Long Biesemyer rails options...cut them , buy new ones or trade?

[yellofins]

Hey Folks,
I very recently purchased a Delta Unisaw from Rocker (Along with a few other goodies) and am in a bit of a quandry.

The saw has the 52" Biesemeyer rail option and they are way too long for my shop.
Ideally I would like to have 30"-36" rails on the saw.
I had the 52" rails on my Jet and they were way too long .

So here's the question:
Has anyone ever cut and shortened the rails to length?
Would a Porta-Band band saw be capable of cutting these or am I setting myself up for disaster?

Does anyone have a 30" or 36" set of rails for sale or trade?
I found some on Grizz for $150 shipped, but would rather use what I have.

I will post a gloat once I reassemble the saw with the new goodies, so no, this is not a stealth gloat!

Thanks for your ideas in advance.
Ron

 

[woodworker2000]

I wouldn't buy new 36" rails only to have to store the 52" rails. A trade would be best if you can find someone willing to do it. If I were going to cut them, I would take them to a machine/metal fabrication/welding shop and have them cut them with their metal cutting bandsaws (most shops have one). That way, you would have a clean, precise cut. I wouldn't imagine they would charge more than $20 to cut them. If you can't find anyone close to you, I have a guy in Wake Forest that I use all the time for small welding and metal cutting jobs and find him very reasonable. His name is Frank and his company is Professional Welding Service (919.570.3212). He runs a one-man shop so he is difficult to reach on the phone. I was surprised to just discover that he does have a website http://professionalweldingservice.com/ but I usually just drop by with what I need done.

 

[Woodman2k]

Ron,
contact a steel supply in your area and buy some of the same size rectangular tubing at whatever size will fit.Drill the bottom mounting holes,tap them and paint it. Now you have both if you ever sell the saw. Don't forget the adhesive mount left to right tape measure. How hard is it to store a 2 by 3 piece of tubing?
Greg

 

[FredP]

I have 36" rails. we could work out a trade. i have room for the longer rails. [if you don't mind traveling]:wwink:

 

[yellofins]

I ended up putting the saw together as is. I needed a saw tonight for another project and I just couldn't cut the rails.
I'm going to see if I can make the long rails work.
Fred...I'll keep your offer in mind in case the rails are too long.
Thanks for all of the replies.
Ron

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Perhaps a mobile base on the table saw can help make those longer rails work in your shop. Another option is to put a router table in the extension table of the table saw. That helps you get 2 machines into the same footprint.