Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok bear with me...

After talking to an electrician who lives in the neighborhood he pretty much has me convinced that I can install a circuit in my sub panel and wire up my tablesaw.

(He said he would check everything out if I wasn't sure though...)

But here is the question I can't seem to easily find the answer to in my wiring book.

When I install a 40A circuit I presume I need to use wire that is rated for the full 40A (not the 28 that I need for the saw). Where can I find a look up table for this? I know local codes vary, but I presume that they are pretty similar from place to place. Regardless of the variances in code, what is the "right" wire to use?

And the folks at Grizzly gave me about 5' of cord coming out of my saw switch - not nearly enough. If I want to make an extension cord what size wire would I need for that...

Again, the saw is rated at 28A.


Sorry to be such a dufus, but beyond the simple light switch or receptical I have not done much work with electricity.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Brock...check out this site.

">http://www.ilsco.com/newweb/IlscoHome.nsf/Web+Pages/Wire+A mperage+Rating+Chart


It looks like 6 AWG (Gage) copper wire should do the job. Just remember always rate the wiring to the circuit breaker size NOT the load size. You want the breaker to pop if there is an overload not the wire to short.

As for extending the wire on the saw you can use wire rated for 28 amps. Probably a 10 AWG (Gage) type SJ wire would work well. I build a few pig tails that I use as extension cords for my equipment (10'). This way I can plug other equipment into the pig tails if needed. If you do this just make sure you use the proper type of plugs since 28 amps is a good size load.

Good Luck!

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Brad
Avon, OH

Good source.

Here's a working link.

http://www.ilsco.com/newweb/IlscoHome.nsf/Web+Pages/Wire+Amp erage+Rating+Chart

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Brock, unless you need portability, you might consider hardwiring in Conduit. A direct conduit run to the saw from the subpanel is common, the saw will likely have knockouts for conduit fittings either EMT or PVC. This saves you the expense of the plug and receptacle unless you need them. I doubt you'll have many other machines with motors or requirements this huge.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

you could add a whip to the end of conduit so you have some room to move it around.