G1023RLX, How about a little guidance.

[John Dowell]

I am considering the purchase of G1023RL and have some questions.

1.)Is there enough improvements to warrant paying new price compared to a 3 year old G1023SL for $650.00? If my research is accurate the primary differences are the riving knife, serpentine belt, and dust shroud below the blade. Am I missing something?
2.)Is the Shop Fox version a worth while consideration? I notice it has 2 year warranty. The country of origin is China as opposed to Taiwan for the Grizzly. I can't tell from the literature online whether the new model Shop Fox (W1820) has the same upgrades as the Grizzly.
3.)My biggest concern about the engineering of the Grizzly is the nightmare instrutions to change the belt. Is that a concern to others also?

I have been using a Rockwell Delta Contractors saw from the mid '70s when I purchased it new. I put a 52" unifence on it about 2 years after I bought it and the saw has served well. Historically I never had that great of an opinion of Grizzly. I used to think of them as one of those back page of a magazine companies. With the death of "Buy American", mainly because there is no longer very much that is American I have tried to sort through the import products. It appears to me that Grizzly has evolved into a reliable Mfg.
Any add'l info on this situation will be appreciated.
Thanks,
John Dowell

[Cary Falk]

1) No you are not missing anything. It was worth it for me to move from a 1970 Unisaw(almost even trade). Only you can make the decision for yourself

2) From the manual it looks like the G0690/91 with 3 belts, riving knife but no dust shroud.

3)I addressed the belt change in a thread a couple of weeks ago. You remove 2 screws on the dust shroud, then 2 bolts on the riving knife bar, loosen the belt tension and the belt comes right off.

[John Dowell]

Thanks Cary,
I appreciate the feedback.
I am kinda leaning toward the new in that I want the 52" fence table. The used one has the router extention on the right. When you only get new saw every 35 years you might as well get the one you want.
You hear every story in the world about the Grizzly/Shop Fox relationship. I think the main thing is just that Grizzly wanted to be able to market retail with Shop Fox and still maintain the catalog approach with Grizzly.

[scott spencer]

Possible advantages, yes, but I don't see it being worth nealry twice the price of the 1023SL that you mentioned. You can add a B.O.R,K. riving knife to a G1023 for ~ $100.

Shop Fox and Grizzly are owned by the same man, and the two brands often have models that are very similar from the same factory.... my Shop Fox W1677 is essentially a white G1023SL (made in Taiwan like the G1023SL). When the models are the same, and the price is similar, the 2 year warranty and possibility of dealer support are definitely plusses. Since you mentioned that one is made in China, and the other Taiwan, I'd view them as being different models, and not the same.

[John Dowell]

Thanks Scott,
Does the W1677 have the riving knife, and a blade dust pickup shroud? I know that Shop Fox has also released a new model W1820 but it is the one listed as mfg in China. What is a ************ riving knife?

[scott spencer]

The W1677 did not have a stock riving knife or full blade shroud. AFAIK, it's also no longer available, though there may be some NOS around.

The ************ is an aftermarket retrofit riving knife that fits several older saws that didn't have a stock riving knife. It rises, falls, and tilts with the blade, and replaces the original stock splitter. They also make a guard for it called the BBG. It's by Walnutacrewoodworking (http://the****store.com/).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/BBG011.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/Bbg016-1-1.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/BBG001.jpg


A user has posted a Youtube video of it in action (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTY_nfhJV48)

[David Creekmore]

315741
Need some help on the extension legs for the Grizzly G1023RLX what the manual shows is not the way it is. I called Grizzly Tech Support with out much help. I asked him to go down to their show room and take a picture of a G1023RLX they have on display. The gentleman was good enough to do that but it was not mounted like the manual shows. I used the 4 Phillips screws in the upper portion of the leg but the picture shows 1/4 by 1/2 bolts in the side. The holes in the front and rear rails do not line up with those holes in the legs and if they did the bolts at 1/2 inch in length would not be long enough to go thru rails extension table side and the leg. The picture of the one on display did not have any holes in the side mounting of the leg just those Phillips screws in the top part. Anyone that could shed some light on this would be appreciated. Thanks creek@optilink.us