I just purchased a Ridgid portable table saw. It seems like a nice saw.
However, I found the set up to be much more extensive than I would have
thought for a professional quality tool. It is true that a more experienced
woodworker could have likely adjusted the tool in half the time. Still, I
couldn't help but be disappointed after spending the money and traveling to
the nearest home depot to get this particular saw. I've owned sliding miter
saws made by Bosch and Hitachi and out of the box they were dead accurate.
The good news is that I'm confident the saw will work fine. I just wanted
to see if this is a common occurrence with the portable saws
(or the Ridgid saw in particular)?
It comes with a 90 day Money back guarantee (Ive still got 87 days), I could
always return it if it turns out to be a lemon. I don't want to have to do
that though.
Thank you,
Michael
Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
> Michael Billings wrote:
>
> > The good news is that I'm confident the saw will work fine. I just
wanted
> > to see if this is a common occurrence with the portable saws
> > (or the Ridgid saw in particular)?
> > It comes with a 90 day Money back guarantee (Ive still got 87
days), I could
> > always return it if it turns out to be a lemon. I don't want to
have to do
> > that though.
>
>
> All of the large tools that I own had to be assembled. That includes
a Ridgid
> table saw and 15" drill press, 8" jointer, and 18" bandsaw. I
learned a lot
> about the operation of the tools by being involved in the assembly.
While I've
> paid somebody to help me in one case, I've always been involved.
>
> Consider the time you've spent already a wise investment. If you
have half the
> luck I've had with my saw, you'll be happy. It's been my experience
that the
> nay-sayers are all people who've only had the most cursory of
exposures to
> Ridgid (i.e, they saw it in the store). None of them have owned one.
>
>
>
> --
> Mortimer Schnerd, RN
>
> [email protected]
I just bought a Craftsman (yeah, I know I spelled it wrong) portable
job site table saw and was very surprised at how accurate it was right
out of the box. The fence was dead on and locks down square to the
blade. The only thing so far was the miter guage was off by about 1/4
of a degree which was easily corrected. So far I like the thing, the
blade kinda sucks but that is to be expected.
Fred
I'm not sure what kinds of setup operations you reference. When I
bought my table saw (Jet), the dealer cautioned me that all big
stationary tools from any manufacturer will require some fine tuning
and shimming to make them dead accurate. The saw blade alignment with
the miter slot was spot on from the factory. So were the 0 degree and
45 degree stops for the blade angle. I had to slightly shim to make
the right side cast iron wing level. The sliding table was another
story. It took about 2 hours to get it set up correctly.
Bob
Newbie wrote:
> "Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> | I just bought a Craftsman (yeah, I know I spelled it wrong)
portable
> | job site table saw and was very surprised at how accurate it was
right
> | out of the box. The fence was dead on and locks down square to the
> | blade. The only thing so far was the miter guage was off by about
1/4
> | of a degree which was easily corrected. So far I like the thing,
the
> | blade kinda sucks but that is to be expected.
> |
> | Fred
>
>
> Why did you choose Craftsman? Why didn't you choose portable Ridgid,
Bosch,
> DeWalt or something like that?
I dunno. Don't have access to a lot of other brands and shipping by
internet is a killer on larger things. I liked the features of the saw
and I've had pretty good luck with Craftsman. I'm not a pro, and it
does what I need it to do (very well).
Fred
Newbie wrote:
> "Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> | > Why did you choose Craftsman? Why didn't you choose portable
Ridgid,
> | Bosch,
> | > DeWalt or something like that?
> |
> | I dunno. Don't have access to a lot of other brands and shipping
by
> | internet is a killer on larger things. I liked the features of the
saw
> | and I've had pretty good luck with Craftsman. I'm not a pro, and
it
> | does what I need it to do (very well).
> |
> | Fred
> |
>
> I am not a pro myself, but heard Craftsman was notorious for bad,
inaccurate
> fence. Did you get 21830 model? I heard that one is actually made by
Bosch.
> Have you tried installing a router base between extension and the
table?
Yes, that is the model. I was very surprised and pleased with the
fence. It operates smooth and locks down rock solid and dead on.
