Workshop Layout- Where is your Cabinet Saw?

[gsdvorak]

I realize many of you have said goodbye to your cabinet saw to be replaced with a portable saw or to track saws, but I need to keep mine for some operations I do that are just plain more efficient for me on a table saw, such as cutting dados.  For those of you that, like me, have kept a cabinet saw in your workshop, I'm curious on what placement has worked well for you. Is it in the middle of your shop, or is it on one end or corner?  If you have an overhead garage door and your cabinet saw sits in front of it, do you have the front of the saw facing the door or away from it?

I have my new workshop in the third stall of my garage.  I recently purchased a dust collector and want to place the table saw prior to running ductwork for the cabinet saw, planer, and bandsaw.

Appreciate any feedback.  Thanks!

Regards,
Gerald

 

[rljatl]

I sold the 3hp cabinet saw and bought a track saw and a job site table saw.  So, the table saw is folded up against the wall most of the time.

It comes out primarily for repetitive rip cuts and dadoes.  I use an Infinity 6" Dadonator dado stack.  I am happy with the results and do not miss the cabinet saw at all.  My hobby shop is in the two car garage and I still park my cars in there, too.  [big grin]

 

[usa448]

Although I use my Festool saw for cutting sheet goods all the time, my Felder (KF700s) is right by the door.  I work alot with hardwoods and use it for ripping almost exclusively.  While not often I need the infeed space for the shaper as well.

I've got an older model so don't have an arbor that can take dado blades (I'd use it for the purpose if I could) so use my OF1400 for ploughing when I need to.

 

[HarveyWildes]

With the long fence, but the end of the auxiliary table up against the wall rather than putting the saw in the middle of the room.  Make sure that there is plenty of input and output room for what you need to saw.

 

[Bob D.]

The blade is smack dead center of my 24x24 shop. Sounds like a lot of room but with other machinery and benches on most walls it gives me just over 8 feet all around. It would be possible (though not practical) to crosscut a 4x8 sheet of ply and just take an inch off, or right down the center into two, 4x4 pieces. When I'm standing in front of the TS my workbench is right behind me, a little close than I would like it but since I am the only one in there it works. My workbench is about 3 inches lower than the top of the TS, so I made a support that drops into two dog holes and provides infeed support for a sheet of plywood. My outfeed table is large enough that I have about 56 inches behind the blade, and 37 inches to the left, so when ripping a full sheet lengthwise I have plenty of support.

The table extension on the left side folds down when not needed. In the first couple photos you will see it held up by a pair of RIDGID FlipTop stands. Later, I decided I liked having the added space available and made some fold up legs. I did that so I could get use of the FlipTop stands back as well as be able to fold it down out of the way. It's all made from offcuts and scraps of pre-finished 3/4" plywood. The finished surface lets the workpiece slide easily and glue is easy to remove. The legs have leveler screws made from 5/16 carriage bolts and T-nuts in the bottom so they can be adjusted, and the legs fold up against the bottom of the table and allow the table to fold down and hang from a 6 foot piano hinge. I have a photo of the table folded down which I will add here when I find it.

 

[kevin clifford]

Mine is set so sheet goods come off the truck and straight onto the tablesaw to get ripped down or onto the table to get cut with the tracksaw. Break it down as soon as I can. The Sawstop is the main workhorse, but the Jet opposing View attachment 1View attachment 2it does almost all my dados and rabbits.

 

[Dick Mahany]

My Unisaw was in the middle of my shop.  Even so, I found that I occasionally needed to re position it depending on whether I was ripping long boards or cutting sheet goods.  It had a 52" extension table as well as a folding outfeed table, so I had it on a mobile base and could easily skooch it around for flexibility.  Most of the time, I only needed to rotate it 45 degrees so that I could long boards across the diagonal of the shop.

I down sized and had to sell it.  Even though I love my tracksaw, I really miss having a table saw.

 

[gsdvorak]

My Unisaw was in the middle of my shop.  Even so, I found that I occasionally needed to re position it depending on whether I was ripping long boards or cutting sheet goods.  It had a 52" extension table as well as a folding outfeed table, so I had it on a mobile base and could easily skooch it around for flexibility.  Most of the time, I only needed to rotate it 45 degrees so that I could long boards across the diagonal of the shop.

I down sized and had to sell it.  Even though I love my tracksaw, I really miss having a table saw.

The setup you used to have is exactly what I have today- I'm hoping to take it off the base though and make it stationary and run 'hardline' ductwork to it.  Hoping that's the right decision.

Thanks all for the great responses- I wish my shop was more square than it is and then I could put the saw right in the middle, but I have an L-shaped 3rd stall (about 14' wide by 38' deep, with a 10' x 14' additional space in the back on the left.  Sounds like the best place is in front of the garage door, and to save space to put the extension fence up against the wall as Harvey mentioned.  Table saws take up so much space, but are sure nice for ripping hardwood boards.  I don't use it to break down sheet goods any longer since I got the TS55.

Have a great weekend and Thanks again for the ideas!

Gerald

 

[fignewton]

I have a 3+ garage, with a standard 8' door and a 16' door.  The table saw sits on the wall between the two doors, facing the far wall.  I have a drop leaf outfeed table that stays down til I need it.  When I work, both cars go out of the garage, so infeed side is the small door side.  It's rare that I ever would cut anything wider than my fence, since I have the track saw, so this works well and I don't have to move it.  I use a Rockler cyclone and a small Rigid 5hp vac dedicated to the table saw with an auto-on switch.  Works great.

 

[Birdhunter]

My Sawstop Industrial is on a mobile base so it moves as needed. It's connected to a big cyclone dust connector through a length of flexible 6" hose. My shop area is really chopped up or else I'd have a more convenient setup.

 

[sancho57]

Mines is sitting somewhere in Oregon, I dont use a TS 75 in a CMS. But even then its only for cutting multiple thin pieces as my track will do everything else.

 

[Cochese]

My Delta 36 series is basically at the entrance to my shop.