Table saw stops cutting mid-cut, but not stalled...what is going on?

[Hasin Haroon]

Hi All,
I recently purchased a Sawstop PCS175, and got done assembling it.
I am having an issue quite often with rip cuts, where I will be cutting thick stock, the saw cuts just fine until some point mid cut where it feels as though I'm hitting a wall - the motor is still going and the blade hasn't slowed down, so it's not bogging down or slowing down, just feels as though I'm pushing the stock into a stationary blade.
Pulling the stock back a tad and going again usually lets me finish the rip just fine. The stock I'm talking about is around 2 or 3" pine, so it's not a very taxing material. Any ideas on what might be happening?

[Art Mann]

I'll just toss out an educated guess and say the wood is bindingn between the riving knife and fence in some way.

[Hasin Haroon]

It could be that, but I have aligned the fence to be slightly farther from the blade on the out feed side so that would be surprising

[justin sherriff]

the wood is bending into the saw kerf pinching on the riving knife.

[Tom Ewell]

Throat plate (insert) level with the table?
Sometimes a 'splinter' of stuff can catch an uneven surface at the tail end of the throat.
Zero clearance insert can help some with it.

[Brett Luna]

Is your throat plate flush with the top? I've had a couple of occasions when mine wasn't quite flush on the back side and the end of the work piece caught the exposed edge.

ETA: Dang. Beat to the punch by one minute.

[Ray Newman]

Here's my take: you are taxing the capability of the saw when cutting 2-3" thick stock, even so-called 'soft' pine wood.

The PCS 175 has a 110v 1.75 motor, so slow down the feed rate as not to stress the capability of the motor. Back-in-the-day (early 1980's), I had a Delta contractor's saw with the dual voltage 1.5HP (?or was it the 1.75?) motor. When cutting thick stock of any species, I had to slow down the feed rate and utilize a very sharp blade. After I had the motor re-wired for 220 volt, the saw performed/cut better and easier. From what I have been told, the PCS175 is not a dual voltage motor, so re-wiring to 220 v. is not possible. Watch your feed rate, keep the blade clean of resin and pitch, and make sure it is very sharp.

[Ben Rivel]

Here's my take: you are taxing the capability of the saw when cutting 2-3" thick stock, even so-called 'soft' pine wood.

The PCS 175 has a 110v 1.75 motor, so slow down the feed rate as not to stress the capability of the motor. Back-in-the-day (early 1980's), I had a Delta contractor's saw with the dual voltage 1.5HP (?or was it the 1.75?) motor. When cutting thick stock of any species, I had to slow down the feed rate and utilize a very sharp blade. After I had the motor re-wired for 220 volt, the saw performed/cut better and easier. From what I have been told, the PCS175 is not a dual voltage motor, so re-wiring to 220 v. is not possible. Watch your feed rate, keep the blade clean of resin and pitch, and make sure it is very sharp.
Im not sure thats the issue, but there is a conversion kit from SawStop to convert the 1.75HP motor to work on 220V. You have to deal with SawStop directly to get it and last I read it was around $40 for the parts.

OP: Are you running the saw on a 15A or 20A circuit?

OP: Also what blade are you using to cut said stock?

[Matt Day]

Does it do the same on 4/4 and thinner material? Sounds like it's binding from reactionary wood, which is more common on thicker woods

[Tom Ewell]

I'm hitting a wall - the motor is still going and the blade hasn't slowed down, so it's not bogging down or slowing down
Binding of any sort would cause the blade to slow down or stop, he should still be able to move it some IMO
Once he figures this one out he should be able to get a feel for the power of the saw if it does bog down and adjust the feed rate accordingly

[Russell Stanton]

I had a similar ocurance on my 3 HP Sawstop and it turned out the wood had such wild grain that it was clamping down on the riving knife and would not let me move the wood further into the cut. When I stopped the saw and got the wood free the back of the cut completely closed up

[Eric Schmid]

When you pull the piece back out, does it feel stuck on something; hard to pull back initially? It sounds like the kerf is closing on the knife (as others have mentioned). It could also be pinching between the knife and fence. That you are able to pull the piece back and recut without issue, seems to confirm that the material is binding on the knife. What does the cut look like after it's been pulled back and sent through again?

FWIW; I have three saws and only one has a riving knife. The only saw that ever responds as you describe is the one with the knife and only when reactionary wood closes on the knife or binds between the knife and fence. The saws that don't have a knife or splitter most of the time respond differently to reactionary wood. They bogg down (best case) when the kerf closes.

[Keith Weber]

The wood is not by chance catching on your outfeed table or a rear rail (if that saw has one), is it?

[scott spencer]

Sounds like the piece is hitting something....outfeed, insert, riving knife, etc. If you were binding or overloading the saw, it would slow down noticeably.

[Lee Schierer]

Sounds like the piece is hitting something....outfeed, insert, riving knife, etc. If you were binding or overloading the saw, it would slow down noticeably.

My thoughts exactly, because the OP states the motor is still running and the blade has not slowed down. I've had this problem once in a while when a piece hangs up on the edge of my out feed table. It feels like it is stuck.

[Shawn Pixley]

Check the alignment of the insert. If the back edge is too low, the wood catches on the top casting.

[Hasin Haroon]

Thanks everyone. I checked everything on the saw once again, fiddled with the fence alignment, checked the riving knife alignment and scratched my head as I got ready to dive into the innards of the saw and check the belts and pulleys...turns out it was the throat plate/insert, it was too low on the outfeed side. I thought I had adjusted it while putting the saw together, and so I didn't check that again. It's the simplest things. Thanks for all the responses!

[Steve Eure]

I had a similar problem with my Delta. It ended up being the riving knife slightly ou of alianment.