Haven't tried a router base yet but probably will at some later time.
The only thing that seems a little cheesy is the out feed extension.
Fred
"Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| > Why did you choose Craftsman? Why didn't you choose portable Ridgid,
| Bosch,
| > DeWalt or something like that?
|
| I dunno. Don't have access to a lot of other brands and shipping by
| internet is a killer on larger things. I liked the features of the saw
| and I've had pretty good luck with Craftsman. I'm not a pro, and it
| does what I need it to do (very well).
|
| Fred
|
I am not a pro myself, but heard Craftsman was notorious for bad, inaccurate
fence. Did you get 21830 model? I heard that one is actually made by Bosch.
Have you tried installing a router base between extension and the table?
"Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1112831680.974045.146240
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:
> Don't have access to a lot of other brands and shipping by
> internet is a killer on larger things.
Not necessarily. In the past few years I've bought a jointer, planer,
compressor, miter saw, and several other big items over the net. All
were shipped for free by Amazon. Some other dealers offer similar free
shipping now too, or at least "reasonable" shipping for large items.
I've been shopping for a new dust collector recently and found at least
four options that will ship what I'm looking at for free or at least
for less than $20. Given that my only local options are HD and Menards,
I'm much more inclined to shop over the net-- better tools, better
prices, and often better service.
-kiwanda
Robatoy <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Stephen M" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> First-off, I would not consider a Ridgid to be a professional
>> quality tool. A decent home-owner grade tool capable of doing
>> professional-quality work in the right hands.... but not really a pro
>> tool.
>
> Well put. So was the rest of your post.
>
>
> I 'tuned' a mitre saw with a pipe-wrench once. Whatever woiks.
>
Yabbut, you're a 'pro'. Very little good has ever come from the use of
_my_ pipe wrench.
I use a big rubber mallet. It hurts less when I drop it on my foot.
Patriarch,
who has friends who go looking for old rusty machinery to play with, just
for the fun of it. Otherwise, they are fairly normal, whatever that means
these days.
> It seems like a nice saw.
> However, I found the set up to be much more extensive than I would have
> thought for a professional quality tool.
I think your expectations are out of place.
First-off, I would not consider a Ridgid to be a professional quality tool.
A decent home-owner grade tool capable of doing professional-quality work in
the right hands.... but not really a pro tool.
Secondly, the bigger the tool, the more likely the need for a significant
set-up ritual. As a point of reverence, a $1500 Delta Unisaw is arguably the
"standard" pro-quality non-portable (cabinet-style) table saw. I would dare
say that most people here that buy one *expect* to spend 3 or 4 hours
setting it up (cleaning off the shipping grease, modest assembly and tuning
the settings). You would think that $1500 would buy you a perfectly ready to
go out-of-the-box experience, yet the truth is quite the opposite.
Any tool which weighs over 90 lbs will be shipped in pieces and require
assembly and therefore tuning. The weight thing is simply a practical matter
of packing and shipping. It would be really hard to ship a Unisaw with the
wings and rail attached. I say 90 lbs, only because that's about what am
able-bodied adult can expect to dead-lift.
I don't know what model you bought, but it may be on the hairy edge of that
range. TS's tend to not pack well as the fence tends to stick out, making
them a better candidate for assembly than, say, a miter saw.
-Steve
In article <jkK4e.2222$7Q4.1211@clgrps13>,
"Michael Billings" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I just purchased a Ridgid portable table saw. It seems like a nice saw.
> However, I found the set up to be much more extensive than I would have
> thought for a professional quality tool. It is true that a more experienced
> woodworker could have likely adjusted the tool in half the time. Still, I
> couldn't help but be disappointed after spending the money and traveling to
> the nearest home depot to get this particular saw. I've owned sliding miter
> saws made by Bosch and Hitachi and out of the box they were dead accurate.
> The good news is that I'm confident the saw will work fine. I just wanted
> to see if this is a common occurrence with the portable saws
> (or the Ridgid saw in particular)?
