If all you want to cut is square stock, 3/4" boards for board bows, a small saw may be just fine. But if you intend to muscle irregular staves through it, save your money and forget it. I have a 14" Grizzly with a 1HP motor that I regard as the absolute minimum for roughing out osage. (Even that bogs down to a halt quite a bit. Several times on most staves, in fact.) It will handle boned out staves OK, but it won't let me tackle untrimmed, big log splits nearly as well as like, if at all. After about 8 years, the motor is all but toast on it. Fortunatlely, I have an industrious father in law who's been able to keep it limping along for me. I'll have to price out a new motor much sooner than later I'm afraid, and may end up just upgrading to 2 or 3HP saw.
