Replies

1. 
   Eef | Jun 13, 2008 04:41am | #1

   cmitier,
   ive owned that saw since 1987. when i first unpacked it, the miter gage slots had some slag in them that i had to cold chisel and scrape out. also the blade would not lower below the tabletop. after considerable hand filing, this too was remedied. these two problems alone were quite dis-heartening. then i read the owner's manual. to say that it was a poor translation is putting things mildly. i started laughing so hard that i just had to call grizzly. i had the rep laughing in short order. to this day that saw has had no major problems, has paid for itself thousands of times over and i would recommend it as a good saw.

   best wishes,
   eef

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 13, 2008 07:30am | #3

   "...also the blade would not lower below the tabletop. after considerable hand filing, this too was remedied"  Are you sure that was a flaw?  I don't know how it goes with cabinet saws, but with contractor saws, that's the way most are made (much to our chagrin).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Eef | Jun 13, 2008 05:46pm | #4

   good morning forestgirl,

   your question has me thinking.  i assumed it to be a flaw.  at the time (mid 80's)all i had ever worked with was the "heavy iron"type saws at los angeles trade tech.  all of these, one was able to lower the blade below the table top.  there are those times when it is important to raise a moving blade into a workpiece. i do this, for instance, with shop-made throat plates. it appears, to me, that the grizz-1023 is a copy of the delta unisaw.  does the delta allow one to lower the blade below the table?

   eef

1. 
   Len | Jun 13, 2008 06:19pm | #5

   I have the 1023 and yes, you should be able to lower the blade below the table. All tablesaws should allow you to do this. I've never seen one that didn't. Did the Rep. offer you a way to adjust it?

   My blade in the lowest position sits about a 1/2" below the surface of the table. It might be that the worm drive gear is a few turns off.

   I did't have a single problem with mine. The tolerances were better than I expected.Len

   "You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time. " J. S. Knox

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 13, 2008 06:50pm | #7

   " I've never seen one that didn't."  That's 'cause you get to use all that high-end equipment, Len.  LOL!!  It's common for contractor saws to stop just short of going beneath the top of the table, as seen in threads where folks are asking how to deal with that problem when making their own zero-clearance inserts.  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   saschafer | Jun 13, 2008 07:21pm | #10

   "It's common for contractor saws to stop just short of going beneath the top of the table, as seen in threads where folks are asking how to deal with that problem when making their own zero-clearance inserts."

   That's a horse of a different color. It's very common for the top of the blade to not clear the bottom of the insert cavity (meaning that an insert always has to have a chunk taken out of the bottom of it), but that's not the same as not clearing the top of the table itself.

   -Steve

    

3. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Jun 13, 2008 10:02pm | #13

   forestgirl,

   I have an old Delta contractors saw; the 10" blade will descend well below the table and several homemade zero clearance inserts.

   Is this a malady/shortcoming of newer contractors saws I wonder.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

4. 
   forestgirl | Jun 14, 2008 12:10am | #15

   "Is this a malady/shortcoming of newer contractors saws I wonder."  Nope, don't think so,  My Jet saw was one of the old blue versions.  I have no idea which saws clear and which saws don't, but just based on the topic coming up here a few times a year, and the fact that magazine articles about zero-clearance inserts address the issue, it's obvious that there are a number of saws "out there" who's blades do not drop below the top surface of the table when fully retracted.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

5. 
   cmiltier | Jun 14, 2008 04:03am | #16

   Thanks for the replys. I will be going to look at it tomorrow.

    

   Does $400 sound fair for one in good condition?

   Edited 6/13/2008 9:03 pm ET by cmiltier

6. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Jun 14, 2008 02:17pm | #17

   Man, I don't know about you but I would think $400 for any cabinet saw that's in good condition is a good buy!

   I've heard nothing but good things in here about the 1023.

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

   Edited 6/14/2008 7:17 am ET by KiddervilleAcres

7. 
   bones | Jun 14, 2008 05:14pm | #18

   IT would be a steal at that price (if in good condition). Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

8. 
   Tony Z | Jun 14, 2008 07:46pm | #19

   Since this saw is relatively the same vintage as mine, and I would suspect having the same manufacturing methods, $400 would be more than fair to pay.  Worst case is you may have to apply some sweat equity to bring the saw fully up to snuff, but at that price it is worth it.

