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wrote:
My current motor is working but I am debating on getting a larger motor
for more power. I had looked at upgrading to a Grizzly 10" and it has a
3hp motor but I was not sure if I wanted to spend all that money or do
some upgrades to mine. My friend has a Grizzly 10" and it has more
power to it when I used his recently. Are you saying that to go from
the Sears 1.5 to a Baldor 2.0 hp will not be any significant gains in
over all power and ease of cutting wood, or should I look at a higher
hp like a 3 before I will gain additional power?
Thanks,
Mike Francis

You're going to be limited on how much power you can transmit to the
blade on your Sears saw. The single belt is tensioned by part of the
weight of the motor as it pivots on its mounting bracket. The motor
has to pivot as the saw arbor is raised and lowered to keep the belt
tight. Once you reach the limits of that belt, it'll just slip
regardless of how powerful the motor is.

In order to use more horsepower, you have to feed boards faster into
the blade, which increases the forces on the arbor. This will tend to
deflect the parts that make up the arbor and trunnion assembly,
reducing the quality of cut. I assume the 3 hp Grizzly saw you mention
is a cabinet saw. Take a look inside to see how beefy the components
are compared to those on your saw. Sears had their saw designed for
1.5 hp, and didn't put any money into a structure to tolerate higher
horsepower.

The 2 hp motor will get you 33% more power than the 1.5 hp. If you're
not already using one, a thin kerf blade will make your power go
farther. Wiring for 240V vs. 120V may help if the wiring in your
supply circuit is dropping the supply voltage too much. (My genius
brother-in-law runs a Sears table saw with the Sears 1.5 hp motor on
the end of a 50 foot 16 gauge extension cord. The saw's motor draws
something like 16 full load amps on 120 volts. That would give a 16
volt drop in the supply voltage to the motor.)

I know someone that put a 2 hp TEFC motor on a Sears saw after the open
Sears motor clogged with dust and burned out. It seems to work fine,
but he's not cutting 8/4 oak.

It sounds like what you want is a cabinet saw. The Sears saw isn't
going to become one, no matter how much you spend. What if you sold
it, added in the $300 you're prepared to spend for the Baldor motor,
then buy a used Unisaw or equivalent? If you've got the old Sears
fence, transfer your Biesemeyer to the new saw. Then you'll have
something that will cut 8/4 oak all day without breaking a sweat. And
will be a pleasure to use each time between now and your estate sale.

Tim