Replies

1. 
   Eef | Oct 19, 2010 02:36pm | #1

   harley,

   don't know what your volume is or will be.  in my 2-man shop, of about 10 years running, we used a 3-hp cabinet saw with no troubles at all.  lots of sheet goods, lots of solid stock, every day.  several ww friends,in  their professional shops, run various 5 hp saws. one has an altendorf, i think it's 5hp.  the other uses a powermatic, the model number, of which, i don't recall.  mine was a 3hp grizzly g1023. what do you plan to make?

   eef

2. 
   JohnWW | Oct 19, 2010 02:47pm | #2

   Around 3 hp

   For a 10" blade saw, 2 1/2 to 3 hp is normally more than adequate and many shops don't have that much.  

   Many lightweight machines have 1.75 hp, the largest motor that will run on a 15 amp circuit, and they are a bit underpowered in my opinion.  You'll need less power if you are using clean sharp blades and the machine is aligned properly.  Heavy ripping, which is typically requires the most power, won't tax the motor as much if you install a true rip blade.

3. 
   Don01 | Oct 19, 2010 05:23pm | #3

   Saw power

   I have an old 1970's Rockwell Cabinet saw that has a 1 1/2 HP Reliance motor. I do mostly what you plan to do, maybe 90 - 95" hardwood. I had a 2HP contractor saw for awhile and didn't notice much difference. 3 HP should be lots. When my saw bogs down it is a good indication the blade needs a cleaning. It needs cleaning because I don't have quite enough jam to move the wood through fast enough.

   One nice thing about 1 1/2 HP, is it will cut, it might stall on rare occasion, but I have yet to have it thrown anything back at me.

   Don

4. 
   Knotscott | Nov 02, 2010 04:12pm | #4

   Alignment and blade selection are big factors in how any saw performs.   

   My 1-3/4hp hybrid handled ripping in 3" QSWO and elm that was flat and straight without much complaint.  My 3hp cabinet never flinches for  a moment, and is less fussy about which blade I'm using...I can't help but think that a 3hp+ motor will last longer.

5. 
   oldwindowguy | Nov 05, 2010 10:15am | #5

   A balanced machine works best.  You can underpower or overpower a machine.

   A 10" saw spinning on a 5/8" arbor with standard bearings would be well matched to a 1 1/2 to 2 hp motor.  It would do the work you describe, but it would struggle with 8/4 hardwood and would not give you a glue joint quality rip.

   A 12" saw spinning on a 1" arbor with standard bearings would match to a 3 to 5 hp motor.  It would rip 8/4 hardwood ok, but might not give a glue joint rip over 4/4 thick.

   A 14" to 16" saw spinning on a 1 1/8" to 1 1/4" arbor with precision bearings (probably an arbor motor) would put a glue joint rip on 8/4 stock all day.

   If you overpower a small arbor, the bearings will chatter.  The saw will still cut but will devlop a wobble which will tend to tear up veneered panels and give rough crosscuts.

6. 
   bones | Nov 05, 2010 10:36am | #6

   had several different types over the years

   I've had a lot of different ones over the years.  Mainly because when I started I did not have two nickles barely to rub together.  I started out with a lowes small 10" tabletop model that was a sad piece of crap but got the job done.  I just had to take it slow.  I moved up to a contractor style saw that was a big improvement, but underpowered.  By that I mean it would bog down on the thick stuff and I had to be careful not to overheat it and trip the thermal switch when cutting 8/4 stuff.   My last saw was a 3hp cabinet saw by grizzly that has purred like a kitten at everything i've thrown at it and a footprint of a cabinet saw is very similar to a hybrid or contractor.  I bought the 1023slx with 7' rails to do ply, but now for ply I use a festool ts55 and a rail to cut it down so I don't hoss big sheets of ply up anymore.  I could now just get by with a much smaller rail either 36" or 52".   I'm looking at upgrading to a sawstop after the first of the year, not because the grizzly cant cut it anymore just to get the safety.  BTW it wll be a 3hp as well.   Now if you are going to want to cut 16/4" and up then you may want a 4hp or more model and jump up to a 12".  For me I just don't have the need.  

   Good luck.

1. 
   Eef | Nov 05, 2010 02:18pm | #7

   hey bones,

   let's see....from lowes right on up to festool,  you must be rubbing more than just nickles...

   eef