What Does Rip Capacity On A Table Saw Mean?

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A table saw has many different features and specs that are listed and one of them is rip capacity, which can be a bit confusing for some people...

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It is a simple metric actually but can get more complex...

What Is Rip Capacity On A Table Saw Mean

The short answer is listed below (in bold) but there are a few other questions that people had on table saw ripping capacity that I also included into the article, to make it a much more comprehensive resource on the subject.

Hope you find it helpful!

What Is Rip Capacity On A Table Saw Mean?

Rip capacity is basically defined as the amount of space between the edge of the table saw's blade and the edge of the fence.

This is the "marketing" term anyways and a real gauge of a table saw's rip capacity can really have no limitations if you utilize larger tables for the materials to rest on and how many people you have helping you rip the piece.

One thing to keep in mind is that rip capacity (like I stated above) involves using the fence of the tablesaw and is really just more of a marketing term more than anything.

You can always remove the fence and essentially have a much larger rip capacity but without the fence it will be harder to maintain a straight line without having something custom-made.

A good example that comes to mind to further explain this is if your tablesaw only has a ripping capacity of say 20 inches and you want to rip a piece of plywood that measures 4' x 8' in half (right at 24") you can always remove the fence and rip the piece of plywood without using it.

You will have to make a line on the piece of plywood and follow that line when cutting or build a custom fence to use when cutting the piece.


How Much (Rip Capacity) Do I Need?

There is not a specific number that comes to mind when I think about how much rip capacity a person needs.

Instead, a better question you might want to ask is what types of projects are you going to be working on mainly and this will greatly help answer your rip capacity question.

For example, if you are a framing contractor then you'll probably want to look for a tablesaw that has a maximum rip capacity of around 24 inches.

This because a sheet of plywood or a sheet of OSB measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and in order to rip that piece of plywood in half (lengthwise) you would need a 24 inch rip capacity on your tablesaw.

On the other hand, if you are into making woodworking projects then you may not need such a wide ripping capacity like the above example shows.

You would probably be happy with a tablesaw it has a capacity of 22 inches or less, especially if you are going to be working on smaller types of projects and nothing too large.

Price Is A Factor: I have compared a few different DeWalt table saws and have researched many other table saws made by many different manufacturers and have found that Price affects the maximum ripping capacity of table saws (in most cases).

A good example of this would be to go and research different portable table saws and what you will find is that models within a specific price range will have a very similar rip capacity.

If you look at other models that are a little bit more expensive, you will notice that they will have a little bit larger rip capacity than the less expensive models.

Portable table saws will usually have a larger rip capacity, the more expensive they are. The features will change a little too but for the most part, price is a factor in rip capacity for these types of table saws.


Can You Increase The Rip Capacity On A Table Saw?

There are a few different ways to increase the ripping capacity of your table saw.

It will require some modification to the actual saw itself or adding an additional table off to the side of your table saw in order to get that increase in rip capacity.

They also sell tables that are made for specific models of table saws that extend the table and the maximum rip capacity that is possible, so you get a two-for-one type of deal having a stand and a larger capacity!

Another technique to doing this that I came across was to actually move the fence guide over one bolt (or more) to increase the sliding capacity of the fence itself.

There are many different ways to do this and a few different tutorials that show how other people have done this for their own table saw, which makes me think I should probably write an article on the subject...

Making A Table Saw Extension

popularwoodworking.com



Left Of Blade VS Right Of Blade Ripping Capacity...

Most of the time you'll notice that either a manufacturer or the retailer will last the rip capacity of a table saw as left and right rip capacities.

This it is usually because the fence can be switched to either side of the tablesaw (in most cases) and the capacity will be a little bit different for each side and on rare occasions it may be the same for both sides.

Most of the time, a table saws rip capacity will be much larger on the right side of the blade than the left side of the blade, I'm not sure why but this is the case for most table saws out there (from what I've seen, anyways).

Rip capacities that are advertised are usually the maximum capacity that that particular table saw is capable of cutting, using the fence. So whenever you see rip capacity for a specific table saw model, remember that it is the maximum capacity.


Portable And Stationary Table Saw Ripping Capacities Will Be Different...

Cabinet table saws are usually larger than portable models and will have a much larger ripping capacity but will also cost quite a bit more as well.

These can have maximum rip capacities of 50 inches or more sometimes, making them the top performers in this category.

A stationary table saw will (a lot of times) have a much larger table usually and this helps out greatly to increase the maximum ripping capacity.

An example of a stationary table saw that has an extended table can be seen in the picture below.

Cabinet Table Saw With Extended Table

Cabinet Table Saw With Extended Table

Portable models will be much smaller and have a much smaller table but since they are "portable" this is a main feature to them and you really have to consider which type of table saw you're going to go with based on these primary differences between the two different types.

Portable models might have a larger rip capacity than you would think, most of which hover around the 20 inch to 24 inch mark but some have capacities of 32 inches or more.

The models that have the extended ripping capacities will be much more money and probably run around $600-$800 in price.

Portable Table Saw Rip Capacity

Portable Table Saw Rip Capacity


Where To Find Different Rip Capacities For My Table Saw...

The rip capacities for different table saws are not always easy to find on every website so I thought I'd make a little section on how to find these just in case any of you out there wanted to know a specific rip capacity for a certain model.

In most cases, Home Depot will list the left and right rip capacities for most of their table saws. This is usually found by scrolling down to the specs section of the tool and will be located in a table (more than likely). 

On rare occasions, the rip capacity for one side of the blade will be listed in the table and the other will be listed in the description or somewhere above the table but 95% of the time Home Depot's a great place to find out the rip capacities for many different tables.

Home Depot Rip Capacity Location For Table Saws

homedepot.com

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About the author

Ryan

I have been in construction nearly my entire life and have a fascination with tools and love when they make my life easier. Match that with my "research addiction" and you create something like this website!

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