Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt

Matt:
You are doing the same comparison I did about five years ago before I bought
my 1023S. I was intrigued with the "Precision" Shop Fox Fence. We had a
chance to visit the Springfield store and were lucky enough to spend about
an hour with one of their salesmen who worked in the demo shop.

We looked at the 1023S, the 1023SL and the "Z" version. The Z fence was
absolutely as smooth as glass - effortless. HOWEVER, this gentleman gently
steered me toward the "S" or the "SL" which have the older Shop Fox Classic
Fence - a Biesemeyer look-alike. He explained that the Classic was a
tried-and-true fence that caused very few problems during long use. The
Precision fence, while very smooth, contains several moving parts and
requires adjustment.

I finally asked "If you were buying a saw would you buy one with the Classic
or the Precision fence?" He said his 1023S had the Classic and he wouldn't
trade for anything. I got the message and ended up buying the 1023S - never
regretted it. It is heavy and has only required tweaking a couple of times.
The Classic has compared well with the Biesemeyer in some magazine reviews.

BTW - I would probably consider the SL to be equal to the S today. When I
bought my saw the SL was brand new on the market; and while the trunnions
were just as heavy, they were different. I didn't want to be among the
first in line on a brand new machine. Today I probably wouldn't hesitate.
With that said, the coversion from my old left-tilt Craftsman to the
right-tilt "S" was easier than I thought. Within a week or two I forgot
about the difference.

Hope this helps.
RonB



"Matt" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt

Matt,
I carefully saved my money and read many comparisons on this site
and others. I did buy the Grizzly 1023SL. It has treated far better than I
expected any tool to do so. My difficult task was getting it down the
basement. Well not too bad. Since I believe you are going to spend the time
to align this tool with the care it and you deserve. Keeping that in mind, I
removed the top and motor. Carried it down in pieces and reassembled it in
the basement. If you are going to do this, call the Grizzly service desk.
They have some key pointers on how to keep the motor pulleys and the arbor
pulleys aligned. The manual that came with the saw had detailed instructions
on how to properly align the saw. First time you do this, expect to chew up
about four to five hours. DO NOT RUSH. The penalty of rushing is alignment
issues like KICKBACK, Burning up blades etc.. I also bought the best blade
I could for the saw and for what I was doing ( now own about five blades to
match material and cuts) . I can cut wood so thin you can just about see
through it. I also spent the effort and money to wire the saw for 208
VAC with a dedicated circuit with 12 gauge wire. I just wanted the saw to
deliver the best performance it could. I have never been let down. One grip
though, and I have this grip with many table saws.. The stop button is too
small for my liking. Grizzly on their new 12 inch saw has a really large OFF
button. I am tempted to see if I can buy the switch and upgrade my 1023SL.
Why the fuss, not every cut goes as planned and sometimes you need to stop
things NOW before the ugly stuff occurs.
Last but not least I did also buy the Shop Fox mobile base for the saw.
This base is okay. Would be better if you could adjust it snug against the
saw. Had to use wood spacers to take up the small, but annoying gap between
the saw and the base. Good excuse to cut more wood.
Good Luck
Paul

"Matt" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt

I didn't care for the on/off switch that came with my 1023SL either. I took
a 3"x5"x1/4" piece of plexiglass and attached it to a hinge that is secured
to the under side of the saw directly in front of the ON/OFF switch. I
drilled a 7/8" hole directly in front of the ON button, so I could start the
machine. Since the OFF button sticks out further than the ON button, all
you have to do is hit, touch, knee, slap the plexiglass to shut off the
machine.

Great advice from all. I am going to keep the saw in the garage on a
mobile base. I did have the Shop Fox base under the Craftsman and it
really made life easier. Have you fellas built a filler piece off the
right table extension, filling the length of the fence ? I would also
like to hang an outfeed table off the rear. Any tips? Thanks fellas!

Matt

I bought the 1023 SL, then added the longer arms, built a table extension,
so it looks like the 1023SLX. Installed a router lift in the extension. I
wasn't thrilled with the shop fox base, particularly with the added
extension. I built a base out of 2" angle iron (with six swivel casters and
4 set/leveling screws) that carries the entire saw, extension, and storage
cabinet (under the right side extension). I added a 4' x 4' out feed table
to the saw. It is attached to the saw with 2 bolts. It takes approx. 5 mins
to remove the outfeed table and retract the 4 set/leveling screws, to be
ready to move the entire saw, router center, and storage cabinet. Works
great!
"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
Great advice from all. I am going to keep the saw in the garage on a
mobile base. I did have the Shop Fox base under the Craftsman and it
really made life easier. Have you fellas built a filler piece off the
right table extension, filling the length of the fence ? I would also
like to hang an outfeed table off the rear. Any tips? Thanks fellas!

