I have been waiting some time for this as I sold off my Delta contractor saw last fall and have been out of the country quite a bit since then. I had settled on the Grizzly G1023SLW with the router insert in the wing. It was out of stock until last week and I was going to order it now since I will be coming in from offshore next week. Now in my inbox I see Rockler has the Jet 10" 3HP left tilt for $100.00 off and free shipping. I really don't need the router wing insert as I have a BenchDog system with a Hitchi 12V. Any thoughts on one over the other? Not trying to restart any Griz/Jet wars here; just looking for experience and opinions. I'm going to order one in the next couple of days...
I have owned a Grizzly 1023S for five years and couldn't be happier. When I started my search Unisaw and Jet were initially at the top of the pile. Got a chance to have a Griz demonstrated at the Springfield store. Then their customer service gave me names of a couple of guys in my are that owned them. That sealed it. Very quick truck delivery and easy setup. No problems since.
BTW, I just added a router table outside of the existing cast iron wing on mine (between the regular length fence rails). Pretty much made from stuff I had in the shop. It ends up being about the same size as the SLW but lighter. I didn't add the legs because they aren't needed. However, for the difference between prices of the "S" (or "SL") and the "SLW" -- the SLW doesn't look like a bad deal.
I have the Jet 3hp left tilt, package price included the longer fence with a router table and a decent Bosch router to boot. I've used it for nearly a year now with no complaints at all, huge step up from my old Craftsman saw. Only comment about the Jet, they don't bevel the front edge of the cast iron extensions, leaving a fairly sharp exposed edge. I'm sure there is some reason why they don't (for those of us who occasionally confuse our rights with our lefts maybe) but it is something contend with. - no experience with Grizzly, but from what I've seen in this ng, many happy owners of both.
Good luck with your new saw, I hope you are as happy with the upgrade as I was.
I too am a happy owner of a Jet. I'm fairly sure that all major manufacturers do not bevel the wings. This is because the main to an wings are ground flat separately, and milling matching the bevels separately would be difficult.
Well, I too have had the Jet for 7 years and am very happy with it.
As for the bevel, it would not be difficult to mill the bevel on the extensions. If they can mill a flat surface milling the wings would not be a problem either. As a fatter of fact, The Powermatic 2000 has a bevel all the way across the front edge.
The wings extensions are not milled on the Jet for two reasons.
If you milled a bevel on the front of the extensions to match the TS main table you would cut through the iron. The wings are not as thick on the front side as the main saw table is.
The bevel is to prevent the "stock" miter gauge face from catching as you push it over the edge. The "stock" miter gauge is narrow enough that a bevel on the wings are not required.
If price is not longer a factor, either would probably be a good choice. I personally don't like having a built in router as I like to have separate setups. I have the Bench Dog station also.
It may all boil down to whether you want a near white saw that reflects light better than green. LOL
On another note, Jet dealers are all over the place. Grizzly has 3 or 4 locations. This may or may not be a factor for you.
I personally have the Jet left tilt and expect it to out last me. I have had to make no miter slot to saw blade adjustments in the 7 years that I have owned it. Would I buy again? I would strongly reconsider Jet, Laguna, Powermatic 2000, and the SawStop. I'd probably end up with the Laguna or the SawStop.
I will probably be upgrading soon, too. We finally have a General distributor here in town, and I swear the General saw I looked at reminded me of the old Green Delta from my school shop in '70. Everything was heavy duty, smooth, and just plain nice. The only short coming was the fence on the one I looked didn't feel quite as positive (could have been their setup) as others I have used.
We're past the 'if' part. I'm looking for a deal at this point and I am looking into a sliding table attachment for it too. Last time I fired one up, all I heard was the soft whistling of the wind through the blade's teeth. Their Canadian made version of the T-fence is just fantabulous. I like those General people, they're hanging in there, damn the torpedoes. Their off-shore stuff isn't too shabby either. A friend of mine bought a big General International planer from them and it is NICE.
This is the saw I'm drooling over. (c model with t-fence)
Not milling a bevel on the extension tables allow for a single casting to be flipped around and used on either the right or left side of the main table.
