"Mark Wells" wrote in message
ps.com...
Toller wrote:
I am taking a turning course at a local HS. They have a 24" Powermatic.
With a worn out blade it cuts 12/4 oak like butter. My 14" 1hp would cut
it, but much slower and less precisely.

What kind of blade does the HS have and what kind do you have
(material, width, tooth pattern and tpi)? I still think that the blade
may be the main difference.

Well, guides are more important than teeth in controlling wander, unless
someone's dinged the right-set side. It's overall stiffness that counts
here, as elsewhere. The tension, thickness of the blade, the width and the
guides all go toward making it a saw rather than a floppy piece of metal
being dragged through the board.

Within limits, as we know, slowing the feed will allow rotational inertia
from a 1/2 horse to cut 6" deep. Did it for years on the old Sears saw.
Took a while, though. Wet wood for turning stock could be a real nightmare,
but it's no pleasure on the current Delta and one horse, either.