Scott Reed
02-25-2013, 11:15 PM
I received this saw about a week ago. I must say, whoever built this saw, must have just come back from a long and relaxing vacation. It was built perfectly. The powder coat was spot on, no overspray to be found. The build date shows to be late January 2013 so it’s fresh off the boat. That may be why there was very little cosmoline to clean up. The packaging was very good and shipping went without a hitch and no damage to either of the boxes.
Assembly went without difficulty; the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. I unboxed the cabinet, removed all the parts that were packed within the cabinet, and then built the Shop Fox mobile base. I’ve read some negative reviews on the Shop Fox base, but have to say I find it to be very easy to assemble and solidly built. I hope it never fails because I would hate to put this saw on another base. Speaking of which, I was able to walk the cabinet off the pallet and then used a long 2x4 for leverage to lower it into the base by myself. Would’ve been nice to have some help but it was actually fairly easy.
After reading the manual and getting a general sense of assembly steps, I unboxed all the parts and laid them out in a manner that would ease their installation. The top, wing, and router extension were grounded and polished perfectly and were very flat. The wings attached to the table without issue or need of shims and the top as a whole was flat to well within spec. I installed the fence rails according the manual, moving the front tube over one bolt to gain some rip capacity. I then placed the fence on and it measured an even 1/16” above the table for the entire length. Nice! I checked blade to miter slot alignment and it was dead on. I had to make a very small adjustment to get the fence parallel to the blade. Thankfully the fence was plenty flat and 90 degrees to the table. More on that later.
One of my worries about the router extension table was that for the type of woodwork I most commonly do which is building musical instruments there wasn’t enough work space in front for my large templates to rest on. I build mostly large bodied electric basses and was concerned the template and body blank would tip on the front edge. To gain more real estate for both routing and rip capacity I decided to build an extra wing.
The wing was the first project for the saw. The table measures 27”x12”. I made a frame out of some poplar I had in the shop to those measurements and assembled that with pocket screws and glue. I then took the measurement for the inner part of the frame and cut a ¾” piece of MDF to size. This simple build really tested the saws accuracy. I used the supplied miter gauge for the crosscuts indexed off the fence with a spacer and the fence for the rip cut. The frame I built was as square as it could be and needed the MDF insert to be as well for it to fit right. The MDF fit the frame perfectly with no gaps and was very snug! It was so exact I was a little concerned about fitting it after applying the glue. I did have to use a bit of force via a mallet but it went in great. I used clamps but I probably didn’t have to because the fit was so good. The MDF was installed flush to the top of the frame. I then took an 1/8” piece of hardboard and glued it to cover the entire frame and MDF. After the glue dried I beveled the edge to match the bevel on the front of the saw and waxed the hardboard. I then drilled the router extension and bolted the new wing in place. This little addition makes the router table much better for me and I now have 37.5” of rip capacity! Later I’m going to add a miter slot to the hardboard extension. Should be cool.
This is a fantastic saw that cuts beautifully and is very accurate. It does exactly what a 3hp cabinet saw is supposed to do. Is it perfect? No.
There are a few things I don’t particularly like. I do not like the blade guard much. I wish the splitter and guard were one piece. As it is, the guard just doesn’t seem that stable with the way it’s mounted to the splitter via a thumb screw that puts pressure on the backbone of the splitter. There has to be a better way. That said I will always use it. To add, though, I don’t really like how the splitter/riving knife are removed. You have to open the side door and reach in for a lever. No it’s not difficult but it should be easier and removable from the top of the saw. I suppose some could probably lift the insert and reach in but my hand wouldn’t get in there comfortably. Both the splitter and knife were perfectly aligned from the factory.
Next, I’m not crazy about the fence. It slides smoothly and locks down solidly and is 90 degrees to the table. What’s the problem? It should have adjustment screws for the 90 degree alignment. Thankfully I didn’t need them but it would be nice to have. So while the fence operates perfectly for me it could be better.
