Need table saw advice

Here is a review that was posted 25 days ago. It may help to contact Tom to see if he can address some of your questions.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I would honestly take a look at your wiring first. Since you’ll have to run thicker wire for the bigger saw, rewire with good 12 gauge and see if that helps your saw.

I’ve sawn 2 1/2 inch walnut with out bogging my contractor saw down. While thick stock might take a little longer, spending thousands to save seconds might not make the most sense.

EDIT: 99% of the OMG 220 rocks on my 1/5HP motor comes down to the rewiring. Bad wiring == high voltage drop, meaning inefficient motor.

Hmmm,

I thought running 220 to the saw decreased the amps in each leg so the wire from the breaker to the plug could be smaller.

Uh oh, now I went and did it.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

steel city table saws are awesome…..guy from powermatic started this company….same saw…..40% cheaper..mine has been perfect for 2 years now…..NO problems!!!!!!

Its another zip code saw. I want to get away from Craftsman, if you look at the saw its almost identical to what I have now.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

Chico, it does, you can. People tend to rewire anyways.

Anyways, rewiring is a hell of a lot cheaper than getting a new saw because shoddy wiring is giving you poor performance.

Every time I see a “my saw bogs down on thick cuts I need to double the HP” post I wonder what junky saws people are putting out now days. But it tends to be the wiring.

I keep doing things with my saw that people say are impossible with it. Ripping maple and cherry without burning, thick stock. 8” dado sets cutting 1 inch into 4×4’s etc.

Edit: I own no Thin kerf blades, so no, that’s not it.

People still can’t get over the urge to plunk a bunch of cash down for a new shiny tool.

He with the best toys wins (-;
I would vote for a new shiny saw but choosing between Saw Stop, Powermatic, and the new Delta would be tough to decide. I won’t get into the Eurpoean makers because their price is out of site. If saving you fingers is a priority go with the Saw Stop at Wood Crafters. Actually the jury has not come in with a solid opinion on the new Delta but it has some nice features. What ever you decide I suggest a left tilting mode.

-- Les B, Oregon

I’m with Marc on this one. And on Primi’s comment, I think it was some guys from Delta that started Steel City, not Powermatic. The Steel City saws you have to educate yourself about what your buying from them, the Cabinet saws they sell are mostly Hybrids, if you want a industry standard Cabinet saw from them you have to buy one of their Deluxe Cabinet saws. Kind of decieveing if you ask me.

Some info I’ve received from MedicKen really points to the fact that his saw is just a piece of junk. He’s done his footwork.

I wish him the best of luck picking something new.

I should add that 5HP on a 10 inch blade is a waste of potential. You can’t feed the wood fast enough with a sharp blade to have the motor itself be the limitation.

If you go with a 12 or 14” blade that’s different as you get a higher SFPM thus more cutting action over the same period of time, this gives you higher feed rates and thus more need for torque..

All that being said I have to say there seems to be a difference between my 1.5 HP and the 1.5HP on kens saw. So if you find an older Unisaw with an old 1.5HP motor (that was an option on them) I think you’ll see a difference.

Here I sit typing with five fingers on the right hand and three on the left. Yeah, I come up a little short on the left.

All the saws you mention are good saws, I can’t speak for the Steel City saw , but I have used most of the others.

I ask you, how much is a finger worth, or two fingers worth? The Sawstop I have used a lot and it is a very good saw, IMHO. It’s easy on the fingers too.

Charlie Mullins

-- God makes the wood beautiful--I simply rearrange it to make it more useful, hopefully.

Yeah, another SawStop scare tactic sales pitch.

I’m running a Shop Fox W1677 3hp saw on a 220v 20 amp circuit with no issues.

