Setting up an old Grizzly G1022

[Scott Jusko]

I'm new here, starting to get into woodworking and just picked up my 1st table saw. Prior to this I've been using my grandfather's OLD Craftsman table that's dangerous as anything.

The new saw is a 1990 (date on motor) Grizzly G1022. Picked it up with the mobile base on Craigslist for $125 . I picked up the book "Jim Tolphin's Table Saw Magic" and found a Grizzly owner's manual. With both I've been setting it all up. The top isn't perfectly flat - about a 1/16" dip in the middle and it's off about the same on the ends of the extensions. That's the best I could get it, but I think it'll be fine with what I'm doing.

The fence is a lot better than the that on the 40s Craftsman, but it does have some wobble to it. It can be off about 1/8" off at the far end depending on which way you move it. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but could I just add some kind of spacers to the fence where it slides on the rails so it's a little tighter? It doesn't need to be much, maybe some stick-on plastic to fill the gap.
I've also ordered some parts that are missing for the fence from Grizzly (awesome company to work with!). The adjustment knob and some spacers are missing on the fence.

The TS is missing a miter gauge, so I'm going to need one of them aftermarket. For now though I may build a sled because I don't have a sliding miter saw or RAS. I saw some good ideas on here for building one - thanks.

One problem I did find when I got the saw home is the arbor is a little messed up. You run out of threads when you're tightening the nut and the blade is still loose. I ordered a new arbor flange from Grizzly because maybe this flange is squashed or from another table. If that isn't it, would it be a problem adding a 5/8" washer between the flange and the nut so I have enough threads? I don't know if it would throw off the balance of the arbor (doubt it) or the nut could eventually loosen up for some reason. Please give me your thoughts.

Below are some pics of the arbor and the rest of the TS.







I added an arbor flange from another saw just to get the blade tight so I could measure the run-out of the blade. It was 0.006 on the edge of the 10" blade, which I think is pretty good.



Thanks a lot!

[Cliff Holmes]

Originally Posted by Scott Jusko

... run-out of the blade. It was 0.006 on the edge of the 10" blade, which I think is pretty good.

I don't know about that. I measured .002 on my WWII blade when I first got it. It recently started cutting like crap and I found I had bent the blade so that runout was .005. When slowing to a stop you could actually see the wobble.

[scott spencer]

That looks like a nice buy at $125. That blade is a DW construction series 20 blade...I think you'd be better off with something like a DW "Precision Trim" series blade like a DW7150PT or DW7140), Freud Industrial LU86 or LU83, or a Freud TK/Avanti TK306 or TK906...be sure not to confuse those with a new "Avanti" or "Avanti Pro" from HD.

[Scott Jusko]

Thanks for the input.

Any idea on adding a washer between the arbor flange and nut?

[Curt Harms]

Originally Posted by Scott Jusko

Thanks for the input.

Any idea on adding a washer between the arbor flange and nut?

I have an older Sears molding head for table & Radial Arm saws. It came with a thick spacer/washer, like 1/4" thick. I don't know if these are available by themselves or not, I can't find one on Sears site. The other thought would be a few machine washers. Would it be possible to repair the damaged threads without removing too much metal? The other thought would be to check the price of a replacement arbor. If the saw is otherwise sound it might be worth the $ and effort to replace it. Otherwise what you have there should work, it's just not "elegant".

[Scott Jusko]

Originally Posted by Curt Harms

I have an older Sears molding head for table & Radial Arm saws. It came with a thick spacer/washer, like 1/4" thick. I don't know if these are available by themselves or not, I can't find one on Sears site. The other thought would be a few machine washers. Would it be possible to repair the damaged threads without removing too much metal? The other thought would be to check the price of a replacement arbor. If the saw is otherwise sound it might be worth the $ and effort to replace it. Otherwise what you have there should work, it's just not "elegant".

I'd like to get some use out of the saw a bit before going thru the trouble of replacing the arbor. I'm sure I could run a die over the threads, but I think for now a flat machine washer would work fine as a spacer. I probably only need one. Thanks a lot

[Tommy Curtiss]

First off,,Very nice saw and very nice buy!,I think I would do the very same as you are doing,try a good quality flat washer,tighten it up and check it every once in a while,,and yes, "make sure the car run's good before installing sound system!!"

[Jeff Willard]

Originally Posted by Scott Jusko

The top isn't perfectly flat - about a 1/16" dip in the middle and it's off about the same on the ends of the extensions.

That's a HUGE amount for a saw table. How did you check it?

[Scott Jusko]

Originally Posted by Jeff Willard

That's a HUGE amount for a saw table. How did you check it?

Used a drywall T-square. Not the most precise thing in the world, but it showed the 1/16" when I flipped the T-square and used the other side too.

[Jeff Willard]

Not sure I understand. The typical way to check a table for flatness is to lay a known straight edge diagonally across the table, and measure with feeler gauges. It should be within .01" (or so) of dead flat. 1/16" is like the Grand Canyon as far as a table saw top is concerned. It may or may not affect accuracy, depending on where it is located. If the throat is that much lower than the edge, I don't see how any precision can be achieved. Think of it like this-you need a board crosscut with a 90 degree end. Now elevate the board at the edge of the table by 1/16". How far off of square will you be?

[Scott Jusko]

Gotcha, thanks. I'll get ahold of a good straight edge and see what I find going diagonally.

[Scott Jusko]

Originally Posted by Jeff Willard

Not sure I understand. The typical way to check a table for flatness is to lay a known straight edge diagonally across the table, and measure with feeler gauges. It should be within .01" (or so) of dead flat. 1/16" is like the Grand Canyon as far as a table saw top is concerned. It may or may not affect accuracy, depending on where it is located. If the throat is that much lower than the edge, I don't see how any precision can be achieved. Think of it like this-you need a board crosscut with a 90 degree end. Now elevate the board at the edge of the table by 1/16". How far off of square will you be?

I used a better straight edge last night and I could barely see light between the table and straight edge, so it must have been my crappy T-square that was bowed .

My Grizzly order came in (awesome company!) and I replaced the arbor flange with the new one. The one that was on the saw must have been from the wrong saw because this new one works great and there's plenty of threads on the arbor to grab with the nut.

I still need to measure the blade to miter slot distance to make sure it's parallel. I used a straight edge with, but need to do something a little more precise. May make up something to fit in the miter slot to mount my dial indicator on.

[Jeff Willard]

Anytime someone proclaims their saw table to 1/16th, or 1/32nd, or even 1/64th out of flat, a siren goes off. Either the table has warped (not likely with a reputable manufacturer), OR, somebody really buggered the table up at some point, OR, they are inexperienced, and don't have a good idea of how to measure it (most likely). No offense intended. The light that can be seen through a gap of just a couple thou can appear to be 1/32". It's deceptive, hence the feeler gauges. Some time in the future you may want a known, accurate straight edge for just such things. They don't come cheap, but they can be invaluable. Lee Valley sells an aluminum version that won't break the bank.

I'm just glad that you aren't facing $150-200 worth of machine shop work to get this saw working the way it should.

Don't forget to address that fence. You really don't want it moving, and you don't want it toed in toward the blade .