Oh Golly, Another Saw Question

[Paul Douglass]

I'm looking at having to buy a saw this year. Been look'n and read'n and the more I look and read the confuseder I get! Ok you Grizzly fans, is the the G1023SL worth $25 more that the G1023S? Are the Shop Fox classic fences they come with any good or does it have to be replaced? The miter gague doesn't look like much. So many saws, so little time.....

[Doug Hoffman]

Actually it is only $20,and the SL includes a motor cover,a $35 option on the S. The fence is very good.You can upgrade,but it is quite usable as is!

[Paul Douglass]

Thanks, Doug, my math is not so good this AM for some reason! I don't want to have to upgrade. What do you think of the miter gague that comes with it?

[Jim Becker]

The SL also is a left-tilt saw... ;) ...which has become the more popular format over the past few years.

[Doug Hoffman]

The miter gage is cast iron,and better than average. All told,the G1023SL is a very nice saw.Depending on where you live,also check out the Shop Fox saws.They are made by the same people as Grizzly,but are sold in retail stores.You can dicker with the dealers,something Grizzly won't do.

[Rick Moyer]

Actually it is only $20,and the SL includes a motor cover,a $35 option on the S. The fence is very good.You can upgrade,but it is quite usable as is!

The 1023SL also includes the $8 dust port, which the 1023S does not, making the pkg worth $43 more for only $20 extra. So I would say the 1023SL is a better deal unless you prefer a right-tilt saw. I was at Grizzly (Muncy) the other day comparing these machines as I want to get one sometime soon, and they are identical except for the two pieces mentioned and left vs. right tilt. The miter fence is cast and pretty heavy.

[Curt Harms]

Does any OEM include a miter gauge on par with Incra, Kreg, JDS etc? I can't think of one. I have an earlier G1023 and the miter gauge is heavy, but doesn't have really accurate repeatable stops. I have the Incra 1000 and it's much more accurate and repeatable than any of the OEM gauges I know of. The other option would be to buy or build a sled which seems to be a popular choice.

Curt

[scott spencer]

The SF Classic fence is a good copy of the commercial Biesemeyer. It's heavy duty steel with UHMW plastic faces. About the only fence upgraded that'd make sense to me is an Incra or Jointech type setup. The SF is a couple of steps beyond functional IMHO. About the only downside I can think of is the UHMW faces, which are easily replaceable or can be machined if they're not flat.