G0691 - Initial thoughts

[eyekode]

First a couple disclaimers:

• This is the first cabinet saw I have owned. I have however owned contractor saws.
• I have only had the saw for 2 days. This is not meant to be an in-depth review.

Shipping:
I ordered on Wed, it arrived on Fri. Wow! I paid for lift gate service and the UPS guy used a pallet jack and dropped it exactly where I wanted it in my garage.

View image in gallery​

Assembly:
I did not have a mobile base ready so I left the saw on the shipping pallet (the small one it is bolted to, not the larger one).

Overall the process was very easy and all the parts were there. They also package the bolts you need along with the parts you are installing so there really isn't any guesswork.

First you unbolt a shipping brace on the motor (nice looking motor!). The bracket is held on the motor by a cotter pin through a bolt. After you take the pin out you can slip the brace off. The instructions tell you to replace the pin. Very odd though... there are these two beefy bolt holes to hold the motor on to the trunnion and one uses a bolt and the other is just pinned, no bolt. This didn't seem right...

View image in gallery​

After that there really was little drama. The hardest part was putting the rectangular steel tube onto the rails. That bar is heavy and they greased the snot out of it.

I had the saw up and running in ~2 hours. However I had not dialed in accuracy or attached the tape on the fence rail.

Parts quality:
The motor is powerful and there is not much vibration (although there is more than I would expect, this could be due to leaving it on the pallet which is not very sturdy).

The power switch is very easily switched but is otherwise great. It is in the perfect place to turn off with your leg.

The miter gauge is nice enough. It destroys the old one that came with my Jet contractors saw. You can adjust out they play and the stops are positive.

The main table is very finely ground. Great finish. The extension wings don't live up to the main table. They are not as polished and have some tooling marks left on them. Also the castings themselves are sorta grungy on the bottom. But after a couple coats of wax I don't think it matters a bit.

Now for my first negatives. I would be disappointed if I had paid for a powermatic and received these parts. My laundry list of not-so-goodness:

No cosmoline on the main table.

View image in gallery​

One of the handweels looked rusted/pitted. Turned out to be something that can be cleaned off but I lost interest after rubbing for 10mins:

View image in gallery​

The paint on the rails was peeling in some places where it transitioned into unpainted surface:

View image in gallery​

The rail has random scratches all over the finish (the Biesemeyer I previously owned had a pattern that looks like it was milled, this rail it just looks abused):

View image in gallery​

There was rust on a couple screws:

View image in gallery​

 

[eyekode]

The Fence:
I previously owned a Beisemeyer fence so I will use it as my reference.

The fence is very easy to adjust (easier than the Beis). It locks down square and moves smoothly over the table.

You can also tune it to keep it square to the table as it is moved. You cannot do this with the Beisemeyer. For most things this doesn't matter but when you abut the fence against something and lock it down you want it to stay where it was before you locked it down. With the Beisemeyer this was a trial and error type thing. With the Griz fence I can almost adjust it to be perfect. Close enough .

I also prefer the UHMW plastic they use for the faces. And the fact that there are screw holes so you can replace them! This is really the biggest problem with the Beisemeyer. The faces don't stay square forever and it is an ordeal to replace them.

But all is not roses . The fence rides really high above the table. Looks to be almost 1/8"! I don't cut material this thin often but I don't like how little material will referenced off of the fence. I will have to clamp something to the fence that sits directly on the table for cuts like these. Maybe I am doing something stoopid here but I did not see a way to adjust it much lower without lowering the rail. But I have the rail exactly where the book said to put it (3/16's below the bevel on the table).

Also the plastic buttons that the fence uses against the rails are already starting to scratch and wear off on the rail. At some point I bet this wears a rut or starts to remove paint off the rail.

I also prefer the Beisemeyer tape and sight mechanism. The marks on the tape were sharper and the line was closer to the tape which leads to less parallax error. The shopfox actually has two lines that I imagine are to let you line them up to insure you are looking dead on. Maybe my sight is going but this is just a blur to me .

But overall I prefer the Griz fence.

 

[eyekode]

Accuracy/Tuning:
Out of the box the blade was parallel to the miter slots (nice!).
The 90 degree stop however was off. Adjustment was pretty easy. I used a low tech method that I read about on sawmillcreek:

• Take two ~3" wide strips of MDF and stand them on their side.
• Crosscut both of them at the same time with the miter guage.
• Abut the sawn edges of the two pieces. This magnifies the perpendicular error by 2x.

This method is way more accurate than using a square!

The fence was of course not parallel with the blade but this adjustment is trivial and tablesaw owners need to know how to fix this.

After setting the saw up I am very pleased with the accuracy. I have not burned an edge yet! I also really like how repeatable the stops are. On my old saw I would always check to see if the blade was square to the table before I started. The stops were so mushy that they were just not reliable.

