Talk me out of this saw

[Marcus Ward]

I am coming into some cash here soon and am torn between 0444Z and 1023S Grizzly Table saws. I really don't need a cabinet saw, I will never be working 8 hours per day on it (if I am I'll upgrade). I'm building mission style oak furniture for my house. A limited number of pieces (one house's worth). Can I get away with the 0444Z? I'd like to spend some money on other things that not buying the 1023S will allow me to do. Sorry this is so incoherent. M

[Mark Rios]

1023! one vote

[tod evans]

cast iron and horsepower

[Tom Drake]

1023. You won't be disappointed.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

If you've not spent any time working on a 'lesser' saw, you won't appreciate the difference between it and the cabinet saw, because you'd have no basis for comparison. I built loads of stuff with a bottom-of-the-line Delta saw (34-670)...so you don't need a cabinet saw...but you'd be happier. There's a whole big difference.

KC

[Roger Bailey]

I have the GO444Z with a 2hp motor and it does all I need. Use the extra money and get a GO555 bandsaw too! But I do not think you would go wrong on either choice.:)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

When my grandfather came back to Canada from overseas during WWII (no not the saw blade, the war) he set about building his house. He bought a Rockwell Cabinet saw. I think at the time it cost him something like three months wages. He built his house, and it was a mighty fine house, and then he used that saw to do many other things. He ran his electrical contracting business out of a workshop he build with that cabinet saw, and, being a small town, he did not just do electrical work, but other jobs too, from making built in furniture, again with that cabinet saw as his main tool in his workshop, as well a carpentry.

When he retired and moved to the land his mother left him, he built another house, again one mighty fine house, we all helped him build it. Again, he used that cabinet saw. When he died, my uncle, his eldest son, got that cabinet saw. My uncle has used it for a long time, and he recently retired, and moved into the city, he no longer had much use for the cabinet saw, so my cousin got it, and he has now built two houses with it, sold one, built a bigger one, and he does some fine wood working with it. He upgraded the fence on it too.

In all the years of use, it had the motor replace once, and the trunnion (sp?) gear replaced once, many a belt, and a new magnetic switch put in there.

It still has all the original badges, and the original paint. The saw is built like a Sherman tank, and will be used by future generations in my family for sure.

At the time my grandfather bought it, I'm told, everyone said he was nuts, he could have bought a good saw for half a months wages, buying this VERY good saw was stupid, they said.

Now 60 years on, that old Rockwell saw looks cheap to me, it has done so much work and been through so many hands, and it just keep on trucking.

The point of my story?

Well if it is not obvious, I can't explain it to you :D

Cheers!

[scott spencer]

Many of us have "gotten away" with a saw very much like the 0444Z for years. I don't think there will be any argument that it's capable of cutting wood with enough precision to build fine furniture, but there are some differences in usage and secondary performance....like DC, alignment, power, stability, and ultimately...longevity. All we can do is discuss the pros and cons. With the 1023S you won't have to build a DC panel, you won't have to worry about removing a DC panel when you bevel the motor, you won't have to worry about the alignment slipping when you bevel the motor, you won't have to worry about the space the motor takes up, you'll never have to worry whether you've pushed the motor too far, and the saw will never wiggle. Any of those doubts are removed with the 1023, plus there's that incredible feel of power and mass beneath you.

Whether or not you're willing to pay the premium for those advantages is the executive decision you have to make. If you're going to recover from the price difference in a few months, I think the 1023 is a no brainer. If it'll be a couple of years of mac & cheese and spaguetti dinners, plus no other tools and lean living, then I'd say it's an unneeded luxury.

Good luck and please leave a full report on my desk Tuesday morning....or whenever you finish with it! :D

[Keith Foster]

IF you have the money AND the space - get the cabinet saw. I have the Grizzly G0576 and I really like it. It was also the first major power tool I bought. For me I was not even sure I needed a table saw, so the extra cash for the cabinet saws just didn't make sense to me. I took the "left overs" and bought several other tools. Of course I then lost my mind, went crazy and bought every thing else - Bandsaw, Planer, Jointer. :cool:

Now - If you are expecting me to say I wish I had gotten the cabinet saw, well you're just going to be disappointed. I actually use the bandsaw more than the table saw and expect it will get the lion's share of work. So why suggest the cabinet saw? Because you'll never be disappointed with too much capacity, power, and size.

[Russ Massery]

Another vote for 1023S;)

[Mike Leone]

I know you've narrowed your choice down to 2 griz models, but how about a used uni, I've seen uni's in excellent condition for a thousand, some less.
Keep an eye on craigslist. I know woodnet is a bad word here but when these tools come on craigslist someone usually post it. I've seen some fantastic prices on some realy fantastic stuff there, MiniMax bs, Delta drum sanders, pm's, unis. I got a 15 in jet cs planer off woodworking.org shop and swap for less then half the price, in excellent condition.
my .02

[Jim Becker]

Cabinet saw. It's not necssarily about "running it 8 hours a day"...the mass, weight and easier adjustment more than make up for the extra cost over time and the power will allow you to enjoy working with a wider range of materials effortlessly. The 1023S or 1023SL are very nice machines at an attractive price, too. And upgrading later actually costs you more as you are paying twice for a healthy portion of the saw.

[Greg Johnson]

I used a cheap Craftsman contractor saw for 28 years. I built my home and all the cabinets in it with that saw. It served me well for those years..... At least I thought it did until I upgraded to my Griz 1023SL. When I first started to use it I compared it to "cheating". It was too easy. This saw really makes it easy to make accurate clean cuts. So, while my old Craftsman served me for those 28 years, I now know that the Griz would have served me much better over those years. If I had bought a good cabinet saw 28 years ago, I would probably still be using it today. I am a hobbyist, but I am constantly using my saw. I believe that table saw is the "center" of the shop. So, why cut corners. For the price difference today, you will look at it 20 years from now and be glad you made the decision....

