Grizzly G0700 vs Unisaw

[Orrion Kuykendall]

Hey Guys,

So I am currently running a mint Uni with a 52" uni-fence in my shop currently (slightly bigger than a 1 car garage). Space isn't a huge issue as I have done very good at usage of the space but its definitely not readily available.

With that being said I have come across a pretty good deal, a very well kept grizzly G0700 for 1500. Its a short stroke slider with a max cutting length of about 40 inches with the scoring blade removed, and 34 inches to the right of the table and nearly nothing to the left. I could easily use my ball bearing stands on the left for bigger sheets/lumber.

The extra 2 hp and the ability to use a slider is a bonus however. And I have a few ideas for left side support from the ball bearing guides, to a custom table build, etc.

However, my main concern is is the max 40 length while using the sliding table, as well as the fact there is no miter slot on the right side of the blade. I also don't know if the fence is upgradeable or interchangeable so I am going to assume its not going to easily give me more than 34 to the right while using the fence. I have a few ideas on how I could extend the length past 40 while using the slider but then I wouldn't get as much depth of cut... So yeah, not sure.

Side Note: This saw will see all kinds of uses, across the board... pun intended, it won't see entirely too much of one specific job. Most of my ripping is done on my BS but in some cases will use my TS. Most of my framing lumber up to 12" gets cross cut at the miter, however anything larger would have to be at the table. I usually do my initial breakdown of sheet goods with a track before it gets to the table. Uhmmmm, yeah, so that should give a little more insight of its general uses in my shop.

I originally planned to upgrade to a nicer 10' cabinet at some point in the somewhere near future but considering altering my plans if this may be a nice change of pace.

If I decided to go with the grizzly I would sell my uni as I don't have the room for both. So with that being said, whats everything thoughts and advice on this? Would any of you trade your uni for a short stroke slider (Grizzly g0700)?

[Bill Dufour]

Location? To imply likelyhood of another similar saw coming up for sale.
I have no knowledge but I would expect you to have a large choice of used sliders in the Netherlands.
Bill D.
USA

Good written English by the way

[Orrion Kuykendall]

I guess I need to update my location.

But I would hope my English is at least decent, it is my native language! I'm as southern white as they come LOL but massive bonus points for pinpointing the name origin.

I keep an eye on used tools like its an addiction sadly, haha, I usually catch a glimpse of everything that comes available in the southeastern region. Just not sure if I will regret letting this one slip through the cracks but also worried I may get it and find more to be desired from it as I haven't used any short stroke systems before.

[Mike Kees]

Orrion,I used to own a Minimax SC2 slider that was about 50'' stroke with scoring. It was a sweet saw and some days I still miss it. It got replaced with a larger slider. I also have a Unisaw currently. If I had to choose between the Uni and that Minimax ,well lets just say my 25 year + relationship with the Uni would be over. if you use a tracksaw for sheet good breakdown I think you would really like the slider. I would not call replacing that Unisaw with anything but a slider an upgrade, especially with a Unifence. Short stroke sliders are awesome all around saws that are more accurate and quicker to use than a cabinet saw. I personally could not ever go back to a conventional (Non slider) saw again.

[Orrion Kuykendall]

Orrion,I used to own a Minimax SC2 slider that was about 50'' stroke with scoring. It was a sweet saw and some days I still miss it. It got replaced with a larger slider. I also have a Unisaw currently. If I had to choose between the Uni and that Minimax ,well lets just say my 25 year + relationship with the Uni would be over. if you use a tracksaw for sheet good breakdown I think you would really like the slider. I would not call replacing that Unisaw with anything but a slider an upgrade, especially with a Unifence. Short stroke sliders are awesome all around saws that are more accurate and quicker to use than a cabinet saw. I personally could not ever go back to a conventional (Non slider) saw again.

Does the SC2 have a miter to the right? Honestly think that is my biggest concern. Not sure off the top of my head on how to overcome that in a few scenarios.

[Mike Kees]

The 34' rip is a non factor as well. I had a 52'' Unifence on my saw as well and never used that full capacity except as a place to park junk. 32'' is more than adequate.

[Orrion Kuykendall]

Plus if the stroke was 48-50 I dont think I would worry as much, but 40 seems a bit odd and may find it being a bit short but not sure.