General people, they're hanging in >there, damn the torpedoes. Their off-shore stuff isn't too >shabby either. A friend of
I have looked at some of the General Interplanetary stuff (for those playing along) and it looks first rate to me.
But the "General" brand just seem to remind me of the old iron days. When the guy that turned the saw on for me looked at my face, he sure got the expected response. It sounded like some kind of all ball bearing fan. Just a kind of turbine sound, then up to speed immediately.
BTW, as a testimony to the accuracy and longevity of the General saw line, the distributor is Jointech (their home in sunny San Antonio is about 7 miles from my house), manufacturer of various goodies for the table saw to make exotic joints, or just plain accurate joints.
These guys could use any saw they wanted, and they chose General, even when they had to order them in. They liked the sturdy reliability of the saws, and the fact they could pack them in the trailer for woodworking shows and they didn't need to be fully aligned even after bouncing around for weeks from city to city.
I think they got the idea to sell them when doing their demos that many wanted to have the whole "setup" they were using in the demos and classes. To top it off, they even use them in their newly completed classrooms. To me, that says a lot about the General. A whole lot - these guys are selling accuracy.
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don't know what model it was I looked at. But on further reflection, I am thinking that since they hooked it up with their own (Jointech) guides maybe they ordered the lowest end stock fence they could. That would make sense to me - why order the high end stuff when you are just going to take it off?
Have no fear, youknowwho will eventually see it and correct you. AAMOF, I can see the laser sight beam zeroing in on you from here. Better duck, dude, you're in deep shit now! ;)
Ohhh.. I didn't know that they were importing from out there yet. ;~)
I agree with you on that comment but different style saw blades can make a saw sound different. ;~) I am not saying that they had one of those "special demo blades on the saw to make it shound like some kind of all ball bearing fan. A well built piece of machinery does have that unmistakable smooth and kinda soothing sound.
Boy that says a lot too. At the last woodworking show a major player used that excuse to explain why their tools were not up to expectations.
About three/four years ago I had the opportunity to do a few test cuts with a Canadian made, General 350. I don't recall the fence being a problem during the hands-on, but it may even have been an aftermarket fence.
Fence notwithstanding, to one very used to a UniSaw, the General 350 was an impressive piece of machinery.
FWIW, and based on that brief experience, and if I did not already own a UniSaw, I would not hesitate to go with a General 350, no matter what it took.
I see that the General has a 2HP motor compared to the 3 HP on the Grizz & Jet. Will this make much of a difference to the weekend woodworker. I don't foresee me ripping 12/4 hardwoods. (could happen though I suppose) I would imagine mostly I would be cutting dimensioned woods. I have also heard that the General Int'l goods are not up to par with the General Canada units. I have been away from the rec for quite some time now so am a little out of touch on the latest happenings. The General hybrid would be roughly the same price as the Grizzly by the time I pay taxes and shipping from Woodcraft in Minneapolis and only a hundred or so less than the Jet on special.
Geez, buying a saw is kind of like buying a car eh? Far too many choices. :-)
My General 650 required a strip of self-stick "grip tape" along the fence rail to truly lock the fence in place, as the rail paint is very smooth. Once I did that, I can probably use it as a clamp stop!
LOL...as you may have noticed in other threads, I'm doing what I can not to arouse the guy. I immediatly clambered all over my keyboard in great haste to correct my deadly error. I may not be so lucky next time.
That's a sweet saw. I know it well and so do a few of them around here and I hear nothing but kudos. One guy has the Excalibur sliding table attachment and is very pleased. But I'm going to be dropping a serious nut as it is with the Bot and all, so my 'dream' saw will have to wait. I'm also buying a bunch of material handling solutions, ie carts and such, new modular work tables. Take a peek...I want one of each on this page from 'carts' on down
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bought a new sander..and that's where my dream saw money is going for now: Take a peek at the video on the bottom of this page:
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considering that I pay 2 guys to do the sanding.... well, it's unfortunate that I have to think like that...but...and in the meantime I will have to put up with the voice of Clay in my head:
"Down at the well they've got a new machine The foreman says it cuts man-power by fifteen Yeah but that ain't natural well so old Clay would say You see he's a horse-drawn man until his dying day"
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