Grizzly 1023 SL/Fox Shop Fence: Wow!

[loutent]

Ok, I might sound pretty naive here. Just got my Grizzly 1023SL today (actually SWMBO & I just lift gated it into our garage, which is where it sits for now.)

I have only had a chance to look at the Shop Fox fence which was shipped in a separate box.

All I can say is WOW! This damn thing is so much beefier (?) than what I have had (a 15+ year old contractor style import) that it is hard to believe. I picked up just the back rail and I think that alone weighs more that my old fence system total.

Ok, I'm a little giddy. Thanks to those steering me to the 1023 SL (at least so far).

More to follow.

Lou

BTW: Ordered it on the 31st to beat the price increase - that was last Friday (New Years Eve). Once I gave them the "OK", Grizzly had it shipped & in the local terminal in about 36 hours. I had to pick it up because the truck could not get close enough to our garage. All of our friends & relatives have bad backs and/or bypass scars.

[Ron Truitt]

I just got mine set up about 2 weeks ago and was very impressed by the sturdiness of all of it. My old Crapsman looks like a toy now. And the Griz motor is a real bear. I have buzzed through a few cuts and it is great. My only trouble was lining up the splitter. I am still struggling with that part but take it off if it gives me problems.

Have fun!

RonT

[Cubby]

I was able to pick mine up last night from the freight company. Got it home, unloaded it off my trailer and got it onto a mobile base (all by myself I might add...surprisingly easy). Unfortunately, I'm working all day today so won't be able to touch it for awhile but hope to have it up and running sometime this weekend. I still need to put a sub panel in to power it but that's not a big deal.

I too am impressed with what I've seen so far and can't wait to fire it up. Only potential issue I have at the moment is on one of the extension wings. Appears they didn't cover it up real well with the cosmoline and there's rust. I'm hoping when I wash the grease off, the rust is just a superficial thing.

Cheers, cc

[loutent]

Hi Cubby,

The cosmoline looks sort of rust colored, so when you scrape and then wash (I used mineral spirits), it should look nice and shiney.

I still haven't fired mine up - worked on setting the fence up today.

Lou

[Cubby]

Hiya Lou, This is definitely not cosmoline. The plastic they put down over the cosmo was pushed all the way back and it really does look like part of the wing never got the grease. I'm gonna clean it up tonight so who know's maybe it's just fine. I'm not too awfully worried as I'm confident in Grizzly's service.

I'm debating on the fence. I have a virtually brand new Vega wiht micro adjust and everything that I think I'm gonna put on it. I'm hoping to get a little $$ for the shop fox fence to offset the cost of the saw!

Cheers, cc

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Well unfortunately, the spots I was worried about were in fact rust. It's just cosmetic but never the less, I figure for $1000 I should have a pretty close to pristine machine so I'll be contacting Grizzly on Monday to see about a replacement. This kind of puts my assembly on hold for a bit unfortunately :(

Otherwise, it appears to all be going together as described. Good luck with the rest of your set up Lou. Cheers, cc

[D. J. Dorn]

To each his own - for myself, if the spot were minor, I'd fix it and live with it. I figure if I'm buying a car, I want the exterior to be as close to flawless as possible. If it's a power tool, I'm not as picky about a little dent or a small spot of rust that I can remove.

Don

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Just out of curiosity, how would you fix it? Where the rust is, it is pitted ever so slightly which means I'd probably have to polish it out which would make a divot in the wing. I realize we're talking semantics as a couple of thousandths isn't gonna matter but just curious if there's another way. Cheers, cc

[tonytn1158]

Hi, I have the 1023s with the short rails. Do you by chance have the long rails?

[D. J. Dorn]

Possibly I didn't understand the orignal post. Slight surface rust and rust to the point that it caused pitting a couple of thousands deep are two different things. I noticed that the pad on the bottom of the fence leaves a mark on the surface too, but it's all part of how it operates. Chances are, I personally wouldn't get a replacement but I'm not nearly as picky as many of my friends. I'm not quesiting your decision but I am saying that buying a power tool should carry diffeerent expectations than buying a Porche. It's $1000 by the time shipping is done and if you're not happy with it now, you probably will always think about it - do what you have to do to like the saw.

Don

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I'm not installing the fence that came with the saw. I'm moving my long railed Vega fence over to it. Haven't even opened the fence box yet! Cheers, cc

[Dave Mundt]

Just my $0.02 worth here...if all that there is are a few small pits, I would hit it with a bit of navel jelly, to zap the rust, clean things off the surface and coat it good with topcote, then, move on to build stuff. It is only a cosmetic defect, as a few pits are not going to keep the wood from sliding flat on the surface. I would not, under any circumstances, buff out the area, as that would cause a small problem to become a BIG problem. On the other hand, if it is going to be a defect that will glare out at you and distract you from cutting stuff...and you are willing to spend the time to swap out the table or saw with Grizzly, then, there is no reason that you can't give it a whirl. As long as the majority of the surface is flat and smooth, the saw will cut just fine and very accurately. Regards Dave Mundt

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I was thinking the Naval Jelly route too. At least that would prevent the rust from spreading. Called Grizzly today regarding a drill I bought that had some problems. I mentioned to the guy that one of the wings had some cosmetic pitting and asked his opinion. He insisted he send a new one. I explained it was merely cosmetic and would in no way affect the performance of the saw yet he insisted on sending a new one. I have to say, they have great customer service! So now what am I gonna do with an extra table saw wing (they don't want the original back)? Might make a fancy scary sharp station....hmmm. Cheers, cc

[Eric Anderson]

If you were close by (Ann Arbor, MI), I might be interested in it. My Unisaw came with only a left wing (it has an extension table. It is not a serious ommission (was a cost savings), but it would have made the extension table long enough to cover the full travel of my fence.