Opinions-Rigid Granite top Table Saw

Lots of folks here have the Rigid. I have one and love it but, mine is cast not granit. A couple of folks here have the new one. Give them a little time to find your post and you will likely get their input
g

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

The latest craze here is spending atleast $3 K on a SawStop table saw. It’s a must when your makeing a whopping $5 an hour in this crafty trade for fools, but ya look good doin it., well, ya think ya do, then reality sets in.

It seems to be a decently designed saw for the money. I’ve seen positive reviews of it around. Its similar to the Craftsman Hybrids (Zip Code Says as they’re reffered to) with a solid arbor casting without the tie bars meaning less alignment issues.

Dave,
Purplev recently blogged about his rigid R4511 table saw, it was very informative and might be helpful to you.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

http://lumberjocks.com/PurpLev/blog/7991

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

The granite is the thing I don’t like. you can’t use magnetic feather boards.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

I have to say the granite makes me shy away. I know granite kitchen counters need regular sealing, can be etched by liquids with acid in them (juice) and also stain not to mention they can chip and potentially crack.
My experience is that you get what you pay for when you buy tools. If a good quality cabinet type saw is selling for $1200 to $1800 what are you getting for $525? But we all have budget compromises to make when we buy our tools.
You said your Craftsman was 2.5 HP the Ridgid R4511 is only 1.5hp. Even if you wire it for 240v it will still be underpowered.

-- Les B, Oregon

PurpLev and I (glassyeyes) have the saw; PurpLev’s done a nice series on the assembly and tricking out of the saw. I’ll put some of my comments, written somewhat in a diary format, here.
I had HD load the saw in the back of my minivan—they had to use a small forklift. GET HELP getting it off and getting the main parts assembled. I came within a hair of injuring my back. I’ve had trouble getting the right wing installed; it won’t pull flush with the front of the main table. It appears that the under-the-table t-bar support channel was cut about 1/16th of an inch too far to the front. HD and Ridgid service was good. Gardner in Ohio supplies parts for Ridgid, and had to try three times to ship a new right wing. The wing weighs 52 pounds. The first one, in one layer of bubble wrap and a too-large box, arrived as gravel. The second, packed much the same, was significantly chipped. The third was better wrapped and in better shape, but was ALSO mis-cut. I eventually found enough shim stock to shim out the front rail at the wing by 40/1000th’s of an inch, and Shim all BUT the wing in back by 27/1000th’s of an inch. The rear rail is split, to save shipping costs; this offers no mechanical support to the wings. I added a heavy strap of stee, 3/16 by 1 by 48 inches, drilled to leave a slight gap at the top. Problem solved. I found Home Depot, Ridgid, and Gardner to be very helpful with this problem, although Gardner seems to have a hard time packing these properly. The first two came wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap, stuffed into an oversized box, and were padded with a few pieces of newspaper. The first arrived in pieces; the second was chipped. The third was better packed. The Gardner quality control person called on the third one, and followed up; a high level of service. It seems they get these wings in bulk, unpadded, stacked on a pallet, from the manufacturer. He said they intend to pre-pack the remaining wings so this doesn’t recur.

PRO’s: Very heavy due to granite top and fairly beefy trunnions; “passes the nickel test” Table-mounted trunnions; blade-to-slot and fence-to-slot adjustments easier Arbor flange runout of less than 1/1000th inch Closed cabinet, good dust collection Passable T-style fence Herc-U-Lift mobile base Motor power acceptable/not dazzling

CON’s VERY TOP HEAVY—and just plain heavy at about 450 lbs; dangerous to assemble alone Assembly directions aren’t that good, assuming at times you’ll puzzle it out. Some diagrams aren’t to scale, and many parts that should have been tagged weren’t (such as those on the Herc-U-Lift), but this is hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime problem. Marginal level of quality control on the granite top assembly system Split fence offers no mechanical support for the wings at the rear (fixable) and inspires less confidence at the front, where alignment of the rail halves depends on a silly little plastic ring and the screws thru the bottom angle iron to hold them in exact alignment. The longer I use it, the less I like it. A carefully planed hardwood spline helped stiffen the two-piece front rail. The saw only comes with a splitter/guard, no riving knives, but it’s already set up to take them. Riving knives (from Steel City for the 35900 series saws) fit, but there have been minor issues. Part # SC10150 for the 2.5 mm knife, SC10151 for the 3.0 mm Phone # to order Steel City parts: 1-877-724-8665

Recommendation? I’d have to give it a qualified one, to be sure. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. The Steel City, for example, so similar it may be made in the same plant, includes the riving knives and appears to include the removable fence faces, making up for the $50 difference in price.

