PSA: that dado stack rating on your saw is for softwood, not the oak you're actually cutting | Carpenters - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
PSA: that dado stack rating on your saw is for softwood, not the oak you're actually cutting
I was reading the manual for my old Ridgid table saw (bored on a rainy Tuesday in Spokane) and noticed the dado capacity listed assumes pine, not hardwood. I've been hogging out 3/4 inch grooves in red oak with a full stack and wondering why the motor smells hot. Anyone else run a smaller stack on hard stuff, or am I babying this thing?
Sounds like you might be overthinking it honestly. I've run a full 3/4 stack through white oak plenty of times on a 1.75hp saw and yeah it bogs down but it cuts. That hot motor smell is probably just you pushing too fast, not the wood type. A sharp blade and slower feed rate fixes most of that.