Follow up with Grizzly tablesaw

[Scott Parks]

A couple months ago I reported that my new G1023SL tablesaw was not making quality cuts. Well, after a lot of trial and error, I determined that it was definately the saw,and not the blade. I put the same Forrest blade on a Delta Unisaw, and it cut near perfectly. On my saw, I was left with a lot of scoring and a wavy cut.

After talking to Grizzly for the 4th time, they sent me a new arbor assembly. I finally got around to installing it. It was quite a PITA to install, took about 1 1/2 hours to do. :( I still have some slight scoring, but I can live with it now. (oh well, maybe I'm too fussy, looking for perfection.) I installed a blade stabilizer and have next to no score marks now (but not perfect). It is now comparable to the cut quality I got with the Unisaw. There is still some minor vibration in the saw, and I think this is due to the poor quality of belts that they use.

While I had the saw apart, I was a little disappointed with the fit and finish of the trunnions. There are a lot of moving parts under the table that seem to fit loosely. If these moving parts were spec'd to tighter tolerances, it would improve the overall quality of the saw. For example, there is a very slight amount of play in the worm gear to raise the motor/blade. The shaft that this gear rides on has a slight amount of play also. With these combined, it results in being able to grab the motor assemble and "wiggle" it up and down about 1/8". This combined with the poor belts, and you get slight vibrations. Anyway, for what I need in a saw, I can't beat the value. But for a "pro" shop, I'd probably spend more money for a better unit.

To sum it up, I was pleased with Grizzly's customer service. They came through, and were willing to send me every part under the table until the problem was fixed. The disappointing part was that after spending $1k on a new saw, I had to "fix" it myself. I've spent 2 months of trial and error with my head under the hood trying to resolve the issues. I should have convinced them to exchange the saw and send me a new one, instead of tearing it all apart. I'd expect a $1k investment to work flawlessly right out of the box...

If I were the king of Grizzly, I would.... 1, use GOOD QUALITY belts. 2, make the worm gear and shaft adjustable to take out the slop.

Will I buy another Grizzly machine? Hmmm, I don't know....

[Dennis McDonaugh]

While I had the saw apart, I was a little disappointed with the fit and finish of the trunnions. There are a lot of moving parts under the table that seem to fit loosely. . .

The disappointing part was that after spending $1k on a new saw, I had to "fix" it myself. I've spent 2 months of trial and error with my head under the hood trying to resolve the issues. . . .

Will I buy another Grizzly machine? Hmmm, I don't know....

That's the way I feel about Grizzly. I'm fairly happy with my jointer, but I wouldn't buy another Grizzly product.

[Russell Svenningsen]

Not to be argumentative or anything, but my BIL just bought a brand-new General TS. It's a $2K saw and it looks the part. The trunnions are beefy, the castings gorgeous, etc. It functions like a $2K saw should. But it is a $2K saw.

While I sympathize with your situation, the reason Grizzly is so popular is that the tools are less costly than the Delat Unisaw you mention, for instance. There are reasons that a Delta Uni is much more than the Griz. While a good cut is to be expected from the Griz, to expect it to function, or the company to function like that of a more costly piece of equipment is unreasonable, it seems to me. It's cheaper because they spend less money making it. Less goes in, you get less out. Seems that the customer service people have bent over backward to help you out. Maybe your saw is flawed, that could be. But to expect it to function like a Delta Uni is not reasonable.

Just my .02.

[Robby Phelps]

I have watched this forum and a few others and must confess I have been amazed at all of the positive feedback that grizzly gets. I have worked in two Pro shops that were outfitted with Grizzly equipment and it has been less then positive. One of the shops had their table saw down 6 times in one year.:mad: I understand that the cost of their equipment is less but Scott mentioned that he payed 1000.00 for his saw and has had quite a few problems. There are a few other cabinet saws (the Jet 10XL for example) that are $500 to $600 more and the quality is far superior. The Jet also comes with a free router, router lift table, and a 50" fence.
I am glad so many folks have found their Grizzly equipment to be great but i would caution anyone not to expect too much.

[JayStPeter]

I have two Grizzly machines, a jointer and bandsaw. My feeling is that they are great machines. While the fit and finish may not be up to par of those that cost twice as much, they are good quality machines that do their jobs well.
I have used a DJ-20 and they are pretty sweet. But, I don't see anything about the DJ-20 that makes me feel like I need one over my Grizzly. The long tables are nice, but nicer than having another machine?
If I was a professional who used these tools every day and it was costing me potential income to get them up and running, I might be buying some other stuff.
If my Unisaw suddenly dissappeared, the Grizzly would be on my short list of replacements. I have looked over a 1023 and Jet since getting my Uni and really don't see a significant difference in apparent component quality among the three. My Uni has pretty loose tolerances on the trunnion gears and includes the famous startup clunk if the belts are over tensioned. The belts on my Uni had taken a set and vibrated like crazy when new. They were replaced by Delta along with the fence that was warped. Don't take this to mean that I don't like my Unisaw and recommend it highly. It's just that getting another brand doesn't guarantee you won't have some initial headaches.

I'm not here totally tooting Grizzly's horn. While I like the stuff I have, I realize that everyone has different tolerances for what they accept. I think that with Grizzly you wind up with an excellent machine. But, it is possible (or maybe likely) you will have to put in a little effort to get there. If you're not willing to do that, by all means, spend the money. The percentages will be less, but there's still no guarantee.

Jay

[Scott Parks]

For me, I have nothing to compare it to except my old Sears saw. The grizz is 1000x better! My tone may have been too negative. I'm still happy to have the new saw, but I have mixed feelings. (I was expecting the performance of a Porsche) Without a comparable saw to measure it up to, I don't know if I'm being too picky, or what is considered acceptable. Like I said, even with the Forrest on the Uni, there was still a very slight bit of scoring on the cut. Unfortunately I was unlucky and got one with a bad arbor.

Jay has an interesting idea on the Uni. Loosening the belts may take out the little bit of vibration due to the lumpy belts. I whined to Grizz about the crummy belts, but they wouldn't throw in a set of link belts...:( I haven't looked under the hood of the Unisaw, so I don't know how much "loose tolerances" are acceptable.

Another gripe is the face of the fence. It is slightly wavy (.010") where the screws attatch. Also, the screw holes on the face are just the right height to hang up the leading edge of thick stock. One thing I like about the "real" Beisemeyer fence is that it is dead-flat, and smooth with no holes. I may replace the face with some laminated MDF to make it flatter. But until then, it works fine.

[JayStPeter]

Another gripe is the face of the fence. It is slightly wavy (.010") where the screws attatch. Also, the screw holes on the face are just the right height to hang up the leading edge of thick stock. One thing I like about the "real" Beisemeyer fence is that it is dead-flat, and smooth with no holes. I may replace the face with some laminated MDF to make it flatter. But until then, it works fine.

You can shim your fence dead flat. It takes some effort, but remove the face and put some tape under the low spots until it is flat. The owner of the one 1023 I've used was pointing and telling me about what he had to do. His is flatter than my Bies.
I honestly don't know what the fascination of a REAL Bies is. I can't shim my face flat, thus the replacement. The new one is still not as flat as I'd like. It is a little beefier than the SF though. I'll probably rig a replaceable fence face when I get around to it. Heck, I've been thinking that a Unifence might be cool to have. I guess the grass is always greener ...

Jay

Jay