I just bought a Steel City 35990g "contractor" saw. I got mine for $500 from my local warehouse that was selling their floor models. utterguys.com sells them for the retail price and far less that the true cabinet saws.

It takes much more work to seal the cabinet for dust collection but so far I'm happy with it. 32" rip to the right and 24" to the left. It passes the nickle test and cuts 4/4 maple without slowing at all.

Can view it by clicking it in my profile and workshop.

It gas a granite top not cast iron, so far I'm in love with the granite. The only downside to granite is you can't tap into it for future fence upgrades. That said every single Steel City table saw fence on every single saw they make. I can bolt their 50" fence on to my granite top if I choose to upgrade in the future.

After sealing the "contractor" saw I have dust collection is fantastic! it weights about 400lbs. I call it my contractor cabinet saw.

Paul

 

I hear the 1023 'griz is built in Taiwan, the 690 is built in China. A guy I know sold his 690, said it is nowhere the saw the 1023 is.

 

The Grizzly 1023 and 690 are the best bang for the buck out there. The 1023 is a newer design and they both have their good and bad points. I don't think you could go wrong with either one of them.

 

Wow Paul, that was a great deal, Amazon lists that saw for almost $1200. I guess the question is, is the G0609 worth the extra $400?

 

ras61 that's why I suggest utterguys.com they are a direct retailer with accurate pricing. look there.

Paul

 

Hey buddy, don't jump recklessly! I spent 3 years slobbering for a T66 Powermatic. My boy came home and told me to go down to his father-in-laws shop. He had a 220V table saw he took on trade for a Harley. My boy had no idea what it was other than a 220v table saw. Turned out to be a Delta unisaw X5 with a biesmeyer fence. I only had to drop a grand. SWMBO was totally pissed. This deal also came with a shopfox dust vacumn. I dropped another 250 for parts to get it up and running. The only thing it doesn't do is tilt to the left. Here's the best part, Daddy In Law used his fork lift to put on a trailer. My neighbor and I had to manhandle it on to a dolly when I got it home. I only had to drive 20 blocks to get it home. It's been one of the best deals I've ever made. Patience, my friend…don't jump foolishly. There's something out there with your name on it. Best of Luck!!!

 

Russ, either the 0690 or 1023 are great cabinet saws.

The steel city would be a step down.
I'm not against them; my saw I'm setting up at the moment is the steel city 35955. It's a good saw, but setup is very tricky.

 

I'm a big Grizzly fan and I do think they are a great value. I have a 5 HP table saw and 2 bandsaws, 20" planer and a widebelt sander all new over the past 8 years. Yes I have got a great Craigslist deal or two that were tremendous but I can't get parts for them very easily at all.

Grizzly has incredible documentation that makes parts easy to get. I moved my shop and a band saw was pushed over in transit. I want on line and found the part in 10 minutes and had it delivered in just 3 days for a fair price. All my machines have lasted for years and still look /work great so I think you will be very happy now and later.

ltwud

 

No the Grizzly 12" 5HP G0696X is king! Grizzly designed this saw to crush the Powermatic 10" saws while costing substantially less. I also looked at some Sawstop pro's recently, they look like toys in comparison and cost a lot more. 31×48 inch 2 inch thick cast iron table. Pretty much flawless construction. Epoxy painted rails. Its a beast.

12" vs 10" blade

 

The Grizzly catalog has a 5% coupon code on it for the entire order, that will save you some money, plus they put the 0690 on sale for about $100 off regularly. Stack all that together and you come out great. I think I spent about 1400 and got the 0690 with Shopfox mobility unit. Get on their mailing list too. Last month they had 10%off your entire order deal on the email. It was good for about 3 weeks or so, and I used that to pick up a Woodstock cast iron router table some super heavy iron casters to use on a lumber cart, and some other stuff, and my savings was enough enough to cover shipping with some left over, knocking down the tool cost too. I am well pleased with the 0690, and because I am a beginner, the mental security of knowing I have a great tool, brand new, without needing a restoration is peace of mind. If I had bought a used saw, I would be wondering if I did good for some time before I was sure. $1575-%5=$1496 just from using the catalog code. Maybe if I had it to do over, I might have got the Grizzly contractor saw for $749- 5%= $711 if I wanted to go lighter with a contractor saw. I read reviews all over the internet on the 0690 and was convinced it was a good tool and grizzly CS is second to none.