I was going to get a contractor style saw and came to this site and everybody talked me into the 1023. I am very glad they did. Of course, bottom line, both saws will get the job done and if money is an issue the contractor saw may be the best choice. I just thought I'd chime in with my 1023 experience.

Good luck with your shopping,
Greg

[Scott Coffelt]

I don't work on mine 8 hours a day, but I wouldn't give up my 1023S for anything less. I never have to worry about whether it can handle the job I am doing. The power is great, there is no comparison.

[Marcus Ward]

You guys are the devil. ;) Now I'm really leaning towards the 1023S. I took a moment this morning to think about the price of it. Basically 900 bucks. I'm a photographer and mountain biker and have spent more than that on single pieces of gear for either pursuit and not batted an eye. I wonder why it's causing me so much consternation on this?

[Boyd Gathwright]

.... I agree with Jim and Greg. And, besides it only cost a little more in the long run to go first class :).

Good luck



Cabinet saw. It's not necssarily about "running it 8 hours a day"...the mass, weight and easier adjustment more than make up for the extra cost over time and the power will allow you to enjoy working with a wider range of materials effortlessly. The 1023S or 1023SL are very nice machines at an attractive price, too. And upgrading later actually costs you more as you are paying twice for a healthy portion of the saw.

I used a cheap Craftsman contractor saw for 28 years. I built my home and all the cabinets in it with that saw. It served me well for those years..... At least I thought it did until I upgraded to my Griz 1023SL. When I first started to use it I compared it to "cheating". It was too easy. This saw really makes it easy to make accurate clean cuts. So, while my old Craftsman served me for those 28 years, I now know that the Griz would have served me much better over those years. If I had bought a good cabinet saw 28 years ago, I would probably still be using it today. I am a hobbyist, but I am constantly using my saw. I believe that table saw is the "center" of the shop. So, why cut corners. For the price difference today, you will look at it 20 years from now and be glad you made the decision....

I was going to get a contractor style saw and came to this site and everybody talked me into the 1023. I am very glad they did. Of course, bottom line, both saws will get the job done and if money is an issue the contractor saw may be the best choice. I just thought I'd chime in with my 1023 experience.

Good luck with your shopping,
Greg

[Gregg Mason]

I've got an older Grizzley contractor saw (1022Z). Altough it's a been a great saw, I'm kicking around the idea of an upgrade to the 1023SL when I get in to my new shop.

I don't regret my purchase of the 1022, but looking back, I should have waited and gone for the full boat, 1023SL with 7ft extension/legs.

If only Griz would take trade-in for an upgrade.

Gregg

[Marcus Ward]

Why would one get a left tilt model over the regular model? I must be missing something here because a lot of people seem to buy left tilt models and I don't know why. Can anyone illuminate this for me?

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

You guys are the devil. ;) Now I'm really leaning towards the 1023S. I took a moment this morning to think about the price of it. Basically 900 bucks. I'm a photographer and mountain biker and have spent more than that on single pieces of gear for either pursuit and not batted an eye. I wonder why it's causing me so much consternation on this?
Marcus, correct me if I'm wrong, but I used to mountain bike a lot, when I was at UBC, on the Endowment lands, and the thing with a mountain bike is, even a good one, you DO use it up fairly quickly. Mountain biking is HARD on bikes. On the Camera front, well "I'M" hard on cameras, so I look at them as something that will get used up as well (you may not).

I think with this kind of saw, you are looking at a very different time scale.

I very much doubt that you expect your Mt bike to last 10 years, or 20 years, how about 30 years? I would think it would be the same thing with the cameras, but with this kind of tool, I think you can expect to get that kind of mileage out of it. If you get the lesser saw, and you do find that you are doing this hobby more and more (as I've found myself getting out of racing motorcycles and further into woodworking) then you will, at some point, want to upgrade to the better saw.

Why not do that to start with?

One more point, if you do decide to leave the hobby, the better saw will have a higher used sale price, or at least one would hope.

Here, this just might push you over the edge.....

$900 over 10 years is $7.50 a month..........:eek:

I would bet you spend more on Starbucks than that in a month, if you know what I mean.

Ten years will come and go quickly....:( Having a daughter who is turning 12 this year is a testament to that..........!

Cheers!

[scott spencer]

Why would one get a left tilt model over the regular model? I must be missing something here because a lot of people seem to buy left tilt models and I don't know why. Can anyone illuminate this for me? The major selling point for a left tilt saw is that when the blade is beveled, the blade points away from the fence, the piece, and therefore your hands. By pointing away from the fence there's less risk of pinching which causes kickback. The downside is that blade thickness changes skew the reference tape.

Many people who do bevel cuts on a right tilt saw just move the fence to the left side of the blade which in turn leaves the blade pointing away from teh fence which makes it similar to the left tilt. The downside of that technique is that it's different than normal ripping operations which in itself pose some additional risks. A positive for RT's is that regardless of hte blade thickness, the measuring scale will always read correctly.

One of my favorite features of a LT is that the arbor nut is thread with a normal orientation. When I owned a RT saw the reverse threads drove me nuts! (...so now I have an excuse)

It's pretty much a matter of preference. I've owned both and prefer LT. There are also some potential complications for adding a slider.

[Ed Lang]

1023 you will be happy and glad you did.