-- Now, where did I put those bandaids?

I have this saw also and agree with glasseyes observations. My biggest complaint is the split front and rear rails for the fence but I made my own 72” front and rear rails now it glides ever so smoothly and I have a 44” rip capacity, also added riving knives. The top is very heavy and the granite is not for everybody, I chipped mine but was able to repair it. The power seem to be adequate, I have ripped 2×12x8 SYP lumber and it did fine.

-- Tim: Remember, if it doesn't say Binford, someone else made it.

When is a 1 1/2 hp, wired for 240V not enough ? And since when does a 3 hp Industrial cabinet saw become manditory in a hobby shop ?

Lesb, That 2.5 on the Craftsman is not actually 2.5

Marc, say it ain’t so. lol

Woodchuck – You just can’t help but add a good word, huh?

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

‘say it ain’t so’ ... haha – good one ;o) – yeah, those HP ratings on the direct drives are sometimes annoying since you can’t really compare them to the belt driven saws – way off.

Dave – add a $3 18gauge pack of pneumatic nails – and you have the saw for $450 + tax…

go to home deopt – NOW.

PS. Thanks for everyone for the references to my blogs… always glad to see it can help

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Mike, I see your back to your stalking again. Some people just don’t learn, even after being visited by Texas finest.

I have used both a 1.5 hp contractors saw (for 20 years) and a 3 hp cabinet saw (the last 12 year) and I will chose the latter every chance I get. Before that I got by with a 10” Craftsman radial arm saw I bought in 1968, which does it all if you have the patients. I still have the radial arm and use it for most of my cross cutting work.

-- Les B, Oregon

Les, I think the 2.5 hp saw he was refering to is a benchtop, Craftsman would NEVER over rate horsepower would they ? While a industrial cabinet saw maybe nice, they don’t allways fall within someones budget or needs.

I looked this saw over pretty good in my last few visits to the orange box. It seems pretty nice for the money..and Purp gave it a glowing review. You will have to do some upgrades to the fence similar to what Purp did, but like I said for the money it seems like a decent saw.

Woodchuck, I don’t see what the problem is if people want to spend their money on a shitty contractor saw or a five thousand dollar cabinet saw to shove in their garage to make toothpicks with, its a free world and if they have the money then why cant they do it? Why do you find it necessary to bring a negative , tainted opinion to every discussion of anyone purchasing a piece of equipment out of the realm of what YOU find acceptable. I’m sorry, but I am getting really sick and tired of your depressing, negative attitude about EVERYTHING. I’m sorry your such an angry depressed person, and I’m sorry life has beat you down so bad you have to crap down everyone else’s back, and I’m sorry the wood working industry has let you down as much as it has, but some of us on here like woodworking…we like buying tools that you feel are inferior and we don’t need…and we like seeing other peoples projects and ideas, regardless of their skill and aptitude. Try writing something positive once and a while..it doesn’t hurt…

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Brad, a shitty Contractor’s saw ? What the hell are you talking about ?

Brad – He never will get it!

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I’m not sure, but I think that changing from 120 to 240V will not double the HP. It will not change it at all. It will only save you money on electricity.

Maynard, I don’t recall anyone saying that the hp will double. But there are some advantages that I really don’t care to get into.

Changing the voltage from 120v to 240v will neither increase the HP nor save money on the utility bill. Electricity is charged by kilowatt-hours…changing from 120 to 240 doubles the voltage and halves the amperage, but the kilowatt-hours are identical. In theory, there should be no performance advantages in switching either…the coils of the motor are either in parallel or series, but the same coils are used and each sees the same voltage with either 110v or 220v.

If you’re 120v line is inadequately wired, you’ll notice an improvement by switching to 240v. 240v supplies more adequate amperage at startup and recovery from slowdown, but there’s no HP gain.

Thankyou Scott.

