"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote
in message ...
Okay, a friend of mine has been admonishing me not to buy a 1 1/2 HP
tablesaw. He says that a minimum of 3 HP is warranted for any decent
tablesaw.

The extra power is nice as you will not find any wood that slows the motor
down on a 3 hp model. Also consider that you are going to have to go to a
Cabinet saw to get a 3 hp motor that runs on 220 volts. You may find a TS
that claims 3hp on 110 volts but the company building that saw also builds
Vaccuum cleaners that have 6 hp and also run on 110 volts. Plain and
simple for the typical TS you are gong to have to go 220 volt and a cabinet
saw to get 3hp.

Now, I'm not planning on going into the woodworking business. I just want
to outfit my workshop with good equipment so that I can't blame the
equipment on the lousy workmanship that comes out of it!

If you buy a Cabinet saw, you "can" plan on cutting any wood of any
thickness and not worry about stalling the motor.

The reviews for various 1 1/2 HP tablesaws seem very good. Whether it's
Grizzly, Delta, or another good brand, people seem genuinely happy and
satisfied with the abilities of those tablesaws.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with these saws. I used a TS with 1 hp
for 17 years.


Can anyone tell me why the extra horsepower would be needed? I doubt that
I'll ever be cutting through anything thicker than 1 1/2". Heck, I'm not
even sure how often I'd be doing that much!

Even cutting 3/4" Maple you can stall or burn the wood if you have to slow
the feed rate because of the smaller hp ratings.