Replies

1. 
   potomac | Jun 02, 2008 04:08am | #1

   I bought the 3hp steel city last fall, although a good saw, I am not in love with the thing like some are. I had a horrible experience when I got home with it, found huge deep scratch next to throat plate and had to return it. The dealer was a complete jerk "Its not like you bought a $3,000 dollar saw". After e-mailing Steel city, they said to see the dealer,long story, my point is , I don't think there customer service is any better than my left_____. the saw is made well, few things that bother me almost daily though;

   1. The arbor bolt seems short to me. With a full 3/4 dado blade the nut barely threads sufficiently in my opinion, I don't remember the unisaw having this problem, check on the griz.
   2. The panic plate on the stop switch falls off all of the time. Although minor, it is annoying, and makes me wonder about the rest of saw.
   3. The cast iron ext. tables are fine but the little melamine one is crap, had to rig it to get it to stay. And it came chipped on an edge.

   I guess for the money, 1,200 after rebate it has done me well, The griz just look to be better made.
   Hope it helps,
   John

2. 
   davidbrum | Jun 02, 2008 05:33am | #2

   I bought the Shop Fox W1677 last year. It is exactly the same as the Griz 1023, except that it is white. I was going to get the Griz but I found the Shop Fox at my local store for the same price.

   I love this saw. It is all steel and iron, built like a tank. The motor is powerful and quiet. The arbor is straight. The controls are massive and robust. I get a big grin every time I use it (which is a lot).

   The fence has proven completely adequate for my use- after I replaced the cheesy measuring tape with some Starrett tape. The fence is very easy to adjust for square. It will not deflect when locked down.

   You also get a humorous miter gauge which weighs 8 lbs! I haven't found a use for it yet, as I had an Incra. You could easily use it for self defense though.

   The one thing lacking is a riving knife. I bought a Shark Guard which I think works just as well. I can give more details if you want.

   These saws have been around long enough that the bugs are pretty well worked out. If you do have issues, Grizzly is famous for excellent customer service.

   Make sure you buy a mobile base if you ever want to move your cabinet saw. They weigh around 500 lbs.

   Happy shopping,
   David

3. 
   murphreejz | Jun 02, 2008 05:48am | #3

   I bought the 5hp Griz G1023 w/ the router table wing. I love it; I've had it in constant use about 50-60 hrs/wk for 1 1/2 yrs, and I don't have a single complaint other than I wish I'd gotten a longer fence/rail set. I only have about 28" of right side rip capacity. Makes cutting cabinet sides a little bit of a pain.

   It is a really great saw. I am currently looking at a 21"Griz bandsaw and 12" jointer.

   Regards, JM

   "Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines and dates by which bills must be paid." - Frank Zappa
4. 
   Napie | Jun 03, 2008 05:51am | #4

   Used Unisaw, lot's of them out there for under a $1000.  Less if it needs a re-build and they are easy to do.  If you have the manual skills to build furniture you can rebuild the basic power tools.  Not as much trouble a brake job on my jeep.  I always vote for old iron vs. new.

1. 
   Harley55 | Jun 03, 2008 06:19am | #5

   Napie, I wish that were the case in this area (Indianapolis, IN), I have been watching e-bay, Craigslist and some of the forum classified for some time to no avail.  The only one I have seen recently is a 50 year old sw for $800.  Generally, the saws are inexcess of $1,000, several 100 mile commute and many are three phase.  Just finished my daily search a little bit ago.  I haven't given up yet.  Thanks for the reply.  Any thoughts on the following?

    

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=380031792246&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=025

1. 
   Napie | Jun 03, 2008 06:26am | #6

   I'd much rather have that than any new unit.  I would go as high as a grand for it.  Keep looking too, you'll be happier with an old one.  Also look for PM 66's.  My whole shop rebuilt old iron, I saved a lot of money and I just like the idea of puting this stuff back to work. 

5. 
   forestgirl | Jun 03, 2008 08:37am | #7

   The Steel City model that is on sale is shipped directly from the Steel City warehouse.  I would think if there were any issues, SC would take care of them directly.  By the time you gussy up a 1023 to be comparable to the SC (ignoring the titanium coating of course), you'll be spending quite a bit more dough.

   I have followed SC customer service reports closely, and have had one exchange with them myself, which far exceeded my expectations.  The negative report above is surprising, and guaranteed if I had gotten the brush-off like that from either SC or the local dealer, there'd have been alot more conversation before things were finished.  Given the reputation they've developed here (via Sarge to a great extent) and other boards, I don't think they'd just flip us off, for sure.

   BTW, I came so darned close to ordering that saw myself, but needing a new computer at the same time, I ended up buying a 1997 Unisaw instead.  Paid $750.  A few days later, another one came up for $800 or so, with an incredible "outfeed table" that was actually a full cabinet with 20-some-odd drawers built into it.  Seattle area.

