Update on the Grizzly G0623X

[MarkE]

After taking a closer look at the Incra 1000SE miter gauge I decided to try to get it working on the G0623X.

I started by taking the miter bar off of the Incra. Pretty simple with four points of connection. I then took the aluminum t-bar off of the G0623X miter gauge. That only required unscrewing the handle. I used the Incra miter bar to locate the four holes needed to mount the 1000SE to the t-bar, then drilled and tapped. Two holes @ 10-24 and two holes @ 1/4-20.

With that done, and the miter gauge mounted to the t-bar, I did a test fit. No good. The t-bar is just shy of the top surface of the sliding table t-slot and the 1000SE was hitting on the edge of the table. I added some nylon washers on top of the t-bar and under the 1000SE and presto, good to go. Loosen the handle and the bar slides along the t-slot without losing the angle setting. Tighten the handle and it locks solidly in place. Last thing left to do is to zero out the top scale to the blade, which I will do tomorrow.

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I did go ahead and order another aluminum t-bar for the OEM miter gauge, just in case I do find a need for it.

I also ordered a rip shoe for the saw. Grizzly doesn't sell a rip shoe for the G0623X, but some careful research led me to believe that I could make the one from the G0588 work. I crossed my fingers and ordered the parts. The parts came and the only thing that needed to be re-worked was the t-nut plate. The plate was just a little bit too wide and a little bit too thick to fit in the sliding table's t-slots. A few minutes on the Delta bench sander fixed that.

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I ordered a second adjustable handle to replace that bolt. That should make it a little easier to put on and take off.

I also ordered the parts to build the G0588 hold down clamp. Should be about the same process getting the t-nut to fit.

Sure wish Grizzly would standardize the t-slot sizes on these sliding table saws.

 

[Bas]

Very nice Mark. What do you think, could you make a tennoning jig work on the machine?

 

[MarkE]

Not sure if a tenoning jig would work or not. I've got one stored away somewhere, so I will check it out. I usually do tenons with a dado blade or on the bandsaw.

 

[MarkE]

So that's a no on the tenoning jig.

The t-slot on the sliding table is too far from the blade.

One more item to sell off.

 

[MarkE]

Got started on some bookcases for LOML this weekend. I am making the cases and shelves from 3/4"(+-) oak plywood. Here are a few observations I made after using the G0623X to break down sheet goods.

First, the scoring blade takes less than a minute to set up. Just a few turns of a 6mm t-handle allen wrench from above the table. With the scoring blade in use I had absolutely zero tearout and/or splintering on the plywood, even with a just combination blade installed. Nice.

I was able to crosscut a full 4x8 sheet using the sliding table. I first made a trim cut with the long edge against the cross cut fence. Flipped the sheet around 180 degrees and crosscut to length (69"). This showed me one shortcoming of this saws design. With the full sheet of plywood on the sliding table and the sliding table pulled back behind the blades, the on/off switch for the saw is completely covered up by the workpiece. I had to get down on my knees and reach under the workpiece to turn on the saw, then make sure not to move the sliding table as I crawled out from underneath. That problem could be solved by turning on the saw before loading the sheet onto the table. That's just not my normal process.

Crosscutting the sheet was smooth and easy, once I muscled it up onto the sliding table (and turned on the saw).

Next was ripping the sheet down to 8-1/2". To do this I wanted to have the side I had just crosscut butted against the crosscut fence to insure that I would be getting a good, square cut. Since the pieces I needed are 69" long and the sliding table capacity is 63", that was going to be a problem. I found that I could move the extension table and cross cut fence back far enough to give me the extra 6" I needed to make the first trim cut, squaring up the workpiece. From there I just had to use the rip fence to make the rest of the cuts. So ~69-70 inches of crosscut can be accomplished with the sliding table, but that is a stretch. 63" can be done with no problem.

To make the rest of the rips, the cross cut fence had to be removed. The extension table can be positioned anywhere along the length of the sliding table and provides good support for the workpiece when properly positioned. Once again, getting to the on/off switch after the workpiece is on the saw is challenging for wide workpieces. I ripped six pieces and checked each one for square diagonally across the corners. All six were as close to perfect as my old eyes can see.

