Finally pulled the trigger on G0690...

[Milind Patil]

Finally today I placed order for G0690. This honor really should have gone to G0661 contractor saw, but it is not available for delivery for more than a month (possibly two) ! So shifted my focus on G0690. The price difference between G0661 and G0690 is huge, a whopping $450 :mad: (if you include freight). But for that additional money I guess I am buying the following features.

1) A true cabinet saw that is twice heavier (which should translate into more stability. Not to mention, all the benefits of cabinet saw) :)
2) A whole additional horsepower; that is 50% more power (although I don't know why would I need that since I am a hobby woodworker and not a professional one :()
3) A far better fence, which some have claimed to be better than Biesemeyer (I can not verify that since never used a Biesemeyer :confused:)
4) (Hopefully) better dust collection with 4" dust port :rolleyes:

I requested liftgate service for additional $30. I will probably pay another $30-$50 to the driver if he is willing to roll it in to my garage (or else I will have to make some other arrangement. Being barely 150 lb myself, there is no chance in hell I can move this beast even 1/8th of an inch !)

Will post rest of the experience when it begins (most likely next Friday or following Monday). At the moment I am busy 220V-fying my garage. Doing it myself.

More later...

[Dan Friedrichs]

You made a good choice - once you get that saw running, you'll never regret the extra $450. And if you ever decide to sell it, it will retain its value much better than the contractor one would have.

[Mikail Khan]

Congrats on the new saw.

You won't be disappointed.

MK

[Stan Mitchell]

You made a good choice - once you get that saw running, you'll never regret the extra $450. And if you ever decide to sell it, it will retain its value much better than the contractor one would have. +1

It's a terrific saw!

[David Prince]

Depending on the freight company and how your driveway is laid out, but my guess would be that they will roll it into your garage as part of the lift-gate service without paying additional.

[Milind Patil]

Thanks very much for the comments and support guys. Can't wait to see my big boxes ! So far I have heard only great things about this saw and yet to encounter any critic. Hopefully this is my "soul mate" of wood working !

[Jim O'Dell]

Welcome to the club!!! Jim.

[Neil Brooks]

Oh, you poor, poor guy.

You're going to be stuck with an incredibly nice saw.

What WILL you do?

What will you do .... ??

:p

The 690 would be on the extremely short list of cabinet saws I'd consider, if/when I head that way.

Congrats! :cool:

[Rob Hough]

Congrats! I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Joseph Citarello]

I am in the market for a new saw as well and the G0661 is at the top of my list so far. I spoke to Grizzly about 30 minutes ago and they are telling me that the saw should be in stock as of April 8th. Where did you get 1-2 months from? Because of the wait time I am considering going right to the G0690 even though as a hobbyist it's far more saw than I will ever need.

Also, what's the best way to get some of these juicy discounts I've been reading about? I read you can have Grizzly place the saw on Ebay for you and then get cash back through Bing if you originate the buy from their search engine. The customer service gal also mentioned they have a "Summer Sale" once a year in May. Anything else I should know?

[Milind Patil]

This may be the update. But even at April 8th availability, you won't get it until mid April or beyond (assuming they receive enough supply to cover all the back-orders).

If G0661 was available right away when I tried to place order two weeks ago (at that time I was told availability was "first week of May"), by now I would have have it in my garage because at the time, I wasn't even considering a cabinet saw. But After I took a look on G0690 (ONLY because of "first week of May" for G0661), I somehow got convinced that I should go for a cabinet saw and live happily thereafter, for ever ! Many contractor saw users have confessed (including Shawn Patel on this forum), if they have to do it all over again, they will go for cabinet saw even though they are happy with what they have. Now I think buying and setting up a saw is a very time consuming and stressful affair, and I would rather do it just once even though it means $450 additional.

I didn't find any way to get any discount. But may be you can and pass it to other members here.

[Brad Westcott]

Congratulations on getting 100% more power!!!!

[Jim O'Dell]

They had sales on the G0691 starting during the summer sale. Went off the end of Sept, then the Christmas sale starting Nov 2nd was even better, and also included free shipping. Time will tell what this summer's sale prices will be, which items are on sale, and whether they will offer free shipping again or not, and then on which items. If you aren't dying for the new saw, waiting might save you a few dollars. But it is that much more time without the new saw if you are ready to get it now. I wasn't in position to purchase last summer and it actually worked out better for me price wise too. You have to pick your poison. ;) Jim.

[Milind Patil]

Jim, can you please tell how far is the dust port from the bottom of the cabinet of G0690 ? I need to know the how high is the dust port from bottom (the edge of dust port and not the actual round hole).

[Milind Patil]

Came on Monday by SIAI Freight company.

I know, I know, the creeker rule : "No pictures, didn't happen" ! But I will post pictures later (I don't think my garage is in the condition of taking any presentable pictures !)

