Table saws.. hp vs rip capacity

[Brandon Hanley]

I am in the process of moving my woodworking Hobby from the basement to a newly built 2 Car 2 story garage and think it is time to upgrade my junk table saw. The problem is I can't decide what features are more important for me and it is driving me insane. At first thought for what I want to do more horsepower seems like a no-brainer but in all honesty just in trying to set up the garage the way I want it, having a table saw around with the larger rip capacity would have been a godsend.

The two choices are a 1.5-2 horsepower saw with 50-plus inch Rip capacity or a 3 + horsepower saw with a 30 inch or so rip capacity

If I was more experienced and had been doing this longer it would be easier to choose but with being new to woodworking I don't really know which would be best for me because for all I know my interest will change in a few months after I start getting comfortable with things. At the moment my main interests would be trying to build guitars and trinket boxes which is why the smaller rip capacity made more sense to me

I've been going insane thinking about it for a few weeks now with the money burning a hole in my pocket but I'm so sick of thinking about it I'm tempted to just buy a three to four hundred dollar table saw that has a 30 inch Rip capacity to hold me over until my hobby dictates the tool i need

[Erik Christensen]

everybody will have a different answer depending on what they typically build and what other tools they have. to me - ripping anything > 30" usually means sheet goods and doing that safely & accurately single-handed is a challenge unless you have a very expensive euro slider.

I do a lot of cabinet case work & have a 55" rip capacity TS but find it rarely used that big as I have a track saw that is almost as accurate, cuts with less splintering & lot safer/easier on big sheets

i'd go with smaller 3hp saw - easier to get out the way when using garage for cars & paired with track saw gives you even more capability

advice worth what you paid for it

[Frankie Hunt]

Why are those your only 2 choices? Have you got 2 used saws that you are looking at?

My priorities on a saw would be:
1: Get a cabinet saw if you can. The heft and quality will be long appreciated.
2: Make sure you get a good fence. Most cabinets saws do come with a nice fence. (The Delta Unifence is my favorite)
3: Get 3hp if you can. You can do with less however the extra hp will be nice a lot of times.
4: Either fence size will work fine. If you do a lot of sheet goods the wide is nice, but you can be just as well off, perhaps even better off, adding a track saw to a table saw with the smaller rip capacity. (The smaller size is more manageable in a smaller garage and I find the track saw easier to use on sheet goods)

Having said all that. My brother-in-law builds guitars. His most used tools are a nice heavy duty 18 inch band saw and a drum sander. A close 3rd machine is a smaller band saw for curves.

[Rick Potter]

You talkin' new or used?

If used, any 3 HP cabinet saw (Delta, Powermatic, Grizzly, etc) would last you a lifetime. One factor to consider is a riving knife, which older saws do not have, which you should insist on. I mentioned those three brands because you can get parts for them if needed. Maybe not new on the Delta, but there are always a lot of parts for them on e-bay.

If new, depending on your pocketbook, I would be looking at a Grizzly 3HP cabinet saw with a 30" rip capacity. Moving up in price, would be a PM 1500, or 2000, followed by a Sawstop PCS, all the same size capacity.

Whichever way you go, everyone will recommend getting one with a riving knife, or at least an aftermarket splitter. The riving knife is a substantial step up from the splitter. Capacity wise, the 30" will not take up extra space, and you can always make a quick skilsaw guide to cut full sheets of ply down to table saw size. 3HP is enough to cut anything you will need to cut, with the proper blade. Not so much with 1 1/2 HP.

[Joshua Bass]

I bought a 52" Sawstop. I have never needed more than 30" capacity. Anything larger becomes difficult to deal with. Ripping a 4x8 sheet of plywood is difficult even with a friend helping. I ended up buying a tracksaw to break down sheet goods. Now I want to cut my sawstop down to a smaller size to save space

[Robert Engel]

To each his own, but when I stepped up from a 70's model cheap ("Crapsman";-) to a 3HP cabinet saw (Jet Xacta), my ww'ing improved and so did my confidence. A lot is going to depend on what you're doing and the kind of wood you're working with.

A lot of guys get by with a 1 1/2HP saw (keep a sharp blade on it) but the problem is the consumer saws like this are inferior quality. Personally I think the 2HP Grizzly hybrid as a first (and maybe last) table saw maybe a very good choice for you.

My cabinet saw has the wide 50" fence and to be honest I rarely use anything past 36. Most of the time it is tasked at a table holding wood, tools, etc. If you're cutting a lot of sheet goods, you may consider the 30" fence in combination with a track saw.

My philosophy is how serious you are about your ww'ing determines the quality of tools you buy -- not your skill level. I made this mistake when I started out and believe me, I went for years thinking I had low level skills when all the time my crappy tools were the problem.

Regardless of where you're at in your wwing, please don't buy poor quality tools. The inaccuracy and lack of power will become very frustrating.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I always buy saws with approximately 30 inch rip capacity as furniture rarely is larger than that.

2 to 3 HP is a good size.

As others have indicated get one with a good guard riving knife/splitter, overhead dust collection makes all the difference in the world for a safer shop, better health......Regards, Rod.

[Brandon Hanley]

Why are those your only 2 choices?.

Everything that has caught my eye and been even remotely in the budget has fit one of those two categories. .

$1300 or so is the max end of my budget but if one of the 2hp 30" saws would be enough to not hold me back for a few years that would be great and only cost a fraction of that.

