"As a bit of an aside, do make sure to properly ground the motor. I
assume you at least know this much, but the ground should NEVER be
switched. "
Understood.

i: thanks for the contactor link. Do you know of a good primer on
setting something like that up? I would imagine that that is a
component inside a box with a start and stop pushbutton? For now i
will just use my existing switch, but down the road it may be nice to
have a start-stop pushbutton setup with the saw's brake hooked up to
the stop circuit. Stomp on the brake and a. the circuit is opened, and
b. the wheels stop.

are the boxes modular? lots of questions.
Thanks again,
Andy