For clarification, Steel City has executives formerly from both Delta and Powermatic onboard. I would not hesitate to go with any of their saws, including the lighter duty 3hp models. They no longer feature the trunnion system with connecting rods like their earlier hybrids and Craftsman “zipcode” saws. Even the “lighter” duty saws are plenty robust for hobby and light industrial work, and now feature cabinet mounted trunnions with a one piece cast blade shroud as an arbor carriage. The newer models also have riving knives instead of splitters.

Electrically, one should not put a motor on a circuit whose full load amperage exceeds 75% of the circuit breaker’s rating. This will put you closer to the 2HP range, not 3hp. On initial start-up, electric motors draw around four to five times the full load current. Thin kerf blades go a long ways toward improving the performance of lower HP saws.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

If you are just yearning for a new saw in the shop, go for it. You’ve gotten a lot of good advice here and there are a number of good saws that you can buy for as much money as you are willing to spend.

But if you are a simple hobby woodworker with a table saw that bogs down some I would say that there are other ways to deal. Especially if this saw has been fully functional for your needs in the past.

Good sharp blades, thin kerf maybe, good power to the shop and maybe a new motor or a set of new bearings in the motor.

Hope you’ll keep us posted on what you decide to do!

-- Making Sawdust Safely

right now i’m thinking “saw stop”

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I just remembered you have that Walker-Turner. You should restore that and give it a go before plunking down cash for something else.

You’ll be surprised at how well Walker-Turner made stuff works. I just did a short blog on the one that I recently got up and running.

I find it odd a lot when I read people’s feedback and they talk about what they can’t do or don’t do on a machine. Think about this, people have been woodworking for hundreds of years now and they were doing things by hand so just about any machine “should” be adequate.

Is it really that much of a crime if your wood burns slightly after pushing it through a saw? I can understand if you are in a production shop and time means money, but the majority of us here are not in that situation. Look at it this way, gives you an excuse to use and master several tools to get everything right. Save your money and buy some wood to practice on :)

-- Bio

marc…...the Walker Turner resto is underway. I should have some primer on it in a few days. Getting all the rust off has been a challange, but electroysis has been a nice alternative to sandpaper and wire brushes. I am planning on giving it a try but I wont be able to use a dado set. The table opening isnt big enough to accommodate it. I will continue my blog on it shortly and have new pics included.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

Thats weird about the dado, I’m not familiar with that model. My table opening is a little larger than normal, of course everything on my saw is larger than normal, which is what intrigued me about it.

After the LOML told me I was outta my mind on spending $2700 on a new saw I went to work looking to see if there was something I missed. I cleaned out the sawdust in the cabinet and lo and behold I found it. In fact not 1 problem, but 6. Momma mouse had set up house and had babies. Mom in her search for food chewed on the wiring from the switch to the motor, ate through the insulation and had a small copper dinner. I rewired the bad section and the saw seems to be better. Guess she was right, but I am not telling her I fixed it. At least not yet. Maybe I will put the money towards a new bandsaw, dont have one and upgrading my dust collection. It sucks!!

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

Sounds like a good decision. Don’t get wraped up in keepin up with the Jones, they went broke.

Since the table saw like most say, is the workhorse in the shop, I tend to believe that it should be the best one you can afford. I have used a lot of them over the years, and always like the 3 HP size. It cuts easily and has the power for just about anything. Once you get into the 5 HP size extra safety starts becoming an issue, especially with kick back. I have used some saws with 7 HP and I dont really notice any difference in cutting power from the 3 HP at least for the things I do. You might look at a used saw. There are lots of good ones out there. I tend to be a Powermatic guy and a few years ago I bought the 3 HP PM66 saw on Ebay that I have in my shop pictures from a guy that lived here in the state. I got a super deal and it runs like new. It was built in the late 90s. The only thing I didnt like about the PM2000 with the mobile wheels is that I like an extension table and it works better to have a mobile base on the saw and extension table. My saw is on a 30 amp 220 V circuit and it works just fine…no lights dimming. I used 10 gauge wire to a 60 amp panel right in the shop.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN