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View Full Version : G1023RL Table Saw: Purchase, Setup, Move Fence Rails, & mini-Review



Rick Bunt
07-28-2011, 4:15 PM
Purchase
I considered the G0690 as well, but I preferred the features on the G1023RL: dust shroud, serpentine belt, paddle style off switch, venerable Shop Fox fence (vs. some issues with 690 fence face flatness). It was also about $200 cheaper at the time (April, 2011). Ordered it on a Thursday and it arrived following Wednesday (UPS Freight). Slight damage to packaging was noted on the delivery slip. Inside the boxes three parts has minor damage: the plastic cursor on fence was destroyed (small loss), the right side access door had come loose in shipping and the clasp pin was smashed flat, and the black plastic tape band at the bottom was ripped in a few places. A quick email to Grizzly and a new cursor, entire right access door, and replacement black tape were on the way (got them in about a week).

Setup
Everything worked as per instructions with no major issues. I replaced the supplied power cord (10’, 14 ga, 6-15 plug) with 16’ of 12 ga SJOW cord and L6-20P (twist-lock). About 2’ of that length is inside the saw cabinet. I also moved the fence to right (see below)

I set up the saw on the T23376 “Universal Mobile Base” (looks identical to ones from Woodcraft, Peachtree, etc.) I used a 24” x 24” piece of ¾” plywood. The sloped bottom inside the cabinet is welded to the sides, so I couldn’t (easily) attach cabinet to base from inside. I used the three red clips that bolted the cabinet to the pallet during shipping to attach it from “outside” (picture #1). Then I fit some thin scraps of plywood over that to prevent it from sliding around. I was going to screw them in, but friction fit was tight enough. It also dressed it up a bit (picture #2). This mobile base works great for my needs—mostly moving left to right to dodge support posts (see below) as I rip things of different widths and lengths. It might not be great in a garage with deep lips and transitions to cross over.

Table was pretty darn flat. I measured with Veritas 38” aluminum straight edge and set of feeler gauges. I found a long, shallow 0.0035” dip between the right miter slot and right edge of table (about 12” long running front to back). I can catch a finger nail on the edge after the right extension wing was attached. Everywhere else (including extension wings) I could not get the 0.0015” feeler gauge under the straight edge (front to back, left to right, or diagonally). Left extension wing installed level, right one needed one strip of Scotch tape to shim it up ever so slightly. Very happy with tolerances.

I used the Mag-Dro miter slot base and my Wixley digital caliper for rest of set up and that was a great combination. The blade (Freud P410, the included blade seemed okay, but I’ll use it for rough stuff) was parallel to both miter slots (0.001”) without any adjustment. I had to adjust the fence slightly, which was easy. I got it parallel to miter slot within 0.001” maybe just a hair toed outward. Fence was square to the table as measured with my 6” Gladstone machinist square and Starrett double square. The 90 and 45 stops on the blade were as close as I could measure as well.

Move Fence Rails
Based on advice and suggestions from Scott Spencer and Cary Falk (here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?164239-Hybrid-Saw/page3)). I moved the front rail to the right to gain right side rip capacity. I installed the front and rear angle brackets as per instructions (two bolts each). I moved the front rectangular tube that the fence actually rests on to the right by one bolt hole (about 10”) and thus only used 3 out of 4 bolts to attach it to the angle bracket (picture #3). For the rear rail I made a quick prototype extension glued up from 3 strips of ¾” cherry I had lying around (pictures #4,5). It’s bolted through an existing hole in the angle bracket and two screws through exiting holes in the bottom of angle bracket (not visible in pictures). It works so well that I doubt I’ll ever replace it.

I ordered the Starrett 6’ metal scale from Amazon without paying close enough attention to detail. The picture showed all English units, but the text description clearly said English and metric (which it was). I’m a big fan of metric, but that doesn’t help so much in the woodshop (in the US at least…). With only one edge in English units it was a less than ideal to read from with the fence cursor, so I installed both scales (the Starrett and the 26” Shop Fox one that came with fence; picture #6). I actually like it pretty well that way now, and if I ever what to cut metric sizes I’m good to go. I actually find the Starrett scale a little harder to read than the Shop Fox as the white background is a bit duller and the black lines are not as crisp.

With this change my right side rip capacity is about 37” or so (picture #7). I did not build an extension table to fill in the gap as my saw’s “normal” location in my basement shop has the front and back rails straddling some posts that hold up the first floor.

mini-Review
This is a huge step up from my Jet bench top saw (you can it off to side in picture #7), so I won’t make any claims about how it compares to other 3 HP saws. I agree with everything Cary Falk said in his review (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?147080-My-G1023RL-review) as well as others comments on SMC. Needless to say, I really like this saw.

I set a nickel on the table, made about a dozen cuts for the wooden rear rail extension I built and the nickel was still standing (picture #8; sure, I *could* have faked this picture…but I didn’t). Dust collection was good (with G0548Z), but you can see some sawdust on table top. I like the saw guard, which I use whenever I can. It’s nice that the left and right sides move independently for times when you are just trimming a board.

I did find that the anti-kickback paws are very sharp. So sharp in fact that they scratched the black, plastic “table plate” the first time I lowered the blade (table and plate were waxed, but the springs were initially pretty stiff). After leaving the paws hooked up out of the way for a few days the springs loosened up. But once it was scratched the table plate still caught on the paws, which then dug in even deeper, when blade was lowered. I emailed Grizzly about this and they sent me a new table plate. (They cost $1, so I bought a few more just in case with my next small order.)

The miter gauge fits well and is serviceable if not that impressive. It seems most like the model H5799 but painted black with a polished metal handle.

Thus far I’m very happy with this purchase. I hope this information is helpful to anyone shopping for a table saw or considering the G1023R series.

-Rick

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Mark Engel
07-28-2011, 6:17 PM
Thanks for the review.

I had my 1023Z for ~11 years and was very happy with it. I really like the new features included with this redesign.

Grizzly makes good quality, affordable machines. And the customer service is excellent. IMHO

Cary Falk
07-28-2011, 6:47 PM
Congratulations. I still smile when I turn mine on.
Cary

Jim O'Dell
07-28-2011, 8:11 PM
Congrats! I still prefer my 691. I helped a fellow Creeker set up his 1023RL, and it is a very nice saw. I just like the features of the 691 better. The dust shroud would be nice, but I've had no problems with collecting in the base and my cyclone keeping it clear. Enjoy! You've got a saw that will last you for a long long time. Jim.

scott spencer
07-29-2011, 5:04 AM
Good review and excellent pics. I love the extension on the back rail ...great idea! Congrats and enjoy!

Joseph Tarantino
07-30-2011, 3:46 PM
thanks for the review. if i ever increase my shop's footprint, i'm going to consider one of those two grizzlies (1023 & 691). good way to lengthen the rear rail for more capacity. i'll be copying that at some point in the future. best of luck with the new 1023.