26" max width rip

[burrellski]

I am in the market for a new table saw and am considering a Grizzly 1023 (among others). I noticed the max rip capacity is only 26". I don't really have room to step up to the 7' rail version. So my question is...

Is 26" enough rip capacity? I have only exceeded 26" a couple of times for some shop furniture I have built. Is this going to be a major PITA down the road? Where would I need to rip something wider than 26"? I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something. Most of the hybrids, contractors, etc.... all have 30" plus capacities.

[eddy merckx]

I have the same saw, except white (Shopfox). I am barely able to shoehorn it into the shop, so I've accepted the fact that I'll have to cut anything wider with a circular saw. Howeverthe fence rails are very long and beefy one this saw. You could easily mount the rails a foot to the right in order to get more rip capacity. You'd have to drill new holes in the rails and make new cut-outs for the miter slot on the rear rail. Might take you 20 minutes.

As an alternative, you could get the wide rail saw and cut it down to a dimension that fits your shop. The rail kits are relatively cheap for these, so you could always go longer when/if shop space allows.

Eddy

[Knottscott]

26" should be enough for the vast majority of cuts. The stock SF Classic fence has 26" capacity to the right of the blade, and 8" on the left. If you go with the 1023SL, which is left tilt, as opposed to the 1023S (right tilt), you could slide the rails a bit to right and gain at least 8" to the right, while sacrificing any left side ripping. With a left tilt saw you should never need to cut to the left of the blade. (edit - just realized that Eddy suggested the same thing...I did this on my 22124 with the Biese fence, and slid just the front rail and left the angle brackets where they were...no drilling except to relocate the switch...)

You could also buy some longer steel tubing and just replace the stock rail....much less expensive than buying the 7' rail set.

It's also pretty easy to just buy a different saw that has 30"-40" rip capacity...but that executive decision lies with you.

[Ken Massingale]

I don't use more that 26" capacity often but when I need it for cabinet parts it is invaluable. Just as a suggestion also look at how much room the saws have in front of the blade, it helps greatly for crosscutting wide pieces.