I promised I’d get back to those of you who showed an interest in my contractor saw search of several weeks back. (Forest Girl, Rich Rose et. al.)I was looking for a replacement for a Delta I had been using but which was being reclaimed by a friend who had left it with me.
My search and study ended with purchase of a Grizzly 1022Pro. And while I’ve done little more so far than rip a few boards, here’s the initial impression.
I think I made the right choice. For an amateur furniture maker who essentially uses the saw for my own projects and for ocassional gifts and furniture for friends, I think I got a fine saw for a great price. I can’t really tell the difference between this saw and the Delta I had been using — except for the improved features that come with the Pro. A comparably spec’d Delta or JEt goes for about $250 more.
The Grizzly Pro comes with a Biesemeyer clone fence and cast wings, a link belt and a 2 hp motor that I’ve plugged into 220 volts. It seems to run more smoothly than did the Delta, which may come from the somewhat bigger motor, better belt and heavy table overall. Being a cheapskate, I’m happy with the value I got for $600. IF there’s a difference between this and the higher priced saws it may be a matter of longevity of the machine, I suppose — something that only time will reveal. If there is a quality difference where it matters, perhaps it might show up over time if this saw were run for 40 hours a week, week after week.
The throat plate is pretty tinny, but I’m going to replace that with a zero-clearance one anyway. Wasn’t hard to assemble and I didn’t need to adjust the arbor for parallel, something I was dreading.
The fence is slick and precise, although I never had any major gripes with the old Delta’s standard fence. Also, the Grizzly sits a little taller on its stand than did the Delta, which I like.
Overall, it’s sweet.
I am now busily thinking of ways to spend some of that $250 I saved.
gaf
Edited 9/15/2002 8:31:59 PM ET by gaf
Replies
is it a contractor style or cabinet saw? (im too lazy to check out the catalog or the website LOL)
Bill:
Yes, the 1022Pro is a version of Grizzly's contractor saw line, the one that comes with cast iron (grate-style) wings, 2 hp motor and the Shop Fox Classic Biesemeyer clone fence. Other versions have different kinds of wings, motors and fences. But I liked this combination the best and haven't been disappointed. I notice that the current issue of Popular Woodworking magazine (can I say that here?) includes this model among its "recommended" saws (along with the more expensive Delta and Jet equivalents)
The low-end cabinet saw that Grizzly makes is the 1023 and gets strong reviews from lots of different sources, including that particular issue of Popular Woodworking. I was sorely tempted when I was shopping around, except there was no way I could justify spending close to $900 for the amount of woodworking I do. Maybe some day.
Meanwhile, I'm thrilled with this very sturdy and smooth-running contractor saw.
gaf
gaf -- a question about your new saw...are you having any trouble with the blade height or angle set "staying put"?? I read in another forum of someone who was having trouble, and I read in the Amer.WWer. tablesaw review that the Pro doesn't have blade-lock knobs on the adjustment wheels. Surprised the heck out of me! How's that part of it going for you?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forest Girl, et al.
Yes, you are right. The blade adjustment wheels don't have a lockdown mechanism, which at first worried me. But, then, the lockdown on the Delta I have been using never worked all that well either. So far I haven't had any problem.
But I can't definitively answer your question yet because I haven't really put the saw through its paces. I'll get back to you. Tomorrow I pick up a load of poplar for a new hutch and will be making a lot of cuts and dados over the next month. If the blade setting drifts, it'll probably show up in the dado heights, you would think. I do know there is a way to adjust the resistance of the blade height adjustment wheel, and it may be Grizzly relies on keeping that resistance fairly tight to prevent the settings from drifting. Or maybe they know something the others don't know?
Stay tuned. This will probably turn into a serial. We eventually are going to answer everyone's questons about this saw -- including my original question: Is this saw at this price too good to be true?
gaf
Probably not the same vintage but a buddy got a contractor model like that about +7 years ago. It still runs fine but the chrome plating on some of the hardware just flaked off in sheets. He thought it vacuumed just like sawdust, and it doesn't matter to him.
Gaf,
You' won't regret your purchase. The only real complaint I can make of the saw is that it does not have a riving knife. But then, neither does a Powermatic!
(Bill the saw is a "contractor's" type)
One of the reasons for the smoothness is the link belt. They improve any contractor saw. Don't dread adjusting the machine for squareness to the miter slots, but ignore the instructions in the manual. It tells you to turn the saw upside down and to remove the sheet metal body from the top to get at the 4 trunion bolts. Ugh!
You can get to the bolts with a hex wrench by reaching up from underneath. It really helps if you have a set of long-stemmed "T" hex wrenches. They say to accept parallelism if it measures 1/32" . That's too much. There is precious little play in the holes that the bolts pass through, but you can adjust to much better than 1/32"
Throw away the miter gauge (like most it is terrible) and make a proper cross cut sled and you will have a first class cutting machine. A sled is orders of magnitude better at what it does than a miter gauge.
Enjoy!
Rich
Rich:
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks flipping this saw on its back and then righting it repeatedly to "fine tune" the arbor sounds a bit crazy. If I have to tune it in the future, I'll take your advice and get the appropriate wrenches so I can reach from underneath.
And now off to the tool catalog to look for some new squares and....
gaf
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled