Sawstop: 3hp vs 1.75hp & router table

[Chris Padilla]

As others have said, 3 hp in a hobbyist shop works very nicely assuming you have 240V somewhere (I used the dryer outlet until I redid my shop and wiring) and can handle the added expense of the upgraded motor. I have NEVER bogged my saw down. My father's old Craftman...used to bog that sucker down all the time. It likely had a 1.5 hp/120V connection. When I bought my first table saw, I went big (for me at the time in 2000): Grizzly 1023Z cabinet saw/3 hp. It has been a rock solid saw for me. I'd like it to die or give me an excuse to upgrade but I don't think it ever will.

[Cary Falk]

3 hp if you can swing the electrical

[Ben Rivel]

Oh yea, we all go through this when trying to decide on which SawStop to get. I'm just a home gamer here, but I wanted to try and make all my large tools the last I would ever need to purchase and since I am still young I plan to reap the benefits of that for many years to come. So I went with the 3HP PCS 36" on the ICS mobile base and the overarm dust collector. Costly, but not the most expensive tool in the shop and its kinda one of those buy once cry once type things. I suggest that no matter which motor size you go with, go with the 36" vs the 30" for sure. The fence on the 36" is much better and a standard that youll be happy you have for future accessories, jigs, etc.

[Frank Pratt]

The ICS mobile base is really sweet. SawStop had a promo that included a free mobile base (PCS) or OH dust collection. I went with the base & then Lee Valley took it back, gave me credit, & ordered me an ICS base.

It has a few advantages over the PCS base. All 4 wheels swivel, so much better maneuverabiltiy. The casters seem better When I jack up the base, the saw will head down toward the OH door all by itself & there is only 3" of slope in 26'. The casters under the right side extend further than the PCS, giving more support to the extension.

[Ben Rivel]

The ICS mobile base is really sweet. SawStop had a promo that included a free mobile base (PCS) or OH dust collection. I went with the base & then Lee Valley took it back, gave me credit, & ordered me an ICS base.

It has a few advantages over the PCS base. All 4 wheels swivel, so much better maneuverabiltiy. The casters seem better When I jack up the base, the saw will head down toward the OH door all by itself & there is only 3" of slope in 26'. The casters under the right side extend further than the PCS, giving more support to the extension.

Exactly. For me the ICS mobile base was a must have.

[Steve Demuth]

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice here. Seems to be a consensus here: 3HP, 36" fence, ICS base. Can't ask for anything more definitive than that.

For those who addressed electrical: fortunately I'm in a position to make my own rules on that. I can wire up anything I can afford. ;-)

[Ben Rivel]

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice here. Seems to be a consensus here: 3HP, 36" fence, ICS base. Can't ask for anything more definitive than that.

You're gonna love it!

[Mark Salomon]

Yes and yes. I replaced a 3 hp hybrid with a 3hp Sawstop and have no regrets whatsoever. I also mounted the Benchdog cast router table in place of the extension table on the right.

[glenn bradley]

2. Is the 3hp version worth an extra $400, plus in my case upgraded electrical service to the shop?

Let's see . . . . $400 plus some electrical . . . Let's be generous and say $500.

$500 divided by the 20 years you will use the saw . . . that's just shy of 7 cents a day for a saw that will make you smile for 20 years . . . whadda ya think about dat logik?

[Chris Fournier]

1.75 hp is great for sheet goods and 4/4 lumber. You can push it to do more but the 3 hp will eat up pretty much everything. 3 hp it is!

[John Sanford]

3hp and Yes, you can mount the normal BenchDog Cast Iron table directly to the SawStop PCS. It requires zero, nada, zilch modifications. I know, because I have one mounted on my 3hp SawStop PCS. Actually, I have it mounted to the left side wing, which migrated from the left side to the right after being displaced by a SawStop slider. My setup, from left to right is slider, table, wing, wing, Benchdog. You can mount the Benchdog directly to the saw, or to the wing if you want. Just keep in mind that the 30" fence doesn't have any extra support, so if you add the Benchdog rather than swapping a wing out, you may need to come up with a support leg. Oh, and the Benchdog can go on either side of the blade. I would have put mine on the left were it not for the Slider.

While the electrical upgrade requirements of the for the 3hp can be a bother, once done you get the rest of the 240v power world opened up to you, which means bigger bandsaws, planers, lathers and jointers. It's well worth it. 3hp, all the way, every day.

[Steve Demuth]

Great logic ... I really like the part where I use this for 20 years ... I'd like to think I'll still be working in 20 years. Actuarial tables wouldn't bet on it though ...

[Steve Demuth]

2.) Yes, it's worth the extra $400.00. You must be right on the margin electrically right now with a hybrid TS and a DC running. You're going to have upgrade your wiring eventually, and this seems like a good time.

Probably a little bit over, truth be told. Have to make some deliberate decisions about machine configurations sometimes, so I certainly do need to upgrade the service.

[Derek Stockley]

Here's a picture of my 3HP PCS with a cast iron router wing. I had to cut notches in the fence rails for router wing's mitre gauge, and I had to drill out the holes in the router wing's edges a little bit to match the holes in the saw stop's cast iron. My saw is against the wall on the right side, so I use it standing as if I'm using the table saw. I'm about 6' tall, so I don't have too much trouble reaching - it's less convenient than I'd like, but it works for me. Someone less tall (I would guess less than 5'8" or so) would have trouble safely feeding stock over the router like this. I previously had this router wing mounted on the left side of a contractor saw and I liked that configuration A LOT more, but with the motor bubble on the left side of the saw stop that isn't feasible. The SawStop already has legs under the fence rails but before I added this, I didn't really think about them too much. With the added weight on the right side, those legs really do become necessary. Mounting the cast iron router table further to the right in place of SawStop's wooden table would probably make it so unstable that rolling it around on the PCS Mobile Base would be difficult.

IMG_4674.jpg

[Alan Lightstone]

I mounted the cast iron router table more to the right. I agree, that without sufficient support it would lead to tipping, but I built cabinets / dust collection around it, which supplies more than sufficient support, and it works fantastically for me, with tons of storage.

And I couldn't agree more to go to 3HP.DSC_8499.jpg