Replies

1. 
   vacabby | Dec 10, 2002 04:00am | #1

   I own a Grizz 1023SL and am very pleased with it.   I picked it up at the Pennsylvania facility and must tell you the fit and finish was (is) very good.  I bought the 3hp unit and use a US Saw (Oldham) combo blade.   This machine set-up nearly perfect right out of the packaging.   I searched around for a long while prior to purchasing and still believe this saw is as good as any costing 500 bucks more.   I have been woodworking and building for over 27 years and this saw does everything I need it to do.

   I wish you well with your search.   THIS SAW IS A WINNER.   Feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.

1. 
   edevo | Dec 10, 2002 04:53pm | #2

   Thanks for the response. I have been reading about saws for quite sometime and keep comming back to the grizzly because of the price. I am basically a person who believes that you get what you pay for so I was apprehensive that the g1023sl was priced at the others contractor saw prices. I really want a cabinet saw as opposed to acontractor saw. How about the fence? Shop Fox clasic or Shop Fox. I notice that the Shop Fox is more expensive. Is there a significant difference here?

   Ed

1. 
   BG | Dec 10, 2002 05:51pm | #3

   EDEVO,

   There is a definite difference between the Fox Fense and the Fox classic.  I have the Fox Classic (less expensive)  The Fox locks in place on two points and the classic on one..in the front only.  The fox is larger and, as you have seen from the marketing, the saw can be hoisted on the air by the fox fense.  With the Classic you could not hoist anything.

   With all that said, I suspect little difference from a functional point of view unless you were a high production, repetitive cuts shop.  the classic is very solid and moves in parralell (sp.)  At some point down the road under heavy use the difference between the two may have relevance.  For my purpose, at that point, I would want to consider a micro adjust feature....

2. 
   JeffKurtz | Dec 10, 2002 05:53pm | #4

   Ed,

   The Shop Fox Classic is a clone of the Biesmeier, which is a proven design which you'll find on most cabinet saws.  While the Shop Fox, on the other hand, sounds good on paper, in tests it fails to perfrom well.  (Check out the review of the 1023Z at FWW's main site.)

   If you've checked the archives here, you'll find that most folks consider the 1023 a good machine and an outstanding value.

   Jeff

3. 
   vacabby | Dec 13, 2002 02:24am | #9

   I apologize for the delay in responding to you on this.   I don't find there to be a big difference in the two fences.   The classic does not have a micro fence adjustment.   To this I say "Big Deal".   Woodworking is typically not that precise and this fence will get you as close as you need to be.   I have worked on furniture for nearly every historic landmark in the Mid-Atlantic area, Built cabinets and furniture for very upscale customers and have never needed more than what I can get from the Classic Fence.   Is it the best in the business?  Without a doubt, NO.   Guys, and Gals want to buy toys that will enable them to build it FAST.   What happened to building it right and well.   Take the time to set your saw up correctly, set your fence up correctly and take your time measuring and preparing before you make your cuts.   Anything I ever built quickly made me no money.   Woodworking isn't a race.   It's creating something with your hands that you will ultimately be proud to show to others.    I have spent hours of painstaking effort to build a chair only to scrap it when I am done.   I know the customer would be satisfied but I am not.   That's why my customers come to me and pay far more than they could buy a piece or a set from a top drawer furniture store.  There is no comparison between anyone's contractors saw and a cabinet saw.   If it is in your budget, buy it.    It took me over twenty years to have everything in my shop that I wanted.   I still don't have as much as Norm Abram but I'm gett'in there.   I search hundreds of yard sales, auctions and the internet until my eyes bled.   The 1023SL is still a good bargain.   You can't feed it fast enough to bog it down and it is solid as a rock.   DO NOT purchase it without a mobile base.    This baby is a beast to move.   Grizzly customer service has been excellent.   I also have a Grizz jointer, dust collector and a bandsaw(which was a BIG BAD purchase).   Worst buy I ever made but it still does the few things I require of it.   Again, I wish you well with your purchase.

   JB

1. 
   mfg_king | Dec 13, 2002 03:36am | #10

   I have a Grizzly 14" bandsaw and love it! What is the problem with yours?

1. 
   vacabby | Dec 13, 2002 03:44pm | #12

   Fit and finish were terrible when I bought and unboxed it.   There was alot of flash left in the spokes of the wheels.   The cooling blocks did not fit properly in their respective retainers.    The upper and lower blade guides were far out of alignment.  One of the cover latches was (and still is) broken.  Grizzly's answer was to simply file this and remove that.   The operation is okay.   It took two days to properly set the saw up, remove the metal that should have been finished at the manufacturing facility and make things fit together as they should.    This is the only piece of equipment I have purchased from Grizzly that they have failed to provide what I would call total customer satisfaction.    I think Grizzly has a great line of products overall.    This just wasn't one of them.    I was as much if not more disappointed with their response as I was with the actual condition of the product.    I don't think that every shop should be full of Grizzly products but I do feel that they offer many folks the opportunity to have better equipment at a price they can afford to do better work they would not otherwise be able to produce.    At this point,  I plan to buy a new bandsaw in the spring (not a Grizzly) and donate this machine to a local organization that would just be happy to have one.   By the way, the machine is a 1148 15" model.

