Thread: The Big Saw - new motor?

Has anyone here ever tried to RIP saw an old utility pole, these were power and telegraph poles. They go through a metal detector before they get to the saw but if any one has ripped one and can recommend a blade style that would be very helpful too.

The wood is about 20+ years old and is hardwood like ironbox and all that sort of fun hardwood

Using any saw to rip anything with a round cross section without a special wood carriage is asking for trouble. On a circular table saw the blade will rotate the log/pole so that the blade will jam and continually overload the motor. Sometimes even the old logs are under significant internal tension and can just grab the blade. The forces involved can also buckle blades and can even undo blades. Yep it's hard to believe but continually assaulting the blade with really hard dry wood can undo the arbor nut so watch out. It's happened to me several times. Without a timber carriage, at a bare minimum a flat working surface is needed on the wood so that it sits on the table. This can be obtained with a simple chain saw mill but that in itself is a whole can of worms.

Even if you can get a flat surface you still need A LOT more power than you think.

As a guide to the power needed, the Lucas 8/15 electric mill make continual 8" cuts using a 15HP 3-phase motor, so with a 14" blade or a 6.5" cut on a table saw you will need about 12HP 3-phase but as you intend to continually mill seriously hard dry stuff I wouldn't go for anything less than a 15HP 3-phase.

But I would not fit that motor to a conventional table saw even if it can hold a 14" blade.

I'm with him

Personally I'd only use a bandsaw for something that big. Try putting the word out in the milling forums, there may be someone near you with a mill who can break them down into manageable slabs.