I will be buying a new tablesaw next month. I would like opinions betwen left and right tilt blades. Does anyone who has used a left tilt have a comment on the accuracy? On the safety? Ease of maintenance? Thank you.
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Ed in Tampa
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Post by Ed in Tampa »

Since this is a Shopsmith forum and Shopsmith tilt left doesn't that tell you that is the best? :D

I think all the fuss over left or right tilt is a little overkill when you think how often you really tilt the blade/table.

I just went through 100-150 board feet of wood constructing a mess of face frame cabinets and I made one bevel cut out of a hundreds of cuts. I tilted my Shopsmith to duplicate the angle on the wall for one angle and made my cut.
Everything else was made with the blade set at ninety degrees.

I also think we allow ourselves to think if I had this machine or that machine we could do better work. I have found this is nothing more than advertising hype.

I had made myself almost sick agonizing over which table saw to buy to replace cutting on my Shopsmith. Then I realized I didn't need too. Since then I have been very happy and busy cutting wood.
Ed
bashfulbob
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table saws,, accuracy and safety

Post by bashfulbob »

Hi
I guess by now you have made your purchase of the table saw. This is for others that may read this thread.

In my readings, left tilt seems to be the very most popular saw.:rolleyes:

I did not see where you specified which table saw you are getting, nor the amount of money in your budget.

As far as accuracy goes, it can depend on the table saw itself. Also, if one does not set up the saw accurately, then the most accurate saw is not very good or so it seems to me. :eek: There are many articles in mag's that have reviewed table saws. It seems that the accuracy can vary between models of the same manufacture.

Safety, in my opinion, goes to the manufacture saw stop. It is equipped with a device that detects when flesh has been cut and (like in nano seconds) it shuts the machine down and stops the blade from turning. In doing so, it ruins the detecting device. The saw is on the expensive side for me and the replacement costs of the device are there, but what are your fingers worth dollar wise? The rest of the machines out there come in a poor second in this specific safety issue to me. ;)

Otherwise, primarly it seems to me, safety is a personal issue. Watch what your doing and follow industry well established safety rules to put the percentages on your side.

In summary, you get what you pay for and reap the benefits of your behavior.:o

graceful wrote:I will be buying a new tablesaw next month. I would like opinions betwen left and right tilt blades. Does anyone who has used a left tilt have a comment on the accuracy? On the safety? Ease of maintenance? Thank you.
Life is what happens in between Plans.:)
chettrick
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Post by chettrick »

I got to know how does it detect when flesh is cut, does it have a blood detector on it? :D

Not that I have done it but it seems to me that I would know when flesh was cut.
banjodan
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Table Saw Safety--Saw Stop

Post by banjodan »

It doesn't detect blood--it detects moisture. And yes, moist wood can set it off. That wouldn't be so bad, except that it doesn't simply shut down. It's similar to an air bag in a car. One it goes off you have to replace some parts (an aluminum block, as I recall, and probably the blade as well). My feeling is that your best bet is to avoid contact with the blade in the first place by using the guard and other safety devices.
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Ed in Tampa
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Post by Ed in Tampa »

banjodan wrote:It doesn't detect blood--it detects moisture. And yes, moist wood can set it off. That wouldn't be so bad, except that it doesn't simply shut down. It's similar to an air bag in a car. One it goes off you have to replace some parts (an aluminum block, as I recall, and probably the blade as well). My feeling is that your best bet is to avoid contact with the blade in the first place by using the guard and other safety devices.
Yes it does detect moisture and moist wood will set it off. You must test the wood before cutting. I believe the machine has a test mode that allows you to touch the non moving blade to see if the machine will accept the moisture content or not.

Once the device fires off (huge spring) it drops the blade and jams a piece of aluminum into it. You must replace the device (not cheap) and the blade. Saw a demo with a hot dog and the blade didn't even nick it. They have a movie on their website showing another demo with a hot dog and that dog got a tiny tiny nick.

Two problems I see with the product first the manufacture claimed it would only add a few hundred dollars to the cost of the machine if other manufactures wanted to incorporate into their machines. However if you look at the price of Sawstop saw it is more than a few hundred dollars higher. I agree it is a spiffy machine but I assure you the spiffiness did not bring the cost up that high.

The other problem I see no one can prove the device won't fail. If one becomes careless because they feel nothing bad can happen and the device does fail it could be a disaster.

One other thing I don't like is the inventor had tried to sell the device to other manufactures. When they looked at it they choose not to use the technology. Now the inventor wants Congress to force all manufactures into using the device. Great idea get Congress to legislate the manditory use and you happen to be holding the patents. Perhaps making bucks rather than safety is the motive for that move.
Ed
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wurlitzerwilly
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Post by wurlitzerwilly »

banjodan wrote:It doesn't detect blood--it detects moisture. And yes, moist wood can set it off. That wouldn't be so bad, except that it doesn't simply shut down. It's similar to an air bag in a car. One it goes off you have to replace some parts (an aluminum block, as I recall, and probably the blade as well). My feeling is that your best bet is to avoid contact with the blade in the first place by using the guard and other safety devices.

I thoroughly agree. Although airbags and ABS in cars are a good idea, drivers now seem to be driving to the new limits, thinking that it will stop faster, and if it doesn't then the airbag will catch them! Bad move. :(

The idea's OK in principle, but I just prefer to keep well out of the way of danger in the first place.
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teufelhund323
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Post by teufelhund323 »

Left tilt/right tilt - no real difference in accuracy or safety IMHO. Accuracy is dependant upon taking the time to properly set your machine up and maintain it. Safety is a state of mind.
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