Replies

1. 
   gizmo2006 | Feb 09, 2005 06:22am | #1

   Dave,

   I own a Shop fox drill press, disc sander, and 16"band saw. I'm very pleased with all of these with one exception. The 16" band saw had a part failure. The blade tension adjustment rod stripped it's threads after two month's. There was not a problem getting it replaced. The tech support at Shop Fox did their job very well. I do feel like that paticular part should have been made of a higher grade of steel. Also the nut it threads into is only about 3/16" thick and only has 4-5 threads on it. The part failed at the worst time. I had a project with a deadline. I visited my local fastener company, purchased a stainless steel all thread rod and cut it to fit. I also visited my local electrical supplier and purchased a unistrut style nut. My temporary fix is still on the saw. I've ordered a 1/2" all thread rod with the acme style thread and a matching nut. I'm also replacing the tension lever with a hand wheel. The new Shop Fox 17" was redesigned and have these features already. I must say for the amount of money in my budget, I'm satisfied. If I had a  bigger budget I would have bought the Laguna brand. Note: Get you a Shop Fox catalog and a Grizly Catalog and look at all the power tool specs. pictures and prices. You'll find it interesting. Also the three warehouse locations in the front of each catalog. Let me know if your opinion is the same as mine.

   Delbert

1. 
   Yogi | Feb 09, 2005 10:03am | #2

   Thanks for your info, Del-  As for my opinion, I'd best keep gathering info before I hazard one of those-

   I was in a power tool store in town, talking with a knowledgeable fellow who repairs everything they sell-  I asked him how the frequency and nature of problems with Shop Fox equipment compared with those of the other makes in the store (just about every major brand is represented), and he said better than some, about as good as any-  Looks like I could spend a lot more without getting much more-

   Thanks again-

   Dave

    

    

2. 
   MatthewSchenker | Feb 09, 2005 05:17pm | #3

   Dave,
   I'm also interested in hearing what people have to say about Shop Fox. I am looking for a new jointer, and the 6" Shop Fox looks nice.

   I have heard very good things about the Shop Fox mortiser. But I have heard very little about Shop Fox table saws, jointers, planers, and shapers. I've searched lots of woodworking forums, and came up with very little.

   I have found two possible sources for Shop Fox tools.

   One is a tool supplier called Woodstock International:
   http://www.shopfox.biz/

   The other is an eBay vendor:
   http://stores.ebay.com/www-utterguys-com-Power-Tools_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm

   It's odd odd that there isn't more information out there, considering that Shop Fox takes out full-page ads in all the major wodworking magazines. Also, their tools seem to be made for a kind of high-end intermediate woodshop -- they are pretty substantial in size and construction.

3. 
   douglas2cats | Feb 09, 2005 05:39pm | #4

   The only thing I've got of theirs is their right angle jig, but it's kinda hard for anything to go wrong with that. I'm not totally sure, but I thought I remembered hearing that Shop Fox was Grizzly's line of products that they sell through the normal retail chain, instead of the mail-order only Grizzly line.

    

   If you build it - he will come.

1. 
   RickL | Feb 11, 2005 03:38pm | #5

   Shop Fox is not a part of Grizzly. It's a seperate company and sold by many other distributors. It's actually a part of Woodstock International. http://www.shopfox.biz/index.cfm

1. 
   highfigh | Feb 11, 2005 07:48pm | #6

   Yet they ship from the same locations as Grizzly. Hmmmm. And Grizzly supplies Shop Fox along with their table saws. I think theymight be part of the same corporation.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 11, 2005 08:33pm | #7

   Perhaps they are able to save money and cut shipping costs by renting warehouse space and shipping services from Grizzly.  I'm not positive, but I think if you visit a Grizzly showroom, you will not find a bunch of Shop Fox tools displayed along with the Grizzly tools.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   frenchy | Feb 12, 2005 04:09am | #10

   shop Fox is listed right along the Grizzly stuff and I have bought  a shop fox sawdust collector and molding maker simply because of the very low cost differential between it and the Grizzly product  offered some real benefits that I considered worth while...

2. 
   forestgirl | Feb 12, 2005 09:35am | #11

   Hi Frenchy.....I was talking about the displays in the showrooms.  Mystery solved, though, since the same guy started both companies (and owns them).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   douglas2cats | Feb 11, 2005 09:08pm | #8

   Well I dont remember where I originally heard that, but I think I found the definitive answer.

   S. Balolia is the owner of both Woodstock and Grizzly

   http://www.inc.com/magazine/19961015/2075.html

    If you build it - he will come.