First of all, thanks a lot to everyone for their opinions about the Rigid R4511Table Saw. After reading everything, and with my budget, I decided to go ahead and get it. Additionally, I had a 10% off coupon that they let me use too. So I think I got a pretty good deal.
2nd, I am not a professional woodworker, I just enjoy woodworking and the Craftsman Table Saw I have gives me headached with precision cutting. The small aluminum fence is not accurate and I ALWAYS have to adjust it from front to back. Dust collects easily in the motor, even though I use a 2 hp dust collector (Harbor Freight, $275). The table top is also soo small, and the mitre slots have this weird ridge on them, so making my own wooden mitres is difficult. Also, making a zero clearance insert is also hard to do because of the design of the underside of the table insert, all I can say is it requires a lot of specialized cuts and way too much trial and error to finally get the cuts down to size.
Motor does work fine. May have been mistaken when I said 2.5 hp, I will check that again and let yall know what it really is.
Basically I have a lot if problems making the more precision cuts on that saw, and I can’t afford a $1500 or more priced saw (maybe some day), and besides, my wife liked the price too, which also worked in my favor.
Moreover though, I’m a bit dismayed at all the ruckus generated during the replies…I have been a Lumberjock member for I guess about a year or 2, and at the beginning, this group was the best for any kind of advice, and no one put anyone else down for anything, it was part of the charm of the group and I felt more welcome when I signed up than at any other time in my life…I mean, everyone complimented everyone else, and no one got grilled for not having great equipment, nor did anyone puff their chest out at anyone else. What the heck happened ? Is it just a few people ?
I really hope this group hasn’t gone to pot like a lot of other forums do.
Anyway, I really do appreciate the comments I got for this Rigid saw, and it helped me tremendously in making a decision on my saw choice. I am sorry for mis-stating the HP, and will go down in the basement later and take note of the hp.

Thanks everyone !
Dave

-- You gotta laugh a little...

Dave, I think your smart to keep it as a hobby, trying to make it a profession has totally ruined it for me. Keep it fun.

Dave- Good luck with you’re saw purchase, I think you will be very satisfied. Keep us posted!

-- Tim: Remember, if it doesn't say Binford, someone else made it.

Congrats on the new saw. I have a older Ridgid saw that has been a trouble free saw for years, I am sure it will be a great saw.

-- Don S.E. OK

Dave…you will like the saw. It will be a great improvement in performance and accuracy from the saw you are using, and it will make your woodworking experience much more fun when your not fussing with adjusting you saw!

And about the comments…it’s not a few people that have a problem…its just one…

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Dave, as you’ve seen there are a lot of opinions on the granite topped saw. I’m like you, upgrading from an old craftsman. I do DIY projects so couldn’t justify a real expensive cabinet saw. I got mine for $450 at HD with the purchase of an extra section of air hose.
I followed PurpLev’s blog for putting it together, and besides little shimming on the right extension it assembled nicely. Took just a little tuning and all is aligned and it runs very smooth. You will love this saw.
My fence required one small adjustment to square and it works great. Locks tight and slides easily. So much better than the old craftsman fence. For a casual woodworker this saw is perfect, and the granite despite what people worry about, is fine. I only use my saw for cutting wood not storing tools or banging with a hammer!!

I have just purchased a Rigdid 10” table saw and hope to get back into woodworking after many years away from this incredible hobby. Presently, this saw sits in the basement of a home my wife and I are having built for us. If moving to a 240v connection will make this a ‘better’ saw in any way, I’d have the electricians install such a plug and modify the saw to take it. However, Scott’s reply above gives me cause to think this really is not a big deal. So… do I have the 240v plug installed or not?
Thanks, I’ve learned much from my short time on this forum.
Ron

Ron – Converting to 220v can make a difference, primarily if the 110v circuit doesn’t function adequately…a very long run, has wire that’s too small, has other appliances running on it, or simply doesn’t supply sufficient amperage. 220v generally has less voltage loss and has better amp flow to meet the peak demands of startup and recovering from slow down. Since you’re having new electrical work done anyway, I’d definitely have a 220v line installed…it can be handy for larger motors, won’t hurt this one, and might just help.

Ron,
I agree with Scott…even if you do not make the saw a 220…as your just getting back into woodworking, you never know what your “Next” tool will be, I just ran 220 in my shop a few months ago…and now have four 220 tools.

-- Don S.E. OK

I’ll second Don, and Third Scott lol. running your tools on 220 will not save you on electricity bills, nor will give you more power. it WILL however run your electricity to your tools more efficiently with less spikes = more balanced load on the tools = less fatigue on your motors, and no need to worry about running to the breaker box to flip a fuse back on. if you’ve got someone coming in to do some electric work – it’s a good opportunity to get this done.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Many thanks for the input on this electrical question for my saw. BTW, I really do know that should have read 220v in my original post…
This is one great place to learn and avoid making some mistakes.
Ron

I believe 120v/240v are the more accurate and correct current terms. 110v/220v and 115v/230v are just very engrained and commonly used that we use them interchangeably….same/same.