What are yourpoinion of different saws
dabhunter
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m trying to decide between several nice saw and looking for feed back on the following models
Dewalt DW746X Hybred saw Left tilt $800 new
Grizzly G1023SL Left Tilt $950 new
Older Unisaw Rockwell 10″ Right tilt ,looks like fair condition
My wife will kill me and I want to be sure I’m dyin for the best saw
Replies
Bill
The last two are cabinet saws. Depends on the price of the Uni. If you purchase the Uni from an individual local there is no sales tax and delivery charge, you have a plus. I suggest you look at bottom lines to your shop and then you decide what is the best deal for you.
If you don't need a powerful saw and would like a slider, the DW is OK. You said $800. If that is without the slider on board and you have to purchase it and extentions extra, I would drop it from the line-up. This is just the way I would approach it and factor in just how dead she's going to kill you. ha.. ha....
sarge..jt
Proud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I have a Rockwell 10" Unisaw. Sound, trunion is rock solid, paid $450. Seemed like a bargin. Then got the top ground (.006 dip right in front of the blade) for $150, added the Bies 50" fence & mobile base & legs, bought MDF and formica for the extension table (wanted something thicker than the Bies table for a router) and now I have at least as much into it as the Grizzly. So check carefully and do the math to make sure it is really a fair price!
That said, I love it and wouldn't think of trading it - old machines have soul!
Bill,
Don't know the price or exactly what you mean by "fair" condition but those old Rockwell unisaws can be pretty good saws. Bought my 1977-era Rockwell unisaw in 1987 for $700. It was in excellent shape.....owned by a ceramic artist who hardly ever used it. Since then, I've put on a Bies fence but, otherwise, I haven't put a dime into it in 16 years.
Chip
The older unisaw is tempting at the right price. Check it carefully, might need new bearings. If you are buying from a private owner I doubt the saw would need bearings. I have the G1023s and love this saw. In my opinion this saw is as good as the newer unisaws, although the unisaw motors are top notch and my Grizzly has about 4 years of use almost every day, not enough time to compare motor durability to the unisaw.Personally I would buy the Grizzly.
mike
Had the same questions you did and after much research and sole searching, I ordered the Griz 1023slx. It should be delivered tomorrow. After 4 years with a sears contractors saw, everyone I've talked with says the Griz will be heads above in performance. Will update in a week or so after I get the monster into my shop(500lb) and get an additional 220 outlet installed. Also got the shopfox mobile base. Curious to see how it works.
A cabinet saw will stay aligned better and give you less vibration than the DeWalt hybrid -- probably better dust collection too. If you go for the Grizzly, you can always add a sliding table and longer rails later on. An old Unisaw is certainly something to think about though <g>.
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Bill,
Don't forget...the Grizzly comes in a nice big box ...which could be recycled as a casket....if needed...lol
Shop fox base is less than expected. 1023 Griz saw arrived in good condition and is going together well. There will have to be some modifications made to the extention table to get it to fit the SF base and fence. The SF fence looks as if it will work well but did not come with some of the hardware needed to fully assemble( missing bolts etc.). If I had gotten the 1023 without the 7' rails it would have been a snap to put together and the SF mobile base would be fine. Timing demands that I be away from the shop for a few days so it may be a week before I get to cut anything. so far, happy with the saw but not pleased with the base
Sounds similar to my experience with Shop Fox base -- bought one for the bandsaw. Holes were mis-drilled. Wonder if they realize this makes people think twice about buying more elaborate equipment, even if that's not logical.
PS: I took it back.
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 2/20/2004 11:30:50 AM ET by forestgirl
Hello Bill:
Sounds like you have been looking real hard. The Grizzly seems to get good reviews everywhere it's talked about. I looked at the Dewalt in my local dealer and to be honest I was not overly impressed. Have you looked at JET or Delta? Howabout Powermatic?
Seems like Grizzly has the best pricing but I hate to buy something through the mail that I cannot touch first. I went with the local dealer and the service and support has been excellent.
Have fun in your quest. It's one of my favorite things about our hobby. Researching new toys.
Work Safe
Bill Cody
The advantages of a cabinet saw are pretty well discussed and documented here, so I'd narrow the choices to the latter two if you have the electrical requirements, plus I don't think you get as good of a fence with the 746 as other saws in it's price range. A warranty is pretty attractive to me on a high cost item, so I guess that narrows my vote down to the Griz if I were to pick from those three.
The good and bad !
The Griz 1023slx I just set up cuts very nicely and was square right out of the box. The shopfox classic fence aligned with the blade without adjustment and the 54" rip capacity is wonderful.
Had to loosen both motor tension bolts and raise the motor to get the switch out of the caninet.
The shop fox base with the extension kit is marginal at best. If you are not getting the long rails the base might be ok, but the extension portion is flimsy and poorly designed. the extension table is ok but needs modification to fit the legs that bolt to the end of the long fence.
After much research, I would still buy the griz and opt for a better mobile base.
hope that helps!
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