Because it arrived yesterday, there is no way I can setup it up before this weekend. But it may even go beyond. I wish it came on last Friday !

The saw arrived is perfect condition inside although the boxes did not look great. At first glance I thought I will be chasing Grizzly for some replacement, but to my surprise, everything arrived perfect. The driver was nice, he backed up the truck in my driveway, lowered the boxes (liftgate service) and then hauled the boxes into my garage on pallet jack and he insisted that I open the boxes and check for any damage ! I think that liftgate service charge is a rip-off. It should be included in the freight.

Grizzly could do a better job packing a table saw ! I wasn't impressed very much. Although my saw came undamaged, I think I may just have been lucky. Very cheap wood framing around the saw and table top covered by a shabby particle board ! The fence rail packed in simple long cardboard box with barely enough styrofoam support (that is 40 lb weight right there). Another problem (not big one, but...) the pallet on which saw box sits is not wide enough to push pallet jack in ! So the driver had to push only one side of the jack under half portion of the box throwing the box into imbalance. So he had to move the jack very slowly and carefully, almost like walking a rope ! The box can easily tip over damaging the saw ! What is Grizzly thinking ?

Now the build quality of saw: very impressive ! Massive stuff ! you feel mass in every item. Massive trunion. I absolutely loved the fence. Although I yet have to check its accuracy, it is beautiful. Massive fence rails ! The craftsmanship is great. The quality reflects throughout.

Grizzly states the saw weight 550lb fully assembled. I thought I will see how much I can verify that and weighed some individual items to get an idea. The fence rails: 40lb. Fence: 20lb, cast iron wings (2x10"): 70lb, so I guess the tabletop must be 70lb too since it equivalent of two individual CI wings. Now this itself comes to 200 lb. Then on the top there is motor, trunion, cabinet and misc accessorries. I think it will reach in the neighborhood of 550lb ! Verified.

Will post more details (and pictures) of assembly and test. Could be next week. Grizzly supplies a 40T general purpose blade. Can anyone tell how good is it ?

[Jim O'Dell]

Jim, can you please tell how far is the dust port from the bottom of the cabinet of G0690 ? I need to know the how high is the dust port from bottom (the edge of dust port and not the actual round hole).


Milind, do you mean the bottom edge of the door opening to the sloped floor? That's about 1 to 1 1/4". I raised my sloped floor about 1/2" at the dust door end, then cut the hole out to 6". my floor is now about 1/2" below the opening now, and about 1" below the 6" cut out. If that's not what you are looking for, let me know! Jim.

[Milind Patil]

Well, never mind (but thanks for the reply). My saw already arrived on Monday, so I was able to take the measurement. The reason I asked you this because I was preparing for the mobile base while the saw was still on the way.

I am now officially member of G0690 fan club :-)

[Jim O'Dell]

Sorry Milind. I didn't see your question until today, then didn't notice that it was from 11 days ago.:o Jim.

[Brad Westcott]

Congratulations!!!

I have been considering the Grizzly G1023, probably with the 52" capacity.
I continue to hear from people like you who seem very happy with their purchases and as long as it arrives in good condition, it seems that very few encounter problems.

Thanks for sharing and we anxiously await photos and sawdust!!!!

What were you using before?

[Milind Patil]

No problem Jim. I think some posts on this forum get lost very easily and do not catch anyones attention, at least that is what is my observation. I also missed one of your posts for a few days (when you finished your mobile base).

[Milind Patil]

Currently (I mean until before I ordered G0690 :-) I am using Ridgid TS2400 job site saw. It is a great saw and was perfect for me as a starter (I got into woodworking about 4 years ago and bought the saw 3 years ago). I love the way it folds and can be tucked away ! The mobility is superb. But being a job-site saw, it has its own problems that now bother me ! It is very hard to get fine cuts. It is very difficult to handle large stocks, a lot of vibration and shaking. The saw is extremely noisy (universal motor, normal characteristic) and dust collection is poor, at least 50% dust escapes (or may be more). So decided to go next level. I think I will put it on CraigList soon.

[Joe Shinall]

You may be a hobbyist woodworker now, but once you get that saw, the possibilities will be endless! Trust me, I skipped the mid level and went straight for the gills with a UniSaw. You will not believe how nice the power will be.

[glenn bradley]

I requested liftgate service for additional $30. I will probably pay another $30-$50 to the driver if he is willing to roll it in to my garage (or else I will have to make some other arrangement.

I have used lift gate service on a couple Griz deliveries. They came FedEx Freight. The drivers placed the items right into the garage and absolutely refused to take a tip. I think I finally snuck a $20 into the cab for the one guy. He actually backed a semi rig into my suburban driveway (up hill and only about 30 feet long), lower the items on the gate and then backed the gate right into the shop; remarkable.