I hope I haven't confused you, and good luck with whatever you choose.
Bill

 

darthford-Awesome saw, and bandsaw. If I had the $$$, I would have bought that saw. But I am happy anyway, King!

 

Silverhill the G0690 is a great saw with a proven track record you made a good choice within your budget. I just wanted to point out that in terms of value the G0696X is king imo in terms of what you get for a lot less money than other brands charge for their 10" saws.

 

darthford--I understand. I am putting together my wood shop on a budget, but on the table saw, I wanted a good fence, plus the safety features of a new saw. I did not want to have any worries from the saw.

 

Thanks Jim, I overlooked the 1023. It seems odd they offer two saws so similar, does anyone know why or the major difference? One strike against the 690 is I'm not too fond of items made in China because of quality control problems and their politics. The former may not be much of an issue with Grizzly's oversight and CS, but the latter is definitely a problem, especially with their recent support of N. Korea and that crazy kid running things. Unless the 690 has some major advantage, going with the 1023 would also save a couple hundred dollars, enough for a nice Forrest blade and then some!

Paul, thanks for the suggestion of the Steel City, but if I did go the contractor or hybrid route, the Grizzly 715 would probably be top of the list - it appears to be the 690's little brother with a 2 hp motor and most of the same features.

 

"...if I did go the contractor or hybrid route, the Grizzly 715 would probably be top of the list - it appears to be the 690's little brother with a 2 hp motor and most of the same features."

The similarities end with what you can see on the outside (the cabinet, the cast iron top, and the Grizzly logo). Under the hood the G0690 and G1023RL are significantly different machines under the hood….even the fences are more robust than what's on the G0715P.

Both the G0690 and G1023 series are excellent values relative to other saws in this class or price range. There are some design differences in the trunnion mechanisms, but both saws are well proven designs with large followings.

Here's the guts of the G0690:

...and the guts of the G1023RL:

I don't have pics of the G0715P under the hood, but it's a hybrid design with table mounted trunnions more similar to this older G0478 hybrid or the Ridgid R4512:

 

A ad on Craigslist has a brand new Steel City cabinet saw for 975, fence and off switch were not installed before ad was placed. owner say he needs space but I think its too much saw for him. Look at Jackson Mi. for this saw.

 

It's a hybrid saw with cabinet mounted trunnions.
Way too high on price.
Steel City Model 35600 (1.75 HP) or 35605 (3 HP).

It's definitely a nice saw, but older with a splitter rather than a riving knife and no warranty.

 

Not much more to add regarding the G690 TS, other than to add my own "happy camper" image:

 

Mike, what made you choose the 690 over the 1023? The only discernable difference I can see is the Lesson motor in the 690. Thanks.

 

Mike, what made you choose the 690 over the 1023? The only discernable difference I can see is the Lesson motor in the 690. Thanks.

PS Beautiful shop, it's plain to see why you're so happy!

 

I actually had the G1023 on order at the time, but kept getting availability delays from Grizzly (it was new at the time) and I finally decided to just go ahead and take delivery of a G690. That ended up being the very best thing I could have done, IMO. The G690 has a proven track record, and at the time I originally placed my order, the G1023 did not.

Both ended up being good saws, though I have read where the G1023s DC have a slight tendency to clog more easily due to the shroud design (catches larger cutoff scraps more easily).

 

I absolutely love my 691. It is my first cabinet saw, my other experience has been with 2 craftsman job site saws both total crap and now dead, 1 craftsman, 1 delta and 1 genreal contractor saws. I went into the show room probably 50 times trying to decide between the 1023 and 691. I may be wrong here but I was told that the 690/691 is almost the same design as the old 1023 from several years back with the added benefit of a riving knife. For me it ultimately came down to the fence. I like how the fence on the 690 wraps around the front of the rail, so that it has less play when you have the fence unlocked and slide it along.

 

LOL….Mike's pic says it all!

 

I just bought a Powermatic PM 1000. 10", 1.75 hp, 30" rip,110 volt. Under $2000 from Amazon free shipping. I'm very pleased with it.

 

personally I would go for the 3hp saw stop. For more than one reason.

1. Safety
2. Fit finish.
3. 10" is all you need, and 3hp is powerful enough to do what you need.
4. Dust collection is great.