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Second, as another reviewer pointed out, deep cast logo catches small and odd shaped pieces. However, given the damage, length of time to receive, the low quality casting/machining, the crude Shop Fox fence, and shipping costs/hassle; better to go to your local hardware store or tool retailer and get a Delta/Ridgid/JetOK - so this is a contractor quality saw and not a cabinet-maker's dream. The fit and finish are only fair to poor (enamled, not powder-coated finish. You have to provide your own shims.
The main annoyance is that the Shop Fox, unlike every other saw in this price range, is MISSING a BACK CLAMP. Recommended: get your own piece of oak or other hardwood (1/4" thick) and make your own zero clearance insert for almost $0. and that Grizzly is a marketing company, not a true manufacturer.Overall, the saw is OK. The freespin handle is so close to the lower part of the fence support rail that 1) cannot be seen unless bending over (a dangerous practice with saw running) and 2) I am constantly hitting my medium sized hand on the sharp edge underneath (too bad I cannot show you a digital photo of resulting cuts to right hand).Why other reviews think the Shop Fox fence is the last word in fences, I have no idea. Having to reach over to pull through long work pieces is a safety issue.The blade table insert. First, not flat. Drive belt is "no-name" quality, metric size, and does not sit flush in motor pulley or spindle pulley.
The additional wings are almost a necessity when cutting full sheets of plywood. Shipping pallet contaminated with fungus/mushrooms. Shop Fox fence un-usable due to damage and missing parts. Very annoying. Heavy.
Nope - stick on decal, not even cast, let alone engine engraved. It also means you cannot possible add additional wings without having adjustable outrigger legs. Shipping weight significantly overstated by more than 10% net.On initial inspection, very poor casting and machining EXCEPT motor and spindle, which when set-up ran at less than 1/1000th runout. Motor transome not spring or hydraulic dampened, and juts out well past end of table compared to other saw brands. You must gently tap the fence after tightening 3/4's of the way to get to your desired position. Cheap attachment hardware: ungraded plain steel and not accurately made. I already replaced with a grade 8 hex bolt (with mill marks sanded flush) and a Teflon glide from a chair leg) attached to that with JB epoxy).The table stand is no wider or more stable than other "portable" saws.
My background: professional engineer and contractor.Reason for purchase: Replacement for Sears 10" contractor saw.Why Grizzly.: Read reviews on all the majors (Delta, Jet, etc). I can see that replacement parts and accessories would be a real headache. Let's face it, almost no DIY'er or contractor is going to buy a panel saw for sheet goods, andd at least half my cutting chores are with plywood.The miter that comes with the unit is a joke. This is a problem with using the very heavy cast iron wings because it makes the saw less stable. It is moderately quiet, but with an odd sound, no the jet engine wind-up/wind-down I'm used to. Another problem is the back "glide" is actually an upside-down carriage bolt with a piece of teflon stuck on the head.
Minimal adjustments by four shallow set-screws. Third, cannot achieve max depth of cut BECAUSE blade washers push insert completely out of table. Cast iron wings obviously from different lot as noticeable misalignment to main table. The actuakl contact curface is just 1/8th".Again, a plain steel piece - easilt bent/damaged. Both boxes significantly damaged.
That is, tightening the cam lever lock results in the fence shifting as much as 1/16th off from original position. You will need several if you change brands or type of blade due to differences in tooth offset/rake.To its' credit, the saw does operate very smoothly. I think not. Single plastic glide insert. Grizzly had best overall rating - though limited number of reviews.Assembly and set-up time for a pro: 2 hoursInitial impressions: not overly impressedItem arrived in two boxes. Yes. Accurate gauge.
That brings up another problem in the set-up of the fence.
No provision for add-on clamp.Customer service is certainly friendly, but actual service is quite slow.
If any significant pressure is applied to the fence (as in using the miter guage OR tweaking a piece of plywood too much), the fence becomes mis-aligned.
Limited adjustments for paralell and perpendicular.
Remember, this is an import saw, made in R.O.C.
The dust collection pan is worthless - since the four sides of the frame remain open and any cross breeze counteracts the vacuum, blowing debris 2 to 4 meters away.The blade height wheel layout is terrible.
Cheesy stick on ruler and easily damaged/misaligned magnifying sight).
Very rough stroke - which causes control concerns.
Still, according to other reviewer's, this is the best they have ever seen.
Its that nice. There is a huge difference between an 'engineered' product and a 'mass-produced' product.
I must say, for the money there is no better saw on the market. I purchased this saw after reading the reviews here.
You can tell that Grizzly spent a great deal of time 'engineering' this product. This thing is first class.
You can see the quality in each piece as you assemble the saw. Grizzly could easily get away with selling this saw for $1000+.