    

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   
   

   ---

   Edited 6/3/2008 1:40 am by forestgirl

6. 
   bones | Jun 03, 2008 04:33pm | #8

   I've had my 1023slx since 08/04 and it's humming along great.  The shipper damaged the first one and I rejected the shipment and CS at griz was great.  I took pics and e-mailed CS and they had another one on the way the next day and it arrived in great shape.  I've beat the tar out of it since and moved it half way across the country.  Mine has the 7' rails with bessy style fence.  I paid 1100 for mine back then, but for not much more today's model has the riving knife.  I would buy it again in a heart beat.  The only thing I have to do to mine is a coat of Johnson's floor wax every now and then to the top.  She'  cuts like a dream with the Forrest WWII and still passes the nickle test.  I'm sure the SC would be a good saw as well.  They are both made in Taiwan. Probable at the same factory.  Good luck on the decision and enjoy the new toy. 

   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.
   
1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jun 03, 2008 05:09pm | #10

   "They are both made in Taiwan. Probable at the same factory.  Good luck on the decision and enjoy the new toy"...  bones

   .......

   Both are made in China bones, but not at the same factory. Steel City purchased a factory there to do machines for well... Steel City. I was having a conversation with Scott Box (president of SC) last Friday and that happened to be one of the questions I ask.

   Regards...

   Sarge..

1. 
   Harley55 | Jun 03, 2008 07:44pm | #11

   Sarge, if you have a moment and do not mind, please give me your thoughts to the PM I sent you on "Creek."  Thanks Norm

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jun 03, 2008 08:43pm | #12

   Roger that Harley.. will comply before I go back down to ugggghhhhh... finishing in the shop. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

   Regards and see ya at the crik...

   Sarge..

2. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jun 03, 2008 08:50pm | #13

   I just went over to check Norm, and the last PM I had was from 05/26/08 asking about longevity. I definitely answered that in a PM to you. Did you not recieve the PM?

   If not.. it may still be on file in an out-going box and I can duplicate... or just send another PM here or there. Very busy in the shop but will check periodically....

   Sarge...

    

1. 
   Harley55 | Jun 04, 2008 03:55am | #14

    

   42040.14 in reply to 42040.11 

   I just went over to check Norm, and the last PM I had was from 05/26/08 asking about longevity. I definitely answered that in a PM to you. Did you not recieve the PM?

   If not.. it may still be on file in an out-going box and I can duplicate... or just send another PM here or there. Very busy in the shop but will check periodically....

   Sarge...

    

   Sarge, never received it.  Here is my e-mail address if that will help, looking forward to your thoughts:

   [email protected]

   Many thanks Norm

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jun 04, 2008 06:39am | #15

   "Shot out"... Norm. Check your E...

   Regards...

   Sarge.. aka john thompson in various regions of the globe

7. 
   terrylee86 | Jun 03, 2008 04:56pm | #9

   I would not buy the Unisaw right now. Dewalt is ruining that brand and they seem to running it into the ground. Their parts followup is poor at best. My local tool dist. is not even going to carry Delta and PC when his stock runs out. Old Unisaws as well as a PM66 would be great if you can find one(not to easy in the Midwest) and rebuilding one can be quite expensive if it is anything other than bearings. I recently rebuilt a PM66 and it was pretty straight forward (bearings and rust). I think you would be happy with either saw, but SC has the advantage of tool distributors and a great guarantee. Finding a good dist in Indy should not be too hard.
   If you have the money I would not get a table saw without a riving knife. Look at the 35905 SC and the G0652 Grizzly Since I bougth my Laguna TS I don't know how I got by without one. Check out the Laguna Platinum as well.

8. 
   USCJMW | Jun 05, 2008 02:51am | #16

   I'll preface by stating that I have no time on the Steel City Saw and have gotten the same positive impression via articles and such about it's performance.

   That said, I've used the Grizzly 1023S for about 2 years now.  I'm a hobbyist that uses it as much as I can.  My prior saw was a Lowe's bottom shelf kickback prone mess, so I think it was hard not to beat that experience.  The 3HP hasn't bogged down to date, and I have given it some tougher materials at times.  I wired for 220V and that has worked well.  It added about $80 to the costs to get the plug and materials for the wiring.  Lift gate service to the fromt of the garage added another $50 on top of shipping.  I use a TK Freud blade and it does well.

   Cons:  Blade guard requires two wrenches to remove and install.  I've built an overarm guard as a result.  Motor cover should come standard like many others, but doesn't.  Less aftermarket third-party compatible upgrades than the big boys (most work, though).  No plug or blade standard.

   Pro's:  Price is a value for my needs.  It's not a Powermatic, but I don't particularly require that level of machine and get by with the extra tweaking on the Grizzly here and there.  Good manual and Customer Support.  Standard sizes of table and rails allow for many typical upgrades.  The built in router wing option is a great value.  Wish I had done that initially as it would've saved money in the end.