HELP. Grizzly or Shop Fox table saw

Hey Bob,
Can’t comment on these brands as we don’t have them here in the land downunder but what I will say is that the fence makes all the difference,., I use and recommend an Incra TSLS 32”.. could not afford the 52” or would have gone that way,
Hope this helps.
Cheers Larry

-- Don't drink and use power tools @ lasercreationsbylarry.com.au

Bob, my brother has a Grizzly cabinet saw, although I don’t think it’s the 50” cut. He likes it a lot, although I’ve never used it myself. I have no idea on the Shopfox, but there has to be a bunch of reviews available.

-- Chris

I just bought a Grizzly jointer that is great, I am also in the market for a new cabinet saw and am really considering a new Grizzly. And everyone I have talked to who own Grizzly saws have had nothing but good things to say about them.
But as far as a Powematic, they are having a 20% off sale on May 15th and 16th, a PM2000 will run $2000 vs. $2500. (Still more than a Grizzly though)

-- Don S.E. OK

Bob, I would go Grizzly and it is because of the support service.

Grizzly and Shop Fox are sister companies but their sales distribution and support are totally set up different.

If you need a Grizzly part, let say a belt or bearing, you call Grizzly and they send the part pronto.

If you need that same part from Shop Fox, you have to go through a distributor and it takes more time.

I have a Shop Fox sanding machine and many of the parts under the hood are Grizzly green. If I need a part I cross reference on the Grizzly machine and order the part. I call them and get it direct immediately.

The local Shop Fox distributor otherwise has to handle the order and marks it up with shipping and overhead.

As a small business I do not recommend Shop Fox for that reason and I will never buy Shop Fox again.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

Todd,
Good points, I did not realize that, thanks.

-- Don S.E. OK

Bob, You may want to take a look at Steel City. I have the hybrid model and love it. The people that started this company are old Delta and Jet managers. Just my 2 cents.

-- Rick

In regards to your comment of choosing between Shop Fox and Grizzly I would say Grizzly, usually cheaper and seems to me the same machine quality. I have a Grizzly 1023 right tilt with 52” rip and coming from the 3/4 cabinet Craftsman hybrid type saw. I really like the Grizzly saw. I also have a 8” jointer and 20” planer from them. I have other brands and it seems there is almost always something that needs customer service regardless of brand, and for me Grizzly has been top notch. As far as quality of products, I personally am no machinist therefore I don’t get as nit picky as others do and for the price I think it isn’t fair to get that picky. If that is the budget you have and it has the features you want I think Grizzly is a good choice and will provide you a good tool. Grizzly also makes it very easy to get parts for their machines (I recently bought an old 3hp Grizzly shaper for cheap so I know about this haha) and will support you in it all. Their freight charges are cheap and ship really fast barring the item is in stock. Good luck no matter what you do I think you will sure enjoy upgrading to a cabinet saw.

I’m with MOST of the folks Grizzly is the way to go.

I must agree with choosing a Grizzley. My Grizz contractor saw arrived on Friday (ordered Monday) in 2 boxes. Both boxes were pretty banged up and the Shop Fox fence box was open. I noted everything on the bill of lading and called Grizzley to report it. Their customer service is excellent. Everything was noted and I had a call back in less than 30 minutes to resolve the situation. Since I couldn’t be sure what was missing/damaged, I told them I would call them Monday after I had completely assembled the saw. They said “not to worry” as they would wait for my call and ship anything I needed. The packing protected the saw and the Shop Fox was missing some of the packing but everything was there and in excellent condition.
What most impressed me was their quick call back and willingness to do whatever was necessary to make it right.
Oh, and I love my Grizz bandsaw and tablesaw!

-- "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Voltaire

I don’t own any Grizzly equipment but I do own a Steel City planer and a Shop Fox Band saw. Both of these companys make nice tools but don’t sell parts directly to the end user becouse they feel it would put them in direct competition with their distributors. I am also in the market for a TS and am considering the Grizzly as an option because they do have great customer support and build a good machine

-- If at first you don't succeed...Don't try skydiving