 

[eyekode]

Riving Knife/Blade guard:
One of the reasons I decided on this particular saw is the riving knife. Initially it was misaligned and the instructions are not very good on how to set it up correctly. But after some adjustment it is very nice.

Only negative is you have to raise the blade all the way up to remove or add it easily. This would not be such a big deal but the throat plate is screwed into the table with an allen bolt. Gotta keep that wrench handy! I thought I would immediately replace the throat plate with a zero clearance plate but I am finding I really like the improved dust collection when using the more open plate. And although it is annoying that removing the plate requires a tool it really does lock down solid.

The blade guard is a 3 piece design where the sides move independently. This is nice for trimming the edge of a board. But the center piece is really annoying. You cannot pull the miter gauge back without lifting up the guard (it gets hung on the center piece).

I think above the table dust collection/guard is in my future .

 

[eyekode]

Conclusion:
So after two days of setup, tuning and use I am very happy with this saw. It doesn't have the build quality of a German automobile but it doesn't have the price tag either .

Here are some pictures of the saw setup:

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

Note all the wrenches/tools that come with the saw. And I don't know how they did it but "SLG" are my initials

View image in gallery​

 

[Sealeveler]

Great review.Sounds like the Grizzly is a keeper.Tony

 

[scsmith42]

Salem, that is a GREAT review!

One comment, re the 1/8" gap between the bottom of the fence and the table, simply clamp a wood temporary fence onto the side of your existing fence to bridge the gap when needed.

 

[eyekode]

Salem, that is a GREAT review!

One comment, re the 1/8" gap between the bottom of the fence and the table, simply clamp a wood temporary fence onto the side of your existing fence to bridge the gap when needed.

That is exactly what I was thinking too Scott. Was just odd to me that by design it would ride so high... 1/32 or 3/64ths seems like plenty.

Scott, you also have a Grizzly table saw too right? Was the machining so sloppy on your rail? Do the buttons on the top leave marks on the rail from sliding?

Thanks!
Salem

 

[Gotcha6]

ConGRIZZulations! :icon_thum
(Aren't Grizzly tools green?)

Had the same problem with fence to table clearance ripping some FRP. Solved it by attaching a sheet metal angle to the fence to let the sheet ride against & on.

 

[Travis Porter]

Overall it sounds like a good set up. Thanks for the review and congrats!

 

[Curmudgeon]

I too have the Grizzly Saw. You should be able to lower the fence by adjusting the plastic buttons by first loosening the metal keepers on front and rear of the fence. The supplied allen wrench reaches down inside the rear of the fence. However, pliers are required to loosen the keepers.
The vibration is probably due to "belt set" and should be minimal after the saw is run a few times.

I hope this helps. I think this saw is an exceptional value for the money.

 

[eyekode]

I too have the Grizzly Saw. You should be able to lower the fence by adjusting the plastic buttons by first loosening the metal keepers on front and rear of the fence. The supplied allen wrench reaches down inside the rear of the fence. However, pliers are required to loosen the keepers.
The vibration is probably due to "belt set" and should be minimal after the saw is run a few times.

I hope this helps. I think this saw is an exceptional value for the money.

The vibration definitely has lessened. I am really enjoying this saw . I noticed I could reduce the height of the fence. However if I get it less than ~1/8th it is no longer riding on the buttons. The only way I can see to lower it is to lower the rail.

And about those buttons, they seem to be more abrasive then I would have guessed. Have you had any issue with them rubbing the paint off of the rail?

I also agree about the value. I have been off work and had time to use the saw more than I normally would. I built the face frame for 4 "lockers" and the saw is really a pleasure to use. Not having to second guess 90 degrees is great!

Salem

 

[DavidD]

Salem,

Thanks for your review! :icon_thum
I am getting ready to order one of these for myself in the next few days.:gar-Bi This confirms my thoughts that this should be a very good saw for the money.

David

 

[Curmudgeon]

I can't understand why your fence rides so high unless your rails might be set a bit too high and causing the fence to ride on the keepers. As for the buttons marking the rails, I have not experienced any marking. (Grizzly includes some extra buttons with the saw. You might check them out for a smoother surface) I'm pretty diligent to keep all the surfaces waxed with johnsons paste wax.

 

[eyekode]

I can't understand why your fence rides so high unless your rails might be set a bit too high and causing the fence to ride on the keepers. As for the buttons marking the rails, I have not experienced any marking. (Grizzly includes some extra buttons with the saw. You might check them out for a smoother surface) I'm pretty diligent to keep all the surfaces waxed with johnsons paste wax.

Thanks for the response. I just measured again and the front rail is 3/16 below the bevel (which is where the manual says to put it). But there is room to lower it. I think I will the next time I have the rails off.

Thanks again!
Salem