Harold, that is really good. Give a 12" board a try and let us know as any tension problem will increase exponentially with depth of cut. If you can do 12" oak or maple you are golden. As to frame deflection, if your saw seems to suddenly become difficult to track the blade on the wheel and is inconsistent as to where it sits on the wheel you may have deflection. As the blade travels at speed it will wander if the frame is flexing even slightly. Dave