tsteahr

That BORK is a nicely made item. Looks like it is worth getting if you have a 1023. It does reduce the cost advantage of the gris however. The Live search is a nice option. It looks like the Griz is available on ebay direct from griz In addition the SC with the granite top is also on ebay from Utter Guys. With this MS Cashback discount the granite top SC (35905G) is actually a little less expensive than the cast iron SC (35905) through toolking.com

From the earlier threads I have read about the granite tops, the views seem a bit mixed. Some love them, others worry about chipping and breaking. Has any kind of general consensus been reached on this?

tsteahr

I would like to thank everyone for their input. After visiting a local Woodcraft over the weekend I decided on the SC 35905G. I expect this saw to far exceed my needs.

I would also like to commend SC customer service. I placed three separate calls to SC and every time my call was answered promptly by a person with in depth knowledge of the product. The SC were helpful and patient with all my questions. Excellent customer service provided by folks who do what they do because they love it. That message came through loud and clear.

The buying experience has been interesting. Both local woodworker stores I visited had sales staff who were will to chat, but neither store actually offered much in the way of service. Delivery or setup was not available. They offered to help load the saw into my truck. That was it. Most significantly the local SC dealer was not interested in selling me anything other than what they had on the floor. I asked them if I could order the specific model I was interested in and I was told SC had a "minimum order" and I wold have to wait until they got enough SC orders to reach the min before they would place the order. I asked about time frame and was told they had no idea, could be tomorrow, could be three months. They did not offer any other alternatives other than to buy what was on the floor.

I called SC and was told the min order for the dealer was so they do not have to pay shipping. What I find odd is the local dealer did not even offer to place a special order for me if I paid the shipping. The local dealer left me with a choice of wait a indefinite amount of time or go elsewhere. I went elsewhere and ordered from toolking.

It is unfortunate when local stores drive their customers away, not because of higher prices, but because of a total lack of service. If they won't provide any service whatsoever before the sale, can I expect anything different after the sale? This unfortunate state of local business has driven me to purchase 80+% of my "durable goods" off the internet. I observe this trend with nearly every special interest area I know of (bicycling, computers and electronics, media, tools, clothing).

Oh well. Sorry for the rant but thanks again for the help,

Cheers!

widekerf

Dismissing out of hand a bad product experience from 25 years ago is hard to understand. You can count yourself fortunate (well, perhaps not) that you never had to own an early model Honda, Toyota, or heaven forbid a DATSUN back in the early 70s. You wouldn't be able today, to drool over an Acura, Lexus, or Infinity. You wouldn't even be able to consider a fuel efficient pick up truck.

tsteahr

Funny you mention 70's Datsun. I owned a 1976 Datsun 200sx for several years. It was actually a very good car. Body rust was an issue but mechanically the car was excellent. It was also a fun car to drive. Remember the 1975 Honda CVCC? Put a lot of miles on that as well. Another fun car that was honest about what it was.

In any case, I'm not sure where the impression came from that I dismissed Griz. My final decision came to a choice between Griz and SC. The Griz wins on value, but the SC was a little more saw for a little more money. I decided to go for a little more saw. If I had been disappointed with SC when I looked at one, a Griz would be on the way right now.