G0690/G0691 Owners

[Rob Hough]

Several months down the road... and many board feet later; is it still the saw you hoped it would be? I sold the executive branch in my house on the notion that this saw will last me 20yrs... What do you think so far?

I'm upgrading from a Craftsman #315.228390, so I'm going to assume it will be a huge improvement for me no matter what... I'm just trying to make sure I'm getting the best saw in my price range. $1500 or less.

[David Prince]

I have the G0690 and feel for the price bracket that it is and has been a great purchase.

A person could double their budget to get into a PM or Unisaw, but I personally do not see that big of a benefit to stepping up. I researched the other models and decided on Grizzly.

Is a Unisaw or PM twice the saw as a G0690 or G0691? If not, then why is it twice the price and then some?

I am very satisfied with my decision. AND as an added benefit, I can take the additional money I saved and use it for more tools!

[Rob Hough]

I am very satisfied with my decision. AND as an added benefit, I can take the additional money I saved and use it for more tools!

I have a slightly larger budget and hope to utilize it all on additional purchases. Along with this saw I plan to get a Forrest Dado King for sure. Hope to be able to sneak in a bench grinder and maybe a biscuit joiner.

Thanks for the feedback as well. I'm fishing for negativity as well, so if there is anything that nags at you about the saw, please feel free to add that here. I'm probably going to contact Grizzly this week or next and see if I can find an owner near me that I can go visit. Would really like to see it in person.

[Van Huskey]

Is a Unisaw or PM twice the saw as a G0690 or G0691? If not, then why is it twice the price and then some?

That is a very unresonable statement, do you think the 0690 is two and a half times the saw the G0444Z is? It surely isn't but you chose to pay over twice as much for the G0690/1. Anytime you get past the very entry level of just about any product doubling the price never gets you something that is twice as good just consider cars. The PM2000 and the Uni are significantly better saws but both come with significantly higher price tags but no neither are near twice the saw the G0690/1 are.

As to the G0690/1 I have yet to hear any significant negatives about the saw, everyone seems to continue to be in love with it. The 1023 after being upgraded makes the decision harder at the price point and I doubt the 690/1 has any real advantage over the 1023 there is sonmething about the look and feel of the 690/1 that I prefer. For a non-pro I would imagine the G0690/1 would indeed be a lifetime saw which is probably true for any cabinet saw on the market today. However, with the changes on the non-pro side of woodworking that I have seen over the last say 10 years I don't know if many of us will want the same saw 10 or more years from now.

[Jeff Miller]

Smooth and quiet,accurate,fit and finish near perfect,POWER,did I say power,lot a power.......................Go get it ordered


Her is a pic. of me nickle and dimeing it

[Rob Holcomb]

I've owned the G0691 for close to a year now and have only two minor complaints. After many board feet being cut, the sawdust tends to build up so the riving knife takes a little work to get on and off, as well as raising and lowering of the blade takes more effort than when things are cleaned off. Nothing an air compressor and dust collection system doesn't remedy though. The other complaint is the green trim on the saw cabinet. It isn't painted on, it's a vinyl strip around the base. When I put it on a mobile base it ripped. No biggie, I just took it off. Other than that, it's a great saw with plenty of power and I do expect mine to last 20 plus years!

[David Prince]

[QUOTE=Van Huskey;1346542]That is a very unresonable statement, do you think the 0690 is two and a half times the saw the G0444Z is? It surely isn't but you chose to pay over twice as much for the G0690/1. Anytime you get past the very entry level of just about any product doubling the price never gets you something that is twice as good just consider cars. The PM2000 and the Uni are significantly better saws but both come with significantly higher price tags but no neither are near twice the saw the G0690/1 are.


The "twice" use of words isn't always meant to mean an exact figure, but more of way to compare from my point of view. And, the G0690/1 could very well be considered twice the saw as the G0444Z depending on what a person is looking for. The G0690/1 gives you: 3 hp, cabinet type, 220, leeson motor, and dust collection at a minimum. I had a Delta contractor saw in the past and I would say that the G0690 IS twice the saw! (I think I originally paid around $450 for that and would think it would be somewhat comparable to the G0444Z)

Expect to pay more for more options, better quality, etc., but is there really that much of a difference between a PM and Grizzly to expect paying more than twice the price? They should perform very similar.