2. 
   booch | Dec 11, 2002 10:43pm | #5

   Check the classifieds if you aren't particular. A little loving attention can turn most every saw servicable (excluding "Motorized direct drive models). You can't beat the discount. There is good reason to buy a heavy duty model. the adjustments stay true and if you aren't much of an amature machinist they come ready to run. It kind of depends where your interests lie.

   Further thought is that you can always use two in the shop. the first (lesser model) can always be used for Dado setups. it seems I"m always changing between the two. that would save you  15 minutes of schmaltzing around.

   A lot depends on your cash flow and dedication.

3. 
   mfg_king | Dec 12, 2002 12:04am | #6

   "New to wood working looking to buy a table saw." I don't know if you really need a cabinate saw at all if you're a hobbiest. Don't under estimate the contractors saw. You can get a good contractor saw and many accessories for the price of that 1023SL.

1. 
   tbhs1964 | Dec 12, 2002 05:47am | #7

   You get what you pay for.  The fit and finish are not perfect.  Refinement is not present.  Get a Jet or Unisaw.  Or get a top of the line contractor 's saw for the same money.  It will run just as well.

4. 
   johnhenry922 | Dec 12, 2002 11:51pm | #8

   A quality, used tablesaw is not all that hard to find. I started lusting after those vastly expensive models in FWW, I got a rude shock of how much they cost in Canada, so I set out a reasonable budget to buy one and started looking in the used market.

   I wanted to spend $500 C$ or less (around $340 US$). I wanted one with cast iron for the top and wings, a reasonably good fence at least 30 inches long, one that could be wired 110V and 220V and hadn't been used to death. I realized almost immediately that the possibility of finding one with the features I wanted at that price was probably a fool's errand. I started with local (Vancouver B.C.) stores that carried new equipment and also asked around with other woodworkers I knew to see if they could help point me in the right direction.

   After looking at table top models (direct drive 8" blades, aluminum or sheet steel tops, wimpy fences et al), I knew I wanted at least a contractors saw with a stand. I gave up after a few months and stopped looking.

   By chance, I went into a pawn shop (Royal City Jewelers, New Westminster B.C.) that was close to where I sometimes look at antique furniture for ideas, there was a photo of a dissembled saw posted on the wall with all the power tools. It was a Rexon 10", built in 1995, and almost identical to a friends except it was 5 years newer, priced at $425. I asked if I could look it over, and they actually brought it up in the elevator for me. It seemed to have all the pieces except a mitre gauge and was virtually unused to the point of having a bit of rust in the mitre slots

   I thought it over for 24 hours and when I called back to say I wanted it, they said that someone had already left a deposit on it. Rather broken-hearted, I gave up again and resumed using my friends saw. I went by the shop again two months later and the photo was up again! I asked and was told that the deal had fallen through and they had wanted to give me a call but I hadn't left a phone number or name. I talked with the manager and I took a look at it again. When I asked about the missing mitre gauge, he said everything that came with it was there. Before I could say yes however, he offered it to me for $375. I left a deposit and left.

   It took me a while to pay the remainder, being bogged down at work, a bad back and lack of a vehicle to get it to my house but I managed it eventually. Once I got it home, I found it had a very nice blade in excellent shade, the rust was only very superficial and all the tables were nice and level. It cut fine in the plywood and small boards I ripped and crosscut. It really bogged down on a large rip cut in a dry fir timber though, necessitating a change to 220V wiring. After that, it worked fine.

   I really blew my budget however. I did need some other blades to do proper rip cuts ($220 C), a new mitre gauge, feather board and push stick ($130 C) and the cost of the new wiring, breaker and plug ($60 C). So the total was a lot more than even I could foresee at some $800 and counting but it is worth it.

   In making what should be a short story long, look at a used table saw. For the trouble a buying used and having to sniff around for a while, you can save a lot of money and really learn something about it

   I guess that

5. 
   mrles | Dec 13, 2002 09:14am | #11

   I have a Delta Unisaw with a Unifence. I had a choice of a Unifence or Bessimeyer (sp?). I chose the Unifence because it was the higher rated between the two in I believe FW. The fence is only connected at the front of the saw but it stays true, it doesn't flex. I use to spend a lot of time adjusting my fence every time I moved it. I've had my saw over 2 years and after the initial adjustment I haven't had to touch it.

   I ripped 60 pieces of 1" oak 9' 4" long 1/8" thick. My blade had a 1/8" kerf, I would move my fence over 1/4" make a cut, move it again make another cut. I used a Forrest blade and I sanded a couple where I could see blade marks but most all I didn't have to touch.

   I think this speaks well of the saw, blade, and fence. To me the fence is a real high priority item regardless of the saw you put it on. I just happen to like it on a Delta.

   Good Luck, God Bless and be careful

   les