Tilting saws?

[L. D. Jeffries]

Friend of mine and I are going to GriZZly this spring (if the snow ever melts) to look at hybrid saws. He wants one. I still love my BT3! Anyway, lots of ad space about "left tilting" saws. I don't get it? Is a "left" tilt better than a "right"? Why. The BT3 tilts to right, but all you have to do is move the fence to other side. Other than not having to move the fence on a "left" tilt, whats the big deal!!

[Tom Miller]

Maybe it means something about the woodworker -- kinda like in which ear a guy wears an earring.

Otherwise, I think it's just a matter of whether you'll need to move your fence for bevel cuts.

Regards,
Tom

[Russianwolf]

it's mainly a personal preference issue. the only real arguement for it is are you comfortable using your left hand as the primary to push stock through with the fence on the left side? If so, you're fine. Some would rather use (are more comfortable) pushing the stock through with their right hand as primary so they need the fence to the right of the blade. Since that is safer with a left tilt saw, they may want to go that way.

[LarryG]

Tom's got it. Mike, too. When using the safest type of setup for beveled cuts, a left-tilt saw will allow the operator to work from the "normal" side of the fence. This is slightly more convenient, and I think many find it feels more natural.

This question was raised in the Shop Notes section of the New Yankee Workshop web site a few years ago. The answer given (purportedly by Nahm, but probably by some assistant) was:

"The left tilting saws are particularly useful to the cabinet shop operators who need to cut laminates without chipping. Most woodworkers like us will use a standard right tilting arbor."

To my knowledge, no one has ever found anyone who has a clue what the heck this means.

[cgallery]

"The left tilting saws are particularly useful to the cabinet shop operators who need to cut laminates without chipping. Most woodworkers like us will use a standard right tilting arbor."

To my knowledge, no one has ever found anyone who has a clue what the heck this means.

LOL.

I think I've read every single LT vs. RT thread at Sawmillcreek and Woodnet. I've decided all this boils down to three issues.

(1) Safety. Some prefer the LT saw for safety. You can keep the fence right of the blade and still cut bevels.

(2) Quality. For cutting laminated (plywood) products, a LT saw will cause less chipping.

(3) Convenience. Some guys prefer RT because the scale on the fence remains true during bevel cuts.

FWIW, I will cut bevels on the BT3K w/ the fence to the right of the blade. I only rarely do this. I think I prefered my old Craftsman LT for ripping bevels. But I prefer the BT3K for cross-cutting bevels. And I cross-cut a WHOLE lot more bevels than I rip. So RT wins for me.

[Russianwolf]

LOL.


(2) Quality. For cutting laminated (plywood) products, a LT saw will cause less chipping.

Sorry, but I have to ask why this would effect the cut? a blade tilted right is the same as a blade tilted left. Right?

Or do we need a special "right tilt bevel ground blade" to get good results on ply?

[LarryG]

Sorry, but I have to ask why this would effect the cut? a blade tilted right is the same as a blade tilted left.

I have the same question. It's the same blade, and I seriously doubt it's smart enough to know which way its tilted.

So, yeah ... WHY does this cause less chipping?

[cgallery]

I have the same question. It's the same blade, and I seriously doubt it's smart enough to know which way its tilted.

So, yeah ... WHY does this cause less chipping?

I should clarify that I'm talking about how the saw is typically used in a cabinet shop. That is, they rarely move the fence to the left of the blade.

So, with the fence to the right of the blade, the LT saw will be cutting the bevel with the good face up. The RT will be cutting the bevel with the good face down. So the LT typically gives a better cut in this regard. Less chip-out, especially when cutting laminates like plywood cross-grain. Because the laminate is supported by the substrate on the LT, but not on the RT.

[BrazosJake]

Left tilt is safer since the blade tilts away from the fence.

The only argument I've seen in favor of right tilt that made any sense is that the fence reading is still accurate with a dado stack mounted.

The fence is normally mounted to the right of the blade and not moved.

[crokett]

I cut all my bevels with the stock and fence to the right of the blade. cutoff is on the left. I use push sticks and featherboards, same as I do on all rip cuts. With the fence set so the rear is a poofteenth further away from the blade than the front, I have never had problems.

[drumpriest]

I now have a left tilt saw, and I like it. With the BT, it was fine, as I could move the fence to the other side, but I still had to tune the fence. I typically setup my fence to be ~0.004" further away from the blade at the back (a post-it note). If you then move the fence to the other side of the blade, it's 0.004" CLOSER to the blade at the back, not so good.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Would have gotten back sooner but have been moving SNOW the last two days. Anyway, thanks guys, maybe when I finally have to replace my BT3 I'll go with a LT tilt saw. Meanwhile I'll just press on with my beloved BT3 and move the fence! LT does make sense since I do a fair amount of finish type sawing and less splinter would be good. Thanks again, new someone would have the right answers.

[scorrpio]

Don't forget - most saws using Biesmeyer-style fence don't have movable rails like BT3 - and their primary rip capacity is to the right of the blade. Cuttng a bevel on a wide piece is way safer on a left-tilt.