Matt

Asx for the small off switch, I think that is a common complaint. Take
a look at this drawing, not a great drawing but usable of David Marks
Table Saw Kick Switch.

http://www.diynetwork.com/DIY/mmo/WW...kickswitch.pdf

It is on my list of items to make for my Delta.

On May 17, 9:11 pm, "goaway" wrote:
Matt,
I carefully saved my money and read many comparisons on this site
and others. I did buy the Grizzly 1023SL. It has treated far better than I
expected any tool to do so. My difficult task was getting it down the
basement. Well not too bad. Since I believe you are going to spend the time
to align this tool with the care it and you deserve. Keeping that in mind, I
removed the top and motor. Carried it down in pieces and reassembled it in
the basement. If you are going to do this, call the Grizzly service desk.
They have some key pointers on how to keep the motor pulleys and the arbor
pulleys aligned. The manual that came with the saw had detailed instructions
on how to properly align the saw. First time you do this, expect to chew up
about four to five hours. DO NOT RUSH. The penalty of rushing is alignment
issues like KICKBACK, Burning up blades etc.. I also bought the best blade
I could for the saw and for what I was doing ( now own about five blades to
match material and cuts) . I can cut wood so thin you can just about see
through it. I also spent the effort and money to wire the saw for 208
VAC with a dedicated circuit with 12 gauge wire. I just wanted the saw to
deliver the best performance it could. I have never been let down. One grip
though, and I have this grip with many table saws.. The stop button is too
small for my liking. Grizzly on their new 12 inch saw has a really large OFF
button. I am tempted to see if I can buy the switch and upgrade my 1023SL.
Why the fuss, not every cut goes as planned and sometimes you need to stop
things NOW before the ugly stuff occurs.
Last but not least I did also buy the Shop Fox mobile base for the saw.
This base is okay. Would be better if you could adjust it snug against the
saw. Had to use wood spacers to take up the small, but annoying gap between
the saw and the base. Good excuse to cut more wood.
Good Luck
Paul

"Matt" wrote in message

ups.com...



Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On 17 May 2007 18:02:22 -0700, Matt wrote:

Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt,
I am probably the only person who ever purchased the 1023Z. But I wanted the
fence that came with that model. I grew up with, and still have, an old Delta
Rockwell with a fence that clamps on both ends. Old habits die hard.

As for the "Z", I was able to set it up without any assistance and it did not
need any tweaking, even after being unloaded upside down from the truck.

It is on a Shop Fox base and gets moved around the shop whenever I need its
space for larger assembly work. It has held true, but the floor is even and
smooth.

The only time I ever have a problem, and I think this would hold true for any
table type saw is when I rip warped two-by stock, especially if it is a little
wet.

One note about the Shop Fox fence: being that it is double ended, and the back
clamp/wheel housing is rather large, I have not figured out an easy way to
built an outfeed table. No big deal, I use an adjustable roller stand that I
picked up on sale at Sears.

The only material that I do not cut with this saw is metal. Sparks in the
cabinet make me nervous. That is one of the reasons I keep the old Delta
Rockwell around...the sparks shoot out the back not into a bin of sawdust. :-)

I really like my "Z".

__________________
Bill Waller
New Eagle, PA

Bill Waller wrote:

One note about the Shop Fox fence: being that it is double ended,
and the back clamp/wheel housing is rather large, I have not figured
out an easy way to built an outfeed table. No big deal, I use an
adjustable roller stand that I picked up on sale at Sears.

I don't own a Grizzly table saw, but have a similar issue with trying
to figure out how to add an outfeed table to my saw. Like you, I've
been making do with an adjustable roller stand. While browsing
the web recently I came across a way to make an outfeed table out of a
portable workbench[1]. I haven't had a chance to build this yet myself,
but it looks like it could be useful and should be a bit more sturdy
than a roller stand.

[1]: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_too...897468,00.html

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"Matt" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sold my Craftsman contractor saw and am ready to order the Grizzly.
Trying to decide what the difference is between the 1023SL and the
1023Z. They are priced almost the same. The only differences seem to
be the fence, the table width and the cut capacity. Based on the two
spec sheets, I believe the SL gets the nod. Am I missing something?

Matt

I have the z and a friend has the sl. Same basic saw except the sl has the
dust collector port under the motor cabinet and tilts the wrong way.
Otherwise I can't see any difference in them. The fences are both good I
have never had a problem with mine and like it better then the ls fence, my
friend feels that his fence is better by a little. only major problem is
the off switch and that is minor. I think you would be happy with either, I
recommend the z my self, but it is really a toss of the coin if you don't
have a specific need for a right or left tilt.