IS RIDGID ALL THAT GOOD OR JUST OUT THERE IN YOUR FACE

I’m not sure of the fine print, but with the number of tools they sale I would not think fixing 5 a week would be a bad amount. I do think that they sale a lot of small tools with no thought that someone will send it back to be fixed. Hand drills for instance. Some are cheap enough that it’s not worth the effort to send it back. Get a new one.

That said, the Rigid tools I’ve had have worked out pretty well.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Ridgid has been around for a very long time, and they make pretty good quality tools. Clearly they believe that their tools are good enough quality that offering free repairs will not drive them out of business. There are some exclusions (abuse, dropping the tool off the roof), but they seem reasonable. I own quite a few Ridgid tools, and they get used. I haven’t needed repairs on anything except the quarter sheet sanders which keep tearing up the bearing kits.

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

One of the best pieces of advice I have had was to buy the most tool that your budget will allow. Rigid tools are fine but if I had to choose between a $300 tool now or saving for a $500 tool next year I would go for the $500 tool.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

The Ridgid tools I have owned have been very high quality. The fit and finish have been very good, and the features on each make them a great value.
Emerson Electric used to have the contract for Craftsman power tools. Sears is notorious for cost cutting, and a lot of good ideas from the engineers at Emerson did not see the light of day because they added cost. When Emerson lost the Sears contract, they decided to develop the Ridgid line of power tools, and incorporated the features that Sears would not consider.
As an example, the Ridgid TS3650 table saw has: casters, trunnion adjustments like the PALS system, a decent fence, cast aluminum handwheels, polygroove drive belt, and a dust collection shroud. None of the equivalent saws at Sears had any of these features. They might now; I haven’t looked, but once Emerson Electric was free from Sears, they shot ahead in quality and maintained a good price to boot.

So, yes, IMHO, Ridgid really is that good!

-- Furniture Medic- the prescription for damaged furniture

The rigid stuff I have is of high quality. I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve got a screw gun that has been abused for over two years, a shop-vac of the same age and a brad nailer. My son-in-law also has a bunch of Ridgid tools. We haven’t had any trouble and we have tried to murder them. I don’t know how many times that screw gun has hit the floor. I use the shop vac with a 50 gallon drum as a dust collector.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

I just got my first Rigid tool yesterday. The OSC spindle sander. Seem to be pretty good. I was surprised.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Most of the guys that I know with Ridgid tools could care less about the lifetime warranty. They are just happy with the tools outright. My only personal experience with Ridgid is the 18V combination pack. They are tough as hell. ( Circ saw, drill, recip. saw, flash light). I left the drill on the lid of my truck box one day and it ended up bouncing down the Blvd. at 45 miles per hours. I went back and picked it up off the road…..........snapped the battery back in and have been using it ever since. That was 2 1/2 years ago.

I accidently kicked the reciprocating saw off a scaffold from 6 bucks up and it is still with me today. :)

I have the spindle sander and am very pleased with the quality and the thought behind the tool pieces

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I have a Ridgid RO sander, large & small shop vac, portable table saw, jointer & drill press. Never a problem with any of them.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

thank everyone i must be thinking to hard.

-- danny s "the first to lose are the first to give up"

Warranties are mostly marketing devices to get you to buy a tool. Few companies will let you collect on it. I personaly rather look at how the tools have performed for others before deciding to buy it. This my oppion .

Ditto to all of the above. I have the following Ridgid tools:

Tablesaw (TS3650)
Jointer
Planer
12” Miter Saw
Drill Press
5” Random Orbit Sander
Benchtop Spindle Sander
Circular Saw

All perform very well, and have for several years.

-- Being nice gets you stuff!

I’ve had a 10” miter saw for a couple years and it has been great. I have an angle grinder that doesn’t get too much use and recently got the 3650 table saw and router kit. Oh, I have a Ridgid shop vac too. I had some parts missing from my new table saw but the customer service people have been very helpful in getting replacement parts out to me. They seem like they are very easy to deal with should I ever need warranty parts or repairs.

-- - mark

I’ve got the TS3650 Tablesaw, 13” planer, OSS, 12” SCMS, 14” bandsaw, 15 ga. finish nailer, 18 ga. finish nailer, Router combo package, cordless hammer drill-recip. saw-circular saw & light combo package. Except for the bandsaw being a little under powered, I’ve been just plumb tickled with all of them.

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

I have the TS2400 table saw. I love it.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

I have never used or had a Ridgid tool. Alot of people seem to really like them. When I buy a tool I try to determine what I am going to use it for and how much it is going to be used. I need a spindle sander and am looking at the Ridgid Oscillating Edge/Belt Spindle Sander. It seems to have good reviews and a decent price. On the other hand I would never consider a Clayton for $640 for the amount of time I would be using it. Waiting for Gary K’s tool review.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

I have the table saw, 13” planer and a few hand powered tools. When the planer stopped working after a year’s worth of work. I took it to my local Home Depot (no box & with dust chips) they exchanged it for a new one with one questions…...

-- SAWDUST...Source of Fiber......Bob

My experience with Ridgid has been complete satisfaction. My TS3650 cut square and smooth enough for glue right out of the box.

-- Maplewood, MN

Same here, I have the 13” planer and the drill press and they both work beautifully. The lifetime warranty may be a marketing gimmick but that also means their tools have to be of decent quality for it to be viable. If Sears/Crapman were to do the same, they’d be out of business within a month…

-- Nick, Fremont, CA.

I would take a Ridgid tool if it were free !!!!!

Curious question. Why or how is it possible that in the “review” section, that every entry gets 5 stars?, the odd one gets 4 stars but all the same…............seems odd?

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

have had a ridgid planner for 6 years, accept for the service in getting blades for it i would not trade it for a new model anything.

jay angel

-- "not all those who wander are lost" JRR tolken

I have the 12” compount miter saw, Ridgid TS3650, a couple cordless drills and the OSS/Belt sander. I could care less about the lifetime warrany. The products have been darn good for the price and I consider them to be the high end of the mid quality tools. Very good buy in most cases.

I have the osc spindle sander. It works great. Some of hte line is less tool than I want, but overall, I think Rigid is a good buy

-- making sawdust....