[Mike Archambeau]

Rob;

I think that the Laguna Platinum table saw is identical to he G0691. They have some nice video on the Laguna site that shows the saw up close, including taking the cast iron top off and showing the trunions, motor etc. This video convinced me that this is a pretty well made saw. You can check out the video here: http://www.lagunatools.com/tablesaws...saw-platinumlt#

btw I too am considering the G0691 or the new 1023RSL

[Paul Ryan]

I am not a 690/691 owner, but may I suggest that you also look at grizzly's new 1023R models. They now have the riving knife that was absent since the 1023 was designed, plus instead of using the sloped cabnet dust collection method, they now have a dust shroud that the 690 series does not. And the new "R" models use a serpentine belt for power transfer instead of the 3 V belts. Just my advice after looking through the latest grizzly catalog while "baking cakes".

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I bought the G0691 a couple months ago. It is a really nice saw. Smooth and powerful as others have mentioned.

But I do have a couple issues with it:
1) The fence although nice is not perfect. It moves easily and locks down tight etc but it has a couple issues:

• the face is not flat (note that I have heard this complaint about PM2000's as well)
• the fence rides > 1/8th of an inch off the table. I would prefer lower. I could probably fix this by lowering the front rail but I installed it as-per the directions (measured with a micrometer ). So if you buy it install it at least a 1/16th lower.
• the nylon buttons that the front of the fence glides on mars/scratches the guide bar

2) The throat plates are not particularly flat. I also don't really like having to use a screw to remove/install them. I fixed this with ZCI's.
3) Dust collection with my 2HP Grizzly leaves quite a lot of dust in the cabinet. I think most saws suffer from this. Not awful until you drop the arbor nut .

If they had the 1023R when I was buying I probably would have gone for it instead (for the dust shroud and slightly larger dado capacity). But I am in no way unhappy .

[James Combs]

Coincidences: I came to this tool forum to post a similar thread but given what I have just read I have plenty to chew on without a new thread. I have the G0690 and the G1023RL sitting in my shopping cart at Grizzly trying to figure out which one to pull the trigger on. I really like the dust shroud on the G1023RL but the G0690 trunnion seems to be beefier. I also like the higher RPM of the G0690. I think you would get a cleaner cut at the higher R's. I will probably end up tossing a coin.

[Clark Harbaugh]

Just to throw in my opinion, I went with the 5HP version of the 1023 about a year ago. Talk about power... I also runs very smooth and passes the nickel test both starting up and shutting down. I absolutely love it. I think either woul be a great purchase.

[Stan Mitchell]

691 owner (9 mos). It's a really nice saw - very smooth running. I especially like having a riving knife.

I wish the dust collection was better too - but it's only a minor annoyance - and really, it's kind of like saying "I wish my pickup had a better stereo". It's not like a contractor style that can leave chips all over the floor.

I may try making some sort of a shroud some day,

[Ryan Welch]

I love my 0691, can't think of how I eer got along without it. Only really have two complaints; dust collection and the rip fence faces. I have replaced the white plastic faces as they are clearly not flat. Take a closer look at the new 1023, these and the 0690/691 do not have the same riving knife. the 1023 has Grizzly's entry level riving knife attempt as on the 0651. This riving knife IMO is inferior to that of the 0690/1

[Eric Gustafson]

690 owner here. I am pleased. Ditto on the cabinet keeping clean with the 4" port for dust collection. I intend to kick that up to 6" later. I didn't use the fence. No real problem with it, but I had a new Beisemeyer in the box and went with that. As far as the front fence glide scratching the table top, my Beise does the same thing.

Riving knife rocks. Plenty of power. Smooth. I thought the height crank was a little stiff at first, but it is just fine now. What is to complain about? NADA!