rigid brand tools

[roger garber]

are rigid table saws any good. keep in mind i just use this for making furniture around the house. i am not looking to spend a fortune on a saw

[Kyle Boatright]

Yes, Rigid power tools are a good value at that price point. In fact, if I was going to spend $550 or so on a tablesaw, I'd buy a Rigid... They appear to be solidly built and do well(in particular "best value" type ratings) in many tool comparisons.

KB

[max]

From what I have seen the Ridgid brand seems very good. I am saying they are worth it but the reviews have been very favorable from friends that have bought their tools. I am considering their Random Orbit Sander which is made by Metabo. The only problem is that I hear they are getting out of the woodworking tool business. max

[Richard Cline]

I have the Rigid table saw and am very happy with it. The saw went together and everything was accurately positioned without fuss. The fence is solid and accurate. As with any saw, you need to add a couple things. Get a couple table inserts. Construct a sled for crosscut work.

Dick

[tzipple]

I am happy enough with mine. I bought it a year ago and it is enough saw for most work. I needed one, it was a great deal with some HD discounts that I had, and I got it under the lifetime warrenty deal that they were running. I like the 36" rip capacity, the Herculift works well, the table and cast iron wings are flat, and it is as vibe free as any contractor saw.

That being said, if I had to do over I would buy Jet or Grizzly for my contractor saw. The Jet is $200 more with iron wings, the Grizzly, a few bucks less with a 2hp motor.

Ridgid is a pain when it comes to parts, customer service for HD and Ridgid is awful. The arbor is a bit short and will not accommodate some dado set ups, it has a 2.5" dust port (I would like a 4", ideally), second source accessories are not as available as they are for Jet, Delta, etc. The trunions seem to be holding up, but they are made of some kind of alloy that is much lighter than I am used to and I worry about whether they will hold up for the next decade or two. The fence is fine, but is also pretty light and I wonder if it will still be working well in years to come.

All > Yes, Rigid power tools are a good value at that price point. In fact, if I

[Ba r r y]

I had a Rigid 6" jointer that I liked a lot. It was a good value, perfectly behaved, and easy to obtain. Another 'wrecker bought it, and AFAIK, is happy with it.

The saws I've seen at the BORG looked like good values. You should make sure whatever saw you buy has standard 3/8" x 3/4" miter slots, belt drive (not direct), and ways to adjust the blade to table and fence alignments.

Barry

[AAvK]

Barry may I ask, what is wrong with direct drive compared to belt drive?

Alex

[tzipple]

[Darrell Dorsey]

And the direct drive generally use a universal motor, and they are much noiser than the induction motors found on belt drive units. Darrell

[AAvK]

Now both you guys make sense, all seems logical, and thanks for the info. I am / was considering buying a small benchtop saw like the little Ryobi. I also do not like the aluminum table and miter gauge, light weight and cheap quality, rickety. It is nothing compared to steel or cast iron.

Alex

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I've got one that I'm happy with. I've jazzed it up quite a bit: Incra 5000 sliding table, added a router wing with a Mast-R-Lift, an overhead guard / dust collector, zero clearance insert with Micro Jig splitter, and I built an outfeed table for it.

It's been my experience those that don't like Ridgid (note the spelling) haven't used one. Are there nicer saws? Of course, and you'll pay for the privilege.

[Ba r r y]

[AAvK]

Thanks Barry, anything else?

Alex

[Lee Gordon]

Barry ...

[Cox West]

I've got the big Rigid table saw you see at H.D. Nice saw, suits me well for all me uses thus-far. I got lured in with a lifetime warranty which was offerred by H.D. a year ago. The Rigid is solid, quiet, and to easy move with the mobil lift included.

Today if I were looking, I'd still consider the Rigid, but also entertain other opinions such Grizzly for example. But I have no regrets on my purchase.

Dave

[AAvK]

I examined one at HD a couple days ago, it is nice with that iron table and mobile lift, the cranks turn easy, nice price for all that. But ripping 8/4 maple will still be one serious slow hot bitch I bet. I just ripped 32 b/f of it two weeks ago on a large and powerful 12" saw (adult ed.), it was all that. 3 cuts to rip off one board, saw blade going "up" 1/3 at a time. Do you have a dust bag attached underneath?

Alex

[Cox West]

8X4 maple on it is an unknown for me.

I use a shopvac connected to the exhaust port, which seems to work fine. I expect mess from a table saw, and if I can keep it down, I'm happy. The shopvac is a blower vac, and the table saw has it's rear at the garage door. Simple matter to donate organic matter to the driveway/lawn afterwards. I going to order a band saw soon, so ripping thicker stock (once in a blue moon anyway) with likely shift to that.

Dave

[AAvK]

Call it "eight-quarter" stock, thicknesses in quarters of an inch. Usually planed down 1/8" of each side to 1-3/4", still sold as 8/4 in price (I bet you knew that!). I dare you to put the saw to that test, saw blade 1/3 up through the stock per pass 'til complete rip, without burning the wood or the motor. With the monster I was using, I still got burn (darkness) patches.

I like the bag idea because of the noise factor, too much is a screaming to me.

Alex

[Robert Bonomi]

Ryobi _does_ make a good tablesaw, the BT3100 (and it's predecessor the 3000). It is *THE* exception in their tablesaw line. And boy, is it! Real difficult to touch it until you get up around twice the price, or more.

[Norman D. Crow]

Was in Home Despot the other night, got what I needed, but then was just taking the usual gander through the Tool Dept. There had been some recent talk on here about a Griz extension block fitting the Rigid band saw, so I was just taking a look . . . . Well, the top frame does look very similar to my G0555, so maybe. What tickled me though, is that whoever put the display model together apparently didn't read all the instructions. The blade guard between the top & bottom wheels, where the blade goes "up", was on backwards! They put the blade on first, then put the blade guard on OVER it, so you would have to remove the guard to change the blade. DUH!