That's about it for this post. Sorry, I did not get any pictures of all this, but I will get some the next time I cut some full sheets of plywood. PROMISE.

One last note on dust collection. After making all of these cuts on the saw (and some dadoes that I will post about later), I found very little saw dust on the saw tables. The blade guard dust collection seems to be very good. But, when I pulled the sliding table back and looked inside the cabinet there was quite a bit of sawdust sitting on the floor and covering the internal parts. The lower blade guard dust collection does not seem to be anywhere near as effective. I am going to have to try to figure out a way to collect more of that dust from inside the cabinet.

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View image in gallery​

 

[Mike Wilkins]

Even with the blade shroud and over-the-blade dust collection port, you will find quite a bit of dust/chips on the floor and inside cabinet surfaces. I have a Laguna 6' sliding table saw, and about once every 2 months, I have to vacuum out the inside of the cabinet. This may be due to the saw being at the far end of the dust collection run, but at 1000# in weight, it is not going to be moved any time soon.
I also added the INCRA fence to my own slider, although I used an aluminum angle for the mounting bracket. I may later try to utilize the INCRA miter guage onto the sliding table for repeatable angle settings. Thanks for the photos.

 

[MarkE]

Even with the blade shroud and over-the-blade dust collection port, you will find quite a bit of dust/chips on the floor and inside cabinet surfaces. I have a Laguna 6' sliding table saw, and about once every 2 months, I have to vacuum out the inside of the cabinet. This may be due to the saw being at the far end of the dust collection run, but at 1000# in weight, it is not going to be moved any time soon.
I also added the INCRA fence to my own slider, although I used an aluminum angle for the mounting bracket. I may later try to utilize the INCRA miter guage onto the sliding table for repeatable angle settings. Thanks for the photos.

I really thought the lower blade shroud would help to get more of the dust and chips coming off the blade. The 6" pipe I had connected to my Grizzly 1023 saw did a real good job getting most of the stuff out of the cabinet. I didn't have an overhead guard on that saw so there was a lot of dust flying off the top side of the blade. This saw gets almost everything off the top.

I was happy that I could get the Incra miter gauge to work on the sliding table. But, when I think about it, not really sure how much use it will actually see. The cross cut fence seems to be a better tool for making angled crosscuts. At least I didn't have to modify the Incra to make it work. If I find that I am not using it, the original miter bar can easily be re-attached so I can sell it to someone that may be able to use it.

 

[MarkE]

I got the new sleeve for the rip fence base in the mail yesterday and had a chance to check it out today. The old sleeve is on the left and the new one is one the right. You can see that the sleeve has an offset hole drilled through it. On the new sleeve there are a couple of flats machined into the thin side. One of the flats is rounded over on the outside edge, probably to make moving the handle up and down a little smoother.

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I took the rip fence base off the saw and removed the old sleeve. I re-installed the spring pressure plate and then installed the new sleeve.

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Mounted the rip fence back on the rails and it slides as smooth as glass. And, the handle stays in the up position so I can tap the fence base back and forth to get it exactly where I want it.

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Once the fence is set, just push the handle down to lock it in place. It works just like a real rip fence. :gar-Bi

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I was also able to adjust the nylon set screws on each side of the handle to pretty much eliminate any side play or wobble. I am really liking this. Grizzly CS comes through again.

 

[MarkE]

One last update for today.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had ordered the parts for the G0588 hold down clamp. Finally got all of those parts and, again, the only modification I needed to make was to the t-slot plate. Well, just a plate really. It is just a flat piece of steel bar with a centered hole drilled and tapped for the hold down shaft. The plate was just a tiny bit too wide and just a tiny bit to thick. A few more minutes work on the Delta sander and it fits perfectly.

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View image in gallery​

I did have a few difficulties getting all of the correct parts for the hold down, but, once again, Grizzly's customer service and tech support departments came through and got me everything I needed to make this work.