7.5HP Table saw?

[Frank Drew]

Honestly is there such a thing as too much power in a tablesaw?

I'm with Karl here -- I can't think of the downside to a more powerful motor. I had a 5hp Powermatic and traded up to a 5kW (almost 7 hp) 12" Ulmia and loved it. There are times when you might be cutting 16/4 material and can use all the power you can get.

Whether or not it's worth $600 to you, I can't answer, and I'm also not saying that 3-5 hp would be inadequate for your needs.

[Brian J Holmes]

My intro to woodworking many years ago was working in a production cabinet door shop. My job was sizing the glued up panels before shaping. I ran a 7.5hp TS fitted with a huge sliding table to the left of the blade. The saw ran for literally 9 hours a day with only a 30 minute break for lunch and two 15 minute breaks at other times of the day. On an average day I ran 200-300 panels (mostly oak) through the saw and I ran them fast. Never once saw the motor bog down and cleaning out the dust bin at the end of the day the motor was only warm to the touch.

So I'll second the speed of cut/heavy duty usage comments

[John Thompson]

If you run a lot of 12/4 or thicker stock as would some commercial ventures.. a power feeder and larger horse is necessary to run on that production scale. Not uncommon to run up to 12 HP in those scenarios.

I have a 3 HP Uni-saw.. do a large amount of ripping without a power feeder in up to 12/4 stock. The 3 HP will do it.. but is a bit slow even running a Euro 20 T rip blade with plenty of gullet. I would trade the 3 HP for a 5 HP in 12" in a heart-beat as that would be more appropriate for me personally.

I know an English furniture builder that runs a 12 HP Wadkins in his shop without power feed. He does get timbers in excess of 16/4 though and the saw will run 24/7 slicing it.

Most of us don't need 7.5 HP.. and the 3 phase should give away the acutual intent of who does as that is standard in most commercial settings.

Sarge..

[Karl Brogger]

Most of us don't need 7.5 HP.. and the 3 phase should give away the actual intent of who does as that is standard in most commercial settings.

Sarge..

Anything over 5hp in 240V starts getting really expensive.

[John Thompson]

Indeed it does Karl. But.. that is probably true with most things in general. If you need more.. you have to pay more.. A good example would be BS's. We pay a reasonable price for a saw up to 20" 5 HP which would be enough for almost any home set-up. But a 24" is a a "baby" saw in an industrail setting which just requires more with 36" being the norm to run continous duty on a production line.
Regards...

Sarge..

[Chris Padilla]

Most of us don't need 7.5 HP.. and the 3 phase should give away the acutual intent of who does as that is standard in most commercial settings.

Sarge..

Yepper doodles and there ya go! I *suspect* most of us on this forum are hobbyists and not pros so anything 3-phase screams commercial and any motor requiring more than 30 A at 240 V screams it as well....