   I have thought about selling my saw (I also have a Unisaw, but with a three phase motor) and I would put a price on it at around $500.00 with the original fence replacing the Vega Pro now on it and with the Forrest blade replaced with a new borg blade.

   T.Z.

9. 
   cmiltier | Jun 14, 2008 11:55pm | #20

   I got an e-mail just before I was leaving this morning that he sold the saw.

   The search goes on!!

   TonyZ, where do you live? Want to sell?

10. 
    Tony Z | Jun 15, 2008 02:23am | #21

    PA and I'm undecided.

    T.Z.

11. 
    Eef | Jun 13, 2008 06:57pm | #9

    good morning len,

    how does one adjust the worm drive gear?

    thanks,

    eef

12. 
    Len | Jun 13, 2008 08:56pm | #11

    Eef,

    A few questions.

    How high was the blade above the table? (Before you fixed it.)

    How low does it go below the table now?

    What did you file down?

    Sorry to hear of your setup woes. I had heard that there were potential problems with fit and finish with Grizzly. When I ordered mine, I voiced these concerns to the salesperson. She was very nice and said she would inspect the saw before it was shipped. Don't know if she actually did, but the saw was in perfect order. Len

    "You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time. " J. S. Knox

13. 
    Eef | Jun 13, 2008 09:51pm | #12

    len,

    my saw, as well as my entire shop, has been in mothballs, so to speak, for about a year now. im soon to retrieve the whole thing and when i do, a tablesaw tune up, is in order. the blade was proud 1/8" above the throatplate. after i was done filing,it lowered to about 1/8" below the t-plate. len, i did all of this 21 years ago.  ill try to describe as best i can.  a part of the trunnion assembly which moves down as the blade is lowered made contact with,(im relying on memory here...),what i remember to be a heavy cast housing at the inside front of the saw.

    i can't get to my saw, just yet, to get a more certain "visual" description for you. i am, however, very curious about any possible mechanical adjustment that would allow me to lower the blade to the full 1/2" that you currently enjoy.

    thanks man, i hope this makes sense.

    eef

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 13, 2008 06:53pm | #8

   Hi, Eef.  Len's experience with his 1023 tells you yes, they should drop completely.  My "new" Unisaw does too.  The common technique for dealing with those that don't (my former saw, old Jet contractor) is to use a 6" dado blade to start the slot in the zero-clearance insert.  Or some unmentionable methods of dropping the insert down onto the spinning blade (we will not go there).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   bones | Jun 13, 2008 04:49am | #2

   I own a 1023slx.  Great saw.  If you can take a strait edge and feeler gauge to check for table flatness that would be great.  Mine was great out of the box no issues.  Do the nickle test.  Have him start it with a nickle standing on edge. It should start and stop without falling.  If you don't get any runout on the arbour and the things seem solid (no play or shaking), then look at how much is wanted.  I would exped a great deal at that age.  Good luck.

   Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
   If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
   And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
   
3. 
   Len | Jun 13, 2008 06:24pm | #6

   It's a good saw. I own one. If you search the archives, there is a lot of good advice about this saw. I've not had single problem with mine.

   Noise. It should run fairly quiet. I would do the nickle test on it and see how much vibration it has.

   Len

   "You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time. " J. S. Knox

4. 
   Tony Z | Jun 13, 2008 10:16pm | #14

   I have a 1023 that I bought new in 1996.  I had a number of issues that I resolved myself.  The issues include the saw not adjusting to 90 degrees (something mis-assembled/mis-cast that some filing and a grinder took care of), both handwheels would keep coming off (re-tapped the holes to IIRC 12-24, with set screws held in with hex bolts) and the arbor being off (dis-assembled and had a machinist that works for me grind the arbor true).  These items were taken care of in the first few years of ownership and since then the saw has worked fine.  I believe the saw was purchased new for $800.00, and a Unisaw at the time could be had for around $1200 to $1300.  Accounting for me time and aggravation, the 1023 would not have been purchased again. 

   I did not contact Grizzly for assistance with the remedy for any of the above:  what needed done was clearly evident and not worth waiting for replacement parts that may be worse than the originals!

   In fairness, I have visited the Grizzly showroom several times since the 1023 purchase and have seen a marked improvement in aesthetic quality in both fit and finish.  There is a marked difference in the past 12 years, but does that translate into the parts you don't see improving also?

   T.Z.