The saws I've considered are
Grizzly g0771z
Grizzly g1023 variants
Delta Model # 36-725
Delta Model # 36-5152
JET JPS-10TS 52"

And worst case if I can't make up my mind a kobalt Model # KT1015 for $279 since it would do what I need for now unroll my hobby dictates the saw I actually need.

[Brandon Hanley]

1. My cabinet saw has the wide 50" fence and to be honest I rarely use anything past 36. Most of the time it is tasked at a table holding wood, tools, etc.

2. If you're cutting a lot of sheet goods, you may consider the 30" fence in combination with a track saw.

3. My philosophy is how serious you are about your ww'ing determines the quality of tools you buy -- not your skill level. I made this mistake when I started out and believe me, I went for years thinking I had low level skills when all the time my crappy tools were the problem.

1. This is one of the reasons I'm not worried about getting one that is to big. It seems like a little extra flat space around the shop is never a bad thing I just don't want to sacrifice the extra power if I need it just to use it as a regular old table

2. I need to look into this track saw thing I am almost embarrassed to admit I have never heard of one or had any idea what they were until looking into this table saw now I keep hearing it over and over again but still have no idea what it is

3. When I buy a cheap tool that usually isn't because I'm worried about my skill level it is usually because I am worried about investing in something high quality then losing interest and losing more money than I would have spent on a cheaper tool that would have held me over but wouldn't have been as nice or convenient. At this point though I would really hope that I don't lose interest because I have dedicated the whole downstairs of this two-story 24 foot by 24 foot 2 car garage to woodworking and small other tasks like working on the lawn mower or something like that if need be and had it built just for that purpose

None of my tools are top name or super expensive but I like to think that I didn't buy total trash either some of my main tools are

Grizzly 14" bandsaw w/ riser block
Jet floor model drill press
Ridgid osc. Spindle sander
Triton tra001router
Grizzly router table
Steel city 13" planer

I'm also planning to upgrade the router setup to an incra combo #3 with the ls positioner and all the bells and whistles

[Frankie Hunt]

Grizzly g1023 variants

And worst case if I can't make up my mind a kobalt Model # KT1015 for $279 since it would do what I need for now unroll my hobby dictates the saw I actually need.

The Grizzly G1023 is the best choice here. Its a true cabinet saw and is a step above the others.

I would skip the Kobalt saw. A much better option would be a Makita track saw as a stop gap measure.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Everything that has caught my eye and been even remotely in the budget has fit one of those two categories. .

$1300 or so is the max end of my budget but if one of the 2hp 30" saws would be enough to not hold me back for a few years that would be great and only cost a fraction of that.

The saws I've considered are
Grizzly g0771z
Grizzly g1023 variants
Delta Model # 36-725
Delta Model # 36-5152
JET JPS-10TS 52"

And worst case if I can't make up my mind a kobalt Model # KT1015 for $279 since it would do what I need for now unroll my hobby dictates the saw I actually need.

I am pretty inexperienced as well and just got into wwing the past few months. Like you, I agonized over the table saw purchase and most power tool purchases in general. I started out looking at job site saws so it wouldnt take up much space in the garage (I still like to park my car in there, especially when it's stormy). In the beginning of my search I didnt really understand the quality difference in saws. I would go to Lowes, HD, etc and they all seemed the same. Then I went to a Woodcraft and looked at their selection of SawStop's. My initial budget was around $300-500 so the SawStops were way out of my price range. After more and more research into not only quality but safety I convinced myself that I was going to get a SawStop. At first I was leaning towards the jobsite saw at $1300 but the contractor saw is only $200 more so I went ahead and made the plunge and got the contactor saw.

At the store I was talked into the premium fence (thankfully). I was also talked out of the 52 inch capacity. Thrilled for the former, second guessing the latter every now and then. I dont have a track saw and my circular saw is pretty crappy so there have been many time's I've wanted to make some wider cuts on my TS and regretted not getting the 52. Day to day I am probably better off with the 36.

Overall though, I am so glad I went with a better saw. Now when I go to Lowes and Home Depot and mess around with their selection of jobsite and contractor saws I can see all of the deficiencies compared to the better saws. So, stretch that budget absolutely as far as possible. I would even recommend sacrificing on other tools for a better table saw. I ended up going pretty cheap on my drill press, bandsaw, and two sanders. The only one I regret there is the cheap bandsaw. Ready to upgrade that sucker right away. The other stuff, I probably saved $400-600 total and am pretty happy.

TL;DR Run away from that Kobalt.

[Brandon Hanley]

It took a whole one video and I'm pretty much sold on a track saw of some sort I also got to wondering if most of these saws have the ability 4 bolt on upgrades to go from 30 to 50 or so inches later on if needed without breaking the bank

[Tim M Tuttle]

It took a whole one video and I'm pretty much sold on a track saw of some sort I also got to wondering if most of these saws have the ability 4 bolt on upgrades to go from 30 to 50 or so inches later on if needed without breaking the bank

Most of the track saws out there will come with a 50ish" track and you can buy additional track that easily attaches.

[Matt Day]

Track saws are great, but I've been dealing without one for 15 years and have survived. I suggest you invest as much as possible into a good table saw and use a guided circ saw for breaking down sheet goods for now. Further down the line consider a track saw.

[Brandon Hanley]

Most of the track saws out there will come with a 50ish" track and you can buy additional track that easily attaches.

Sorry the wording of that was misleading. What I meant was I was wondering if any of the table saws with a 30 inch Rip capacity can easily be upgraded to the larger 50-plus inch capacity with just bolt ons stuff without breaking the bank if needed