Saw footprint & horsepower thoughts/questions...so I need opinions!!

[Ryan W Taylor]

I cannot get a slider. I have used them and I know the wonderful things about them...but I am very limited on space. So I am going to have to get a cabinet saw when I upgrade. I want to get a solid saw that is going to last me years. Period. Not something I am going to regret in 2 years if you know what I mean.

I have 110v service right now, but I have no issue upgrading to the 220/240v standard. Here is where I am really stumped.

I want a strong saw. Something that will cut easily through the hardest wood and not get bogged down, have a clean cut on the Dado Stack as well as when making normal cuts. I am thinking that a 5HP saw would be the way to go. What I am trying to figure out is, is there any use in looking at the 220v 3HP saw?

The saw I am looking at right now is the 10": 5HP 1023RLWX since...

1. Has a small footprint
2. Can have a mobile base for me to wheel it out and use in my driveway.
3. *insert Arnold voice* Lots of POWAAA

I like the feature on the Sawstop where you can add a slider attachment to the left side of the saw. Is there anything like that for other saws? My wife saw the price on the sawstop and literally said "That is insane...NO".

[Steve Coley]

I cannot get a slider. I have used them and I know the wonderful things about them...but I am very limited on space. So I am going to have to get a cabinet saw when I upgrade. I want to get a solid saw that is going to last me years. Period. Not something I am going to regret in 2 years if you know what I mean.

I have 110v service right now, but I have no issue upgrading to the 220/240v standard. Here is where I am really stumped.

I want a strong saw. Something that will cut easily through the hardest wood and not get bogged down, have a clean cut on the Dado Stack as well as when making normal cuts. I am thinking that a 5HP saw would be the way to go. What I am trying to figure out is, is there any use in looking at the 220v 3HP saw?

The saw I am looking at right now is the 10": 5HP 1023RLWX since...

1. Has a small footprint
2. Can have a mobile base for me to wheel it out and use in my driveway.
3. *insert Arnold voice* Lots of POWAAA

I like the feature on the Sawstop where you can add a slider attachment to the left side of the saw. Is there anything like that for other saws? My wife saw the price on the sawstop and literally said "That is insane...NO".

Others will jump in here, but you are unlikely to need 5HP. 3HP will likely be enough. Be advised there is a long delivery time on Grizzly 1023. You might want to call them and check on that. I have had one on order since December.

[Ryan W Taylor]

Talked to them yesterday. Sounds like they are getting in more in roughly ~ late March. Most have been accounted for.

As for 3 HP....how much does that bog down against eight quarter seasoned white oak?

Others will jump in here, but you are unlikely to need 5HP. 3HP will likely be enough. Be advised there is a long delivery time on Grizzly 1023. You might want to call them and check on that. I have had one on order since December.

[Erik Loza]

3hp should be fine. IME, the vast majority of "it bogged my saw down" is due to using the wrong blade for the job. Good luck in your search.

Erik

[Bill Space]

I love my G1023RLWX.

Only costs a bit more. In my case it was only 50 bucks or so. Back then.

I say go for it. You only use the extra HP when you need it. And the larger motor will run cooler because it has more mass. Buy once, enjoy for the long term.

You will need a 220 volt, 30 amp supply to the saw though...

[Lisa Starr]

I have a much older Grizzly 1023 and it does not bog down. Period. It is well over 15 years old and never needs repairs or re-aligning. 3HP should be fine for you.

As for extended lead times for saw and other woodworking equipment is that you want a particular item, there is no point in settling for something else. You've lived however long without it and a few more months isn't much in the big scheme. I just waited between 5 and 6 months for a piece of equipment.

[Carroll Courtney]

Well even if you are running a cabinet shop I still don't see the need in 5hp saw. Bigger is not always better, I know no one wants to go back to the old days before all these beauty saws but then the top guns of TS Unisaws and PM 66 which some were just 1 1/2 to 3hp. Like Eric said right blade is more important than hp.

[Ryan W Taylor]

Well, right now I am running a Tenyru Gold Medal blade on my current saw. It seems to do the trick pretty well.

[Rod Sheridan]

A small slider like mine takes up the same or less space than a cabinet saw, will crosscut a sheet of plywood, has a scoring saw and takes a dado.

I had a General 650 cabinet saw before the slider, and you couldn’t convince me to go backward to a cabinet saw again.

As for mobility mine uses the semi live skid format which I consider to be the best system.

The saw is 4HP, will take a 12” blade for 4” depth of cut although I mostly use 10 inch blades.....Regards, Rod

[Ryan W Taylor]

A small slider like mine takes up the same or less space than a cabinet saw, will crosscut a sheet of plywood, has a scoring saw and takes a dado.

I had a General 650 cabinet saw before the slider, and you couldn’t convince me to go backward to a cabinet saw again.

As for mobility mine uses the semi live skid format which I consider to be the best system.

The saw is 4HP, will take a 12” blade for 4” depth of cut although I mostly use 10 inch blades.....Regards, Rod

Which saw do you have? Can you send/post a photo?

[Rod Sheridan]

Which saw do you have? Can you send/post a photo?

Hi Ryan, I have a Hammer B3 Winner with a 51" sliding table. It's a saw/shaper, if you only want a saw it's a K3 model.Crosscut Fence Mounted.jpgB3 007.jpg

[Rod Sheridan]

Ryan, here's the drawing of the machine.Support Arm Deployed.jpgSupport Arm Stowed.jpgB3 Winner Drawing-1.jpgB3 Winner Drawing-2.jpg

I've also included a photo of the outrigger support arm deployed and stowed.

Normally I don't have the outrigger on the saw, when I have to crosscut something big I put it on, takes a couple minutes, no tools required. Calibration is not affected by removing or installing the outrigger........Rod.

[Dave Cav]

As other folks have mentioned, 3 HP would probably be plenty for a 10" cabinet saw. I have run a number of Unisaws and Powermatic 66s with 1.5 to 3 HP motors with no problems.

You might check on CL or other online sales venues for a used Unisaw or PM66. They are generally pretty reasonably priced and are all iron and steel construction. They're easy to rebuild and parts are available either on Ebay or OWWM. Everything you need to know about rebuilding one is available at either OWWM dot com or at the Vintage Machinery dot org site. Plus, the footprint of either saw isn't any bigger than a contractor saw.

That being said, I made room in my shop for a slider. I had a big Rockwell 12/14 grouped with a Delta shaper and a Powermatic cabinet saw. I sold the 12/14, the shaper, the adjacent RAS and shoehorned in a Minimax SC4E and I couldn't be happier.

[Ryan W Taylor]

That's.....surprisingly....small.

Ryan, here's the drawing of the machine.Support Arm Deployed.jpgSupport Arm Stowed.jpgB3 Winner Drawing-1.jpgB3 Winner Drawing-2.jpg

I've also included a photo of the outrigger support arm deployed and stowed.

Normally I don't have the outrigger on the saw, when I have to crosscut something big I put it on, takes a couple minutes, no tools required. Calibration is not affected by removing or installing the outrigger........Rod.

[Michael W. Clark]

Unless I’m missing something, it’s only a $100 more for the 5hp model so why not? Unless you are limited with power supply, it will take bigger circuit.

I have a 5hp older G1023, it will change sound when doing deep 3/4” dados, never had a problem ripping. Mine is 3ph and on a static converter so not even getting full HP.

The Hammer is a different style and class IMO, but different money too. Grizzly makes a short stroke slider, but Hammer gets mostly great reviews. I haven’t seen much on the Grizzly sliders but haven’t looked either.