1. 
   highfigh | Feb 12, 2005 01:21am | #9

   Ho hum, another company. It must suck to be him.We should get him involved with these discussions. He could give us the straight scoop and then we'd know exactly how/why they do some of the things they do.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

4. 
   Sawthelight | Feb 12, 2005 12:00pm | #12

   I have several Shop Fox tools including the benchtop mortiser, large floor model stationary oscillating spindle sander & 3 HP dual canister dust collector. When visiting the Grizzly showroom, I noticed Grizzly only carries a portion of the Shop Fox line, it appears in areas where the Shop Fox products would not directly compete with them on features or price points. When comparing Grizzly & Shop Fox products, I have found they differ in at least 4 ways.

   First Shop Fox is sold at retail dealers throughout the US, making it more convenient for many to see the machine in person before purchase, & possibly saving some freight as well for you. Grizzly may be seen only at their three showroom locations.

   Second big difference for me, is that they have double the warranty Grizzly offers, two years parts & labor, versus only one year offered by Grizzly. Third difference I have noticed, is that the feature list, or specifications, will almost almost be different than the similar Grizzly product (larger size table, beefier weight, larger motor, extra added feature etc.) usually justifying the slightly higher retail price Shop Fox usually asks for.

   Lastly, the color is a cream off white color, very similar to Jet's color, versus the Grizzly green color we all know. Don't know if this is an advantage or not, but I like it since I several brands of power tools, including both Grizzly & Shop Fox, & enjoy breaking up the monotony of all my tools being the same color, IMHO.

   As to the shared warehouse locations, I have verified that as true. Woodstock products, Shop Fox & Grizzly all appear to be shipped from the same shared warehouse facilities, which probably makes sense, since they all have the same owner. Hope this helps some.

   Cowboy Bill

    

    

    

1. 
   douglas2cats | Feb 12, 2005 04:31pm | #13

   Hey folks. I didn't mean to imply in my earlier post that ShopFox were simply re-badged Grizzly tools. I recognize that they're not the same machines. When I said earlier that "... Shop Fox was Grizzly's line of products that they sell through the normal retail chain, instead of the mail-order only Grizzly line" I guess it would have been more accurate to say  "Shop Fox is S. Balolia's line of products sold through the normal retail chain, instead of his mail-order only Grizzly line". Rick3ddd's reply to my post got me wondering where I'd gotten that idea so I started searching. That's when I discovered the info about the common owner. In the process I noticed this on Woodstock's site

   "Woodstock International sells its products through thousands of bona fide dealers across the continent. We do not sell direct to the consumers" (my underlines) on their webpagehttp://www.woodstockinternational.com/wholesaleservices.cfmReading between the lines, I get the impression that maybe earlier in their existance, Woodstock's sibling link to Grizzly was more widely known and they felt the need to stress the point about separate distribution.

   While the features on similar machines aren't identical I'd be willing to bet that under the hood there may be some shared parts - or at least should be if Mr. Balolia is as smart a businessman as reported. It wouldn't surprise me if you took a service parts list from comparable ShopFox and Grizzly machines that you could find some of the same parts. They may be sharing some of the same factories and production lines too. Obviously he's sharing the same distribution warehouses. Those would seem to be smart things to do from his perspective.

   I don't mean to imply that the SF-Woodstock/Griz link somehow denegrates the SF tools. It's just interesting info to know.If you build it - he will come.

1. 
   treeguy | Feb 12, 2005 05:22pm | #14

   I recently purchased the shop fox 16 speed bench top drill press with oscillating sander feature.  I was looking at the grizzly 16 speed bench top drill press.  I had the oppurtunity on a rain day at work to make the trip 3 hour trip (one way) to grizzly's muncy, pa store.  I really wanted to check out the dp before i bought it that's why i drove up there instead of shipping it.  When i got there they were sold out of the grizzly model.  But on the showroom floor they had the shop fox and grizzly models side by side.  Several things were very similar, the motor, post, baseplates, belts and pulleys.  Needless to say i bought the shop fox model.  It was more than i wanted to spend so i couldn't get everthing i wanted to at that time, but the machine runs good and the oscillating feature works as good as i need it too.  The depth stop leaves something to be desired though, it seems more of an afterthought than a design feature.  But overall i would consider shop fox again. 

    

   Steve

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Feb 12, 2005 05:32pm | #15

   Have the BT morticer and it's not close to being like the Grizzly... Some tools are similar. The SF distributor told me that the companies are owned by the same person, but the marketing and support differs as others have pointed out. SF is distributed and supported by the local distributor with merchandize on the show-room floor.

   Love the morticer, mixed reviews on the Drill Press and TS. The customer service local is great.. And I I've always contended, all tool companies have "hits and misses" and it is advisable to do your home-work to find out which are which.

   Good luck...

   sarge..jtProud member of the :  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   Yogi | Feb 12, 2005 07:43pm | #16

   Thanks for your experience-  I keep hearing happy things about SF-  Re where they are shipped from:  Why should we care?  According to warranty repair people I know, "they're all" made in China with some replacement parts made in the USA-  When some place cheaper than China comes along, that's where "they're all" going to come from-  As one contributor pointed out, you hafta do your homework on each tool each time-  Thanks again-