[Mike Kees]

No it did not have a miter slot. With a slider you do not need it. Everything works off the 'wagon' .

[Mike Kees]

A 40'' stroke is a bit short. For me everything capacity wise is based off sheet goods so the ability to at least crosscut 48'' is highly desirable.

[Ray Newman]

per the Grizzly web page, the G0700 is discontinued: https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...de-Arbor/G0700

Might be something to think about if parts are needed....

[Eric Arnsdorff]

per the Grizzly web page, the G0700 is discontinued:
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...de-Arbor/G0700

Might be something to think about if parts are needed....

My experience is that Grizzly does a good job of supporting their equipment with spare parts. I have a 20 year old jointer and bandsaw that I can still get parts from Grizzly.

My Grizzly tools have lasted and good overall but not the build quality of my Unisaw.

[Jim Becker]

Does the SC2 have a miter to the right? Honestly think that is my biggest concern. Not sure off the top of my head on how to overcome that in a few scenarios.

Sliding table saws do not normally have any miter slots...a miter bar on the wagon is used for this purpose. There is a slot on the wagon quite often, but it's there primarily for things like hold-downs. The only thing you do "the same" on a slider as a North American cabinet saw is when using the rip fence and even then, many require you to stand in a different position, although short stroke sliders often permit standing in a similar location as a cabinet saw when using the rip fence.

[David Stone (CT)]

The biggest drawback I see is this saw has no outrigger and sports a very short crosscut fence. The most important advantage of a sliding tablesaw, to me as a hobbyist, is being able to walk up to the saw and rip or crosscut most things without having to spending time putting on/taking off a crosscut sled, clamping on crosscut fence extensions and stop blocks, or otherwise fixturing the machine (at least for routine cuts). But that's only true if the the crosscut fence/stop system is long enough to accommodate AND the outboard support to the left of the blade extends far enough to support, the majority of your workpieces. I personally could live with the modest stroke on this machine, but the fact that anything other than relatively small crosscuts would appear to involve rigging up ball bearing stands and/or clamping on shop-built stops to extend the fence negates that advantage. Additionally, the supplied hold-down looks (in the picture at least) pretty Mickey Mouse, which compounds the problem. On the plus side, this saw presumably has a modern riving knife, which is a definite plus vs. the classic Unisaw, and, seemingly, a sliding table design that lets you stand in more or less in the most comfortable position to use the rip fence. Still, I couldn't really see making the switch, at least for the way I work.

BTW, the only time I've ever missed the miter slot to the right of the blade is very occasionally, with a conventional tenoning jig. But there are ways to replicate that, or anything else I know of involving that slot, with the sliding table, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect much at all.

[David M Peters]

Hey Orrion, I've have the G0700 since 2014 and can share my experience with it.

First off for parts, it's a baby version of the the 623X so the core parts won't be a huge problem. The ripping capacity width is just fine. I've never needed a miter slot to the right of the blade - I would just attach a jig to the sliding table via its slot.

On occasion I've wished for a longer stroke, but the thing I wish for most often would be a wider support area for the sliding table. For example today cross-cut a narrow strip of plywood to 25" - A good chunk of it was hanging off the left side of the table. The fence doesn't extend that far out so I had to eyeball the cut location with a pencil mark. A normal slider wagon will have a nice wide miter fence with a built-in rule making that job even easier. BUT - with that said I was able to quickly and easily make all my plywood parts without screwing around with an enormous crosscut sled. I did a combination of slider cuts and traditional rips with one setup.

I view the saw as an extremely capable cabinet saw that happens to have a very handy sliding table, not as a hard core sliding table saw. If you don't have a ton of shop space you get a ton of functionality in a small space.

My negatives for the saw stem from sturdiness of how the sliding table is attached and calibration. If you cross-cut a heavy piece of material the sliding table will bent to the left - I think that these tables are designed to be supported with an outrigger as seen in normal sliders. So you gotta baby it with heavy stuff. Also, calibration is a slow and is a skillset unto itself. I just moved into a new shop and spent a good 2 hours getting saw tuned up after reassembling it. Also about once every 6 months I'll have to re-set the sliding table and rip fence. It just don't like to stay

[Orrion Kuykendall]

Thanks yall.

This is a lot of what I was already thinking, I decided to hold off for now. It would be nice as an extra addition but I can't pull the trigger on getting rid of my uni yet