Help me pick my first saw

I can’t speak for Craftex, never heard of them.

I have a Craftsman 21833, which is the same saw as the Ridgid 4512 you speak of.
Here in the USA the Ridgid can be bought on sale for around $450. I paid $409 for my Craftsman.

It is a lot of saw for the money. I have done some nice work with it. I would rather have this than a benchtop or jobsite type saw. It’s got a 1-3/4 hp motor, its heavy and stable and quite like a saw should be. The miter slots are industry standard and it takes a dado blade. The riving knife and guard work well. But, it is not without problems.

-The arbor is mounted to the table instead of the cabinet so is a pain in the a$$ to adjust, and mine has a tndency to drift out of alignment every few months.

- The throat insert is very thin, about 1/8”, and difficult to make a replacement if you wanted to make a Zero clearance insert, for example.

The whole fit and finish of the works inside is just cheap, for lack of a better word. There are worse saws out there, but this saw is not made for heavy duty long term use. . . . but it is NOT $3000 either.

I can’t agree that there is anything wrong with the fence. Never had a problem with mine and it works well.

I just wish I had saved my money a little longer and gotten a saw in the $1000 price range like a Steel City, Grizzly, or General International. I know now, iI would have been more satisfied with it.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

I have students that own the 4512 and have found it to be a great value.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I just picked up the Ridgid and love it so far. I have not been able to post a review on it then again several people on here have reviewed it and i think they all gave the Ridgid 4 stars or higher. I personally would give it a 4.5 no real complaints. I don’t know if you can find yourself a Harbor Freight 20% off for one item coupon, but if you can most HD’s will let you use it as a competitors coupon. I had to call around to about 3 stores before I could get one to bite and agree to take it. They would not take the print out version they needed the “official” version I was able to find mine in the Sunday paper I also read that they can be found in Readers Digest and different hunting and fishing magazines. Good Luck let us know what you decide on.

There are pros and cons with each. AFAIK, the Craftex is essentially the same saw as the former Ridgid TS3650 that’s no longer available here. What you gain with the CT-146 are two solid cast iron wings, and a slightly better fence that the R4512’s, but it’s older style design with no riving knife. The R4512 has the benefit of a riving knife and an inboard motor, which takes up less space and has a shorter belt. The TS3650 was made by TTI/Ryobi, but I don’t know who makes the Craftex version. The R4512 and Cman 21833 are made by Dayton. Which features are most important to you?

Once aligned and fitted with a good blade, either should serve you well.

Craftex:

Former TS3650:

R4512:

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

Thanks for input, I think Ill go with the ridgid, main reason being is that so many folks on LJ have them, might pay down the road if I run into issues, thanks again!

-- Transformers, robots in disguise