Grizzly upgrade?

[sapwood]

As some of you already know I have a 1990 Grizzly 1023 tablesaw. With the help of fellow NCWWer the shaft and bearings have been replaced and the saw is running well. However, the fence needs replacing and the CI has some major dings. Currently I have a 30" Delta Unifence and rails back ordered for $225 (an excellent deal!). However, mounting it to the Griz does present problems. The Griz Shop Fox Classic Fence and rails cost $268 shipped. And for another $233 I can get their cast iron router table (H7507). So for about $500 I would have a "plug and play" unit that looks like this:

And alas, this TS, the G1023SLW with CI router table goes for $1130 shipped.

And alas and alack, I'm cheap :lol:

Thoughts please :eusa_doh:

Roger

 

[rhett]

I don't think you can go wrong w/ the unifence, even if its a booger to attach. I believe that the shop fox has a bit of deflection at the end. The cast iron router table seems like a good idea though. Do you know if the mounting plate is also cast iron?

 

[NZAPP1]

Roger
I would be more then happy to help build the extension table, install and setup the Uni-Fence when it arrives. :icon_thum

 

[sapwood]

Rhett, I'm not sure about the mounting plate. According to Griz:

Our new H7507 Extension Wing with Router Mount features an 18" x 27" precision ground cast iron surface, universal router mounting and easy installation. The included fence rail mounted support legs means a stable working platform.

But thanks for the affirmation on the Unifence. My initial research resulted in the same conclusion. Unifence is a better fence and suprisingly enough cheaper . I ordered it in November and the ship date keeps getting pushed back. I'm sometimes slow, but rarely patient :lol:

Roger
I would be more then happy to help build the extension table, install and setup the Uni-Fence when it arrives. :icon_thum

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen: Thanks Nick! I'd be proud to have your assistance. Heck, you would probably get a hug from my wife. Reduces her Xmas expenditure :eusa_shhh

Now who's offering patience therapy sessions :eusa_sile

Roger

 

[michaelgarner]

i would follow Monty's lead on the router table design, he did a torsion box and looked like it was flat and strong, Take pics when your done.

 

[Travis Porter]

FWIW, you reach a threshold on putting money into a tool that you are better off upgrading to a different machine. It is a judgement call IMO, and I have judged it wrong every single time for myself. I put the money into adding, improving, and end up thinking why didn't I spend the few extra dollars.

My .02 FWIW.

 

[sapwood]

Thanks Travis. Memories of your experience with the bandsaw upgrade were part of what prompted my post. :bcool:

Roger

 

[Travis Porter]

For me, it really is tough. I have about $700 invested in a bandsaw not including the original cost of the saw that is still a 14 inch band saw. It is a 100 times better than it was, but still....... I remember Chuck's frustrations with buying bandsaws, and didn't understand what he was talking about until I got the new saw. Then it was a real wake up call.

Thinking out loud, I don't know what a good rule of thumb would be. If you are going to spend 50 percent upgrading what the cost of a replacement would be?

Are you happy with the overall quality of what you have and what it is capable of doing? For your situation, if you have enough power and happy with the quality of cut, it may make sense to just do the upgrades instead of buying new. A fence upgrade is quite nice, but you could really get buy quite happily by making a top for the router. Would save you some dollars and it isn't too much to make.

Which reminds me, you already fed up with that router table? I found the manual for it.

Personally, I wish I was cheaper some times. I miss out on a lot of good buys by not being cheap and waiting. I almost fell into buying something I should not have recently, but I PM'ed Mike Davis and he talked some sense into me.

 

[McRabbet]

Roger, I have a 2004 vintage G1023SLX and love the Classic Shop Fox fence that came with it. I have never experienced deflection as has been suggested here and have found that it is very accurate and maintains its setup. With the slick UHMW plastic faces, wood and jigs move smoothly along its face. I know others tout the Unifence and you said you've ordered it for a good price, but you also don't have it after a month's wait and it will be a challenge to mount on the G1023!

If I were in your shoes, I'd order a new left-tilting saw in either the G1023SL Model and build your own router table extension, or for $20 more get the G1023SLW Model with the cast iron router table extension. Why? New saw, left tilt and you can get $350-450 for your old one. You won't be sorry.

My $.02 (but I love Grizzly, so what would you expect?)

Rob

 

[sapwood]

Thinking out loud, I don't know what a good rule of thumb would be. If you are going to spend 50 percent upgrading what the cost of a replacement would be?

Which reminds me, you already fed up with that router table? I found the manual for it.

Travis, I like the 50 percent rule, that's good advice:icon_thum

The router table has been great! I set it on a workbench and it fits between the rails of tablesaw . . . almost as space saving as a TS extension. 'Course I have to move six other things each time I set it up :lol: The fence you made has excellent dust collection. :eusa_thin Hmmm, I should be able to get a couple hundred out of it.

Rob, I think Griz puts a pheromone in that green paint. Since my first Griz tool, the lust for more increases :mrgreen:

Roger

 

[cpowell]

If I were in your shoes I'd follow Travis' and Rob's suggestions. Buy the G1023SLW and recoup some of the cost by selling your existing equipment.

Now, if I had the mechanical aptitude of Woodguy, Monte, Alan, or several others here, I'd buy the Unifence and build an extension table. Fortunately, I don't have much mechanical aptitude so my decision would be easy. :lol:

I will admit I always have trouble pulling the trigger on a new machine but I have NEVER felt regret after buying what I should have bought to begin with.

Chuck

 

[rhett]

I cannot speak from experience on shop fox fence deflection. My conclusions come from FWW magazine. Maybe they recieved a bad fence or something.