Highly recommended.
I didn't want to invest 1200+ in a cabinet saw so I started to look into contractor style saws, I read the reviews and bought a Griz. Everything went together well. The instruction book is easy, clear and well illustrated. We tracked this down to the motor mount. I am impressed by the surfaces of the table and wings.
the motor hangs on the belt by the pulley, yet the center of gravity of the motor is way out on the other end. The Shop Fox fence feels and works just like the bessemer on the Jet. The on/off is better on the Griz. The fence arrived at the same time in another box.
It is heavy but not as big as I expected it to be. Up until now I have been using a friends Jet cabinet saw and loving it. I ran some.75 mdf through and the blade (forest WW2) didn't even notice. For the money this saw cannot be beaten. When I am cutting I cant really tell the difference with the Jet other than a small vibration. The saw went together in about three+ hours.
Look around the back of the saw and check out the sawdust thrown all over the place. The trunion needed a couple of hits to be in adjustment. I know this page is covered with glowing reviews for the grizzly go444z, but I am compelled to ad one more. Add to this a relatively thin stamping that the motor sits on and you have a resonance issue. I was worried about this when I first ran the saw but now that I have run through a couple of projects I don't notice anything and it certainly doesn't effect the quality of cut.
No change of sound from the motor, nothing, just a super clean cut.
I managed to do this with the saw on its feet.
Since I don't tilt the blade often I will just make a cardboard block for the back.I am really very pleased with this machine.
The box arrived quickly.
It is way better quality and value than the cost shows.
One wing needed a tape shim and the other was perfect.
I think I got lucky.
After cutting is when I notice the difference with the Jet.
If you buy one you might as well order a zero clearance insert as the one included isn't worth using if you are cutting on small stock.
I have been an amatuer woodworker for a number of years, however I always found that my work was limited in quality due to various problems with my old table saw (Old Sears contractor type). The fit and finish of this saw is excellent, and the cast-iron wing extensions are GREAT. After about an hour of assembly (with my sons help) I ran test cuts with a Forrest 60 tooth blade, and found them to be virtually perfect.The Shop-Fox Aluma Classic fence is probably the easiest fence that I have ever used, and I would HIGHLY recommend it.
This is a right tilt saw (Grizzly has added a Left-tilt of the same model - G0576) with cast iron wings and comes wired for 220V. Check the alignment of the cover when you install it, very carefully.- The dust collection cover is really an add-on, and I needed to add some additional fasteners to ensure that it didn't move around.- The Miter gauge that comes with the saw is OK, however to get truly accurate miter cuts, I would highly recommend you replace it with the Incra V27 - a VERY good, VERY accurate, and VERY reasonably priced Miter Gauge.Overall, this saw is absolutely THE best-buy on the market (in my opinion) for a Contractor Style saw. After much research, I settled on the Grizzly G0444Z Contractor style saw.
I liked it so much that I talked a buddy into retrofitting his older saw with it, and he loves it too.The only problems that I have noted with this saw are as follows:- The Grizzly logo blade insert looks great, but can catch on some smaller pieces - The Zero Clearance inserts that Grizzly sells are very good.- The drive belt cover clearance can become a problem if the blade is lifted to full extension. I preferred the cast iron wings for the weight and solid structure that they provide, and the 220V motor has more power for heavier cutting.I picked up my saw at the receiving shipper in my area, since they only drop ship to the end of your driveway (Take Note - This saw weighs 300LBs and is VERY hard to lift, even in pieces) - the shipper loaded it into my truck for me, which saved me a ton of work. Assembly was a snap, and the saw was in almost perfect alignment right out of the box.
I would HIGHLY recommend this saw to anyone who is looking to upgrade their shop with a truly accurate table saw. I have had great service from their web-site, and I intend to purchase additional equipment from them (as soon as I can convince my wife to let me)
This is not an easy task since the saw weighs something around 300 pounds. My father-in-law has a Grizzly cabinet saw and loves it. Overall, I like the saw. I had to use a pry bar to move the trunions into alignment, but could only do this after flipping the assembled table upside down. I covered the back of the saw with plastic to help contain the dust. It is very sturdy and has tons of power.
I re-wired my garage to 220V and the saw works great. He recommended that I start with the G0444Z since I'm new to woodworking. After several exhausting hours of adjustment, I got the thing aligned. My only complaint is the trunion adjustment process to make the blade parallel to the miter slot.it is a pain in the butt. My saw was quite mis-aligned when it arrived at my house.no doubt due to the rough handling by the shippers. The dust collector is a bit cheesy, but usable.
Compared to the over-priced saws at Lowe's and Home Depot, this is the way to go.
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