Bandsaw HP

[Greg Just]

I'm looking at a number of bandsaws which will mainly be used to cut bowl blanks out of logs for my lathe. A nice 14 inch 1 hp runs $400-500 while a 1.5 hp goes up to the $700-800 range. I know more is better, but is the extra .5 hp worth the cost?

[Mark Ashmeade]

Grizzly G0513P. $692. 2HP, 17". Maybe not the Rolls-Royce of 17" bandsaws, but plenty of power for the money. I've not had much time to get used to mine, but I can say with certainty it is a world away from the 3/4 horse 14' it replaced. Good feature set, if not the best, and an excellent price point.

[Mike Harrison]

I'd advise that you buy a 14 inch saw, used, and put a 3 horse motor on it. I installed a 3 horse on my HF 14" saw about 5 years ago so I could use it for re-sawing.

[glenn bradley]

I have a G0513X and the 2HP is fine. #HP would be better but, 2HP is fine, I wouldn't want any less but it is mainly for resawing.

[Van Huskey]

My rule of thumb is a min of 1 hp per 6 inches of resaw, this is hard to find in a 14" saw. If your bowl blanks are going to be big and certainly if they are going to be tougher hardwoods buy all the horsepower you can afford.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I'd rather have two horsepower on a 17" saw than 3hp on a 14" saw. You can finesse the cut a bit more on the big saw to make up for the missing 1hp, and the blade doesn't have to bend as tight over the wheels so you aren't wasting as much power on that, and the table is much larger so it is more comfortable to use the saw. Plus you can stuff a bigger motor in the grizzly later on and not have to worry about breaking it.

[Myk Rian]

I know more is better, but is the extra .5 hp worth the cost?
If manufacturers rated motors the way they should, the 1hp would be more than enough.

[Van Huskey]

If manufacturers rated motors the way they should, the 1hp would be more than enough.

I have often felt this way but I have been taken to task and apparently an induction motor with a NEMA plate is pretty accurate BUT that is not to say an old school 1/2hp motor might well rate higher or much higher today. But from what I understand comparing motors with modern NEMA plates is apples to apples no matter where they were built and by whom, their may be differences in longevity etc.