table saw choice

[Keith Hankins]

I can only speak to the 1023. I had the slx with 7' rails for 10 years before selling. It's a great saw and if it's 3hp you don't need a 30A circuit only 20. It did everything i asked of it and it was moved across the country and back and still passed the nickle test when I sold it. The only reason I got rid of it was to upgrade to a 5hp sawstop ICS. Only knock is minor. DC is ok, but not the best. I ocasionally would have to open the door and rake some dust down to clean it out and I had a 2hp unit with a short run. Only a minor knock not a deal breaker by any means. The bessy style fence was great and never had a problem. Anyway can't speak to the other model, but a cabinet saw is the main tool in my shop and consider your choices and go for it. Take care and post pic's/review no matter the choice.

Good luck.

[Jon Nuckles]

Thanks, Keith.

For anyone following the thread looking for similar information, here is what I learned by calling Grizzly technical service. The Leeson motor in the 691 is a little more difficult to work on than the motor in the 1023. The 1023 is made in Taiwan, while the 691 is made in China. The dust port comes out the side on the 691 and out the back on the 1023, but the rep said the dust collection is the same for both.

As Chad pointed out above, you can buy the 1023RL and the longer rails and legs (W2007) for $157 less (shipped) than the 1023RLX. Technical service confirmed that the 1023RL and the 1023RLX are identical other than the longer rails and extension table, so you can save $157 by making your own table. He did say you get both cast iron wings with either saw, though, so you don't get more by going this route other than the shorter rails should you ever need to reduce the footprint.

[Earl McLain]

Jon--not to muddy the waters, but with Steel City's warehouse right out in Bolingbrook it may be worth a call to them. They regularly run ads for demo and/or refurb units on Chicago CL, and most of what they advertise there is aggressively priced. Their Industrial Fence gets good marks, and looks great, but i've not used one. The current CL ad lists only 2 contractor saws, but that doesn't mean they might not have a cabinet saw ready to roll. (side note--the CL ads usually reference a retail price which is usually 20% or so below what the street charges. Seems wierd to have a manufacturer understate retail!!)
earl

[Chad Burkhart]

Thanks, Keith.

For anyone following the thread looking for similar information, here is what I learned by calling Grizzly technical service. The Leeson motor in the 691 is a little more difficult to work on than the motor in the 1023. The 1023 is made in Taiwan, while the 691 is made in China. The dust port comes out the side on the 691 and out the back on the 1023, but the rep said the dust collection is the same for both.

As Chad pointed out above, you can buy the 1023RL and the longer rails and legs (W2007) for $157 less (shipped) than the 1023RLX. Technical service confirmed that the 1023RL and the 1023RLX are identical other than the longer rails and extension table, so you can save $157 by making your own table. He did say you get both cast iron wings with either saw, though, so you don't get more by going this route other than the shorter rails should you ever need to reduce the footprint.

That is interesting to know. When I was at their Muncy showroom I saw that the 52" 1023 didn't have both cast iron wings. I asked and was told that on the long rail version you only get one wing and the other side is all extension table like was on display in the showroom. I hope the info I got was incorrect.

[Jim Andrew]

Do you have a Grizzly Christmas 2014? It has the G1023 RL for 1195, the G0690 for 1375, and the G0691 with long rails and extension table for 1525. Shipping for the 1023rl is 99 and the others 150. If you want to get a crosscut saw as well, the G0700 sliding table saw is 2595, plus 150 shipping.

[Jon Nuckles]

Made my decision and placed an order with Grizzly today.

I went with the G1023RL and ordered the W2007 package with the longer rails and legs. Thanks to Chad's suggestion, I saved some money over the G1023RLX, which is the same saw with the longer rails. I can easily make the extension table. This way I will also have the shorter rails if I ever need to fit it in a smaller shop. I talked to a different technical service rep today about some other questions, and he again confirmed that the RLX does include both cast iron wings. I had watched the comparison video on Grizzly's site and it clearly says the extension table replaces the right side cast iron wing when you buy the RLX instead of the RL, which is what Chad was told in Muncy. Maybe they have changed things recently? The saw is back ordered right now, but they have a "confirmed" date for receipt of more within a week.

I also ordered an 8" jointer. Wish they would offer a quantity discount! I am sure that a discount code will show up tomorrow, now that my order is in. Oh well, need to get the shop up and running again.

Thanks to all who offered advice!

[Bill Orbine]

There's a video of each model type (690/1023) of saw on Grizzly's website. You ought to look at both.

[Jon Nuckles]

I did watch both videos. Unfortunately, they deal separately with the 690 line and the 1023 line, but don't compare them to each other. In any case, I have made my choice.

[david minnery]

Jon,
I don't think the dust collection would be much better on the 691. I also have an Excaliber blade guard that provide some dust collection. Still, overall it's poor. I've heard the dust collection on the sawstop is excellent.
Bear in mind, I have 1.5 hp collector with a dust deputy and cartridge.

[glenn bradley]

Congrats Jon. I'm sure you will be pleased. I was looking at both a while back and they were so close that the only deciding factor that really mattered to me was which way the dust port faced . Due to unexpected circumstance I ended up with a Saw Stop but, even though their extension table looks really cool I may still end up replacing or modifying it. I think you will be happy with an extension you make yourself. Enjoy!

[Ted Reischl]

Think about adding a Wixey digital readout to the existing fence.

[David J Wood]

Made my decision and placed an order with Grizzly today.

I went with the G1023RL and ordered the W2007 package with the longer rails and legs. Thanks to Chad's suggestion, I saved some money over the G1023RLX, which is the same saw with the longer rails. I can easily make the extension table. This way I will also have the shorter rails if I ever need to fit it in a smaller shop. I talked to a different technical service rep today about some other questions, and he again confirmed that the RLX does include both cast iron wings. I had watched the comparison video on Grizzly's site and it clearly says the extension table replaces the right side cast iron wing when you buy the RLX instead of the RL, which is what Chad was told in Muncy. Maybe they have changed things recently? The saw is back ordered right now, but they have a "confirmed" date for receipt of more within a week.

I also ordered an 8" jointer. Wish they would offer a quantity discount! I am sure that a discount code will show up tomorrow, now that my order is in. Oh well, need to get the shop up and running again.

Thanks to all who offered advice!

Hi Jon,
I am considering this same aproach of buying the 1023RL and then purchasing the W2007 so I end up with the right side cast iron table AND the longer 52" cut capacity. I may even install a Router table extension at the far right end so I really only need s small wood table to go between the right extension wing and this steel router table addition.
Did you encounter any issues when marrying these two separate parts to make your custom TS solution? (I doubt it, but wanted to make sure).