I went from an old Craftsman 8" TS with a 3/4 hp motor to a new 3 hp
Unisaw. Never tried to cut 2" hardwood on the Craftsman, but I never
felt it was inadequately powered. For really tough tasks with the 1 1/2
hp motor, you might consider using an 8" blade which does not require as
much torque (depth of cut permitting). Usually, feeding slower is a
satisfactory solution. A first-rate blade always makes a big difference
on more challenging cuts. Also, hardwood cutting is somewhat less
tolerant of misaligned miter gauges and fences.

BTW, that Craftsman was such a convenient tool that I kept it when I
bought the Unisaw. Sadly had to sell both.

Chuck







Ba r r y wrote:
On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:47:26 -0700, "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net"
"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote:


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.


I currently have a 3HP General 650.

For six years, I worked with a 1 1/2 HP Jet contractors saw. I never
felt the Jet was underpowered. To rip thick hardwoods, simply make
sure you've got a sharp 24T _ripping_ blade, and feed accordingly.

Why did I upgrade from the Jet? The cabinet saw has a left tilt, a
bigger table, easier tuning adjustments, a 52" fence, lots more
vibration damping weight, and better (but still not GREAT) dust
collection. The cabinet saw stays put when cutting vary large stock.
I found myself chasing the contractor's saw around the shop on a few
occasions. G

If you can get a used Jet or Delta 1 1/2 HP contractor's saw for
about 1/2 of the new price, with a good fence, you'd be fine for a
long time. The perfect score would be the same saw with all cast
wings, no stamped sheet metal wings. For about $300, you'd be able to
use the saw for years, and probably sell it for near what you paid for
it, _IF_ you want to upgrade.

Your buddy is snobbing you. G

Barry