> It comes with a 90 day Money back guarantee (Ive still got 87 days), I could
> always return it if it turns out to be a lemon. I don't want to have to do
> that though.
Mine flew right out of the box. The only thing I touched was the tension
on the rod (Done at the back) that locks the tilt. It wasn't positive
enough for my liking.
Other than that, it performed well beyond my expectations even though
all it has to do is cut strips of solid surface and up to 1" MDF.
I will post some pics, one of these days, showing how I mounted a
Milwaukee router to the saw. I dropped an acrylic panel/router base
between the slide-out extension and the fixed table.
I am very pleased, knowing full well what it is.
With a $50.00 Shopvac and that Milwaukee 5616 router, it's an unbeatbale
combo... YMMV
In article <[email protected]>,
Patriarch <[email protected]> wrote:.
>
> I use a big rubber mallet. It hurts less when I drop it on my foot.
>
aHA! Now you know why I use an aluminum pipe-wrench and wear steel-toed
Nikes.
Besides, I don't think one can buy a rubber mallet in Kanuckistan
without a permit...with the seal hunt and all...
In article <[email protected]>,
"Stephen M" <[email protected]> wrote:
> First-off, I would not consider a Ridgid to be a professional quality tool.
> A decent home-owner grade tool capable of doing professional-quality work in
> the right hands.... but not really a pro tool.
Well put. So was the rest of your post.
I 'tuned' a mitre saw with a pipe-wrench once. Whatever woiks.
In article <[email protected]>,
"Fred" <[email protected]> wrote:
I liked the features of the saw
> and I've had pretty good luck with Craftsman. I'm not a pro, and it
> does what I need it to do (very well).
>
A few of my tools are considered 'high-end'.. most are pretty decent,
and I have a few 'odd-ball' tools that do the job, but lack the cache of
a brand name product. So it is with my Craftsman mitre saw. I paid very
little money for it. Sears had a sale: Reg $ 45333.00 Sale $ 159.00 so I
thought: "with SUCH savings..."
Make a long story longer, it was a cheap and dirty saw which happened to
do everything it was supposed to do. It weighs very little, which is why
I bought it... it lives on the truck and I got tired hauling my 20-year
old Delta 10" around. All in all, I am very happy with THAT particular
purchase....UNLIKE..(sorry..had to laugh for a bit here) a Craftsman
sander (1/2 sheet) that a buddy of mine sold me for 20 bucks. Everything
on that sander vibrated...'cept the sandpaper. Kid you not. We've had a
lot of laughs over that 'sander' over the years.
Not everything that Craftsman makes is crap though.
I am looking at a 12" Sliding mitre saw this summer... don't know what
yet.... or whether I even need a 12".. I mean.. if it slides..why the
need for that big blade? Haven't given it much thought.
"Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| I just bought a Craftsman (yeah, I know I spelled it wrong) portable
| job site table saw and was very surprised at how accurate it was right
| out of the box. The fence was dead on and locks down square to the
| blade. The only thing so far was the miter guage was off by about 1/4
| of a degree which was easily corrected. So far I like the thing, the
| blade kinda sucks but that is to be expected.
|
| Fred
Why did you choose Craftsman? Why didn't you choose portable Ridgid, Bosch,
DeWalt or something like that?
Michael Billings wrote:
> The good news is that I'm confident the saw will work fine. I just wanted
> to see if this is a common occurrence with the portable saws
> (or the Ridgid saw in particular)?
> It comes with a 90 day Money back guarantee (Ive still got 87 days), I could
> always return it if it turns out to be a lemon. I don't want to have to do
> that though.
All of the large tools that I own had to be assembled. That includes a Ridgid
table saw and 15" drill press, 8" jointer, and 18" bandsaw. I learned a lot
about the operation of the tools by being involved in the assembly. While I've
paid somebody to help me in one case, I've always been involved.
Consider the time you've spent already a wise investment. If you have half the
luck I've had with my saw, you'll be happy. It's been my experience that the
nay-sayers are all people who've only had the most cursory of exposures to
Ridgid (i.e, they saw it in the store). None of them have owned one.
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
[email protected]