I struggled between choosing this saw or the 0690. I haven’t hand any experience with the 690 but from the pics I believe I would have preferred its fence, blade guard, and splitter removal. Dust collection on the 1023 has been pretty good so far and I really like the single belt compared to the triple belt. The 1023 has virtually no vibration. So would I choose the 1023 again over the 690? I don’t know…
Assembly went without difficulty; the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. I unboxed the cabinet, removed all the parts that were packed within the cabinet, and then built the Shop Fox mobile base. I’ve read some negative reviews on the Shop Fox base, but have to say I find it to be very easy to assemble and solidly built. I hope it never fails because I would hate to put this saw on another base. Speaking of which, I was able to walk the cabinet off the pallet and then used a long 2x4 for leverage to lower it into the base by myself. Would’ve been nice to have some help but it was actually fairly easy.
After reading the manual and getting a general sense of assembly steps, I unboxed all the parts and laid them out in a manner that would ease their installation. The top, wing, and router extension were grounded and polished perfectly and were very flat. The wings attached to the table without issue or need of shims and the top as a whole was flat to well within spec. I installed the fence rails according the manual, moving the front tube over one bolt to gain some rip capacity. I then placed the fence on and it measured an even 1/16” above the table for the entire length. Nice! I checked blade to miter slot alignment and it was dead on. I had to make a very small adjustment to get the fence parallel to the blade. Thankfully the fence was plenty flat and 90 degrees to the table. More on that later.
One of my worries about the router extension table was that for the type of woodwork I most commonly do which is building musical instruments there wasn’t enough work space in front for my large templates to rest on. I build mostly large bodied electric basses and was concerned the template and body blank would tip on the front edge. To gain more real estate for both routing and rip capacity I decided to build an extra wing.
The wing was the first project for the saw. The table measures 27”x12”. I made a frame out of some poplar I had in the shop to those measurements and assembled that with pocket screws and glue. I then took the measurement for the inner part of the frame and cut a ¾” piece of MDF to size. This simple build really tested the saws accuracy. I used the supplied miter gauge for the crosscuts indexed off the fence with a spacer and the fence for the rip cut. The frame I built was as square as it could be and needed the MDF insert to be as well for it to fit right. The MDF fit the frame perfectly with no gaps and was very snug! It was so exact I was a little concerned about fitting it after applying the glue. I did have to use a bit of force via a mallet but it went in great. I used clamps but I probably didn’t have to because the fit was so good. The MDF was installed flush to the top of the frame. I then took an 1/8” piece of hardboard and glued it to cover the entire frame and MDF. After the glue dried I beveled the edge to match the bevel on the front of the saw and waxed the hardboard. I then drilled the router extension and bolted the new wing in place. This little addition makes the router table much better for me and I now have 37.5” of rip capacity! Later I’m going to add a miter slot to the hardboard extension. Should be cool.
This is a fantastic saw that cuts beautifully and is very accurate. It does exactly what a 3hp cabinet saw is supposed to do. Is it perfect? No.
There are a few things I don’t particularly like. I do not like the blade guard much. I wish the splitter and guard were one piece. As it is, the guard just doesn’t seem that stable with the way it’s mounted to the splitter via a thumb screw that puts pressure on the backbone of the splitter. There has to be a better way. That said I will always use it. To add, though, I don’t really like how the splitter/riving knife are removed. You have to open the side door and reach in for a lever. No it’s not difficult but it should be easier and removable from the top of the saw. I suppose some could probably lift the insert and reach in but my hand wouldn’t get in there comfortably. Both the splitter and knife were perfectly aligned from the factory.
Next, I’m not crazy about the fence. It slides smoothly and locks down solidly and is 90 degrees to the table. What’s the problem? It should have adjustment screws for the 90 degree alignment. Thankfully I didn’t need them but it would be nice to have. So while the fence operates perfectly for me it could be better.
I struggled between choosing this saw or the 0690. I haven’t hand any experience with the 690 but from the pics I believe I would have preferred its fence, blade guard, and splitter removal. Dust collection on the 1023 has been pretty good so far and I really like the single belt compared to the triple belt. The 1023 has virtually no vibration. So would I choose the 1023 again over the 690? I don’t know…