R4511 RECALL NOTICE!!

Thanks!

just used it with a dado blade for the first time yesterday… YIKES! (but all went well)

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

I use it mostly every day ( most of the times with a dado blade) so yeap!! I’m calling tomorrow AM. Don’t want to take any chances… :)

-- Norwalk, CA 90650

OK,

The picture of a full staked Dado blade flying out of the table saw is definetively NOT an experience I would like to go through.

Please please any R4511 (manufactured on the recall dates) owners out there do not use your table saw with a Dado cutter, have your saw fixed so that you may continue to enjoy our hobby safely.

Thanks for the heads up

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

Anyone want to take a guess as to what country these are made :)

Yeah, this is some type of surprise?

Recalled by “One World Technologies.” LOL

I think the late, great Paul Harvey used to state “This IS NOT one world!”

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

I wonder if this is do to the lamination issue that someone reported last year. Basically the raw steel hand a fold in it when it was initially formed and broke on them.

Edit:
http://lumberjocks.com/Speednork/blog/7624

Steel city, but granite topped – so same factory.

I’m not an advocate to “country X” or anything, nor do I really care where something is made, as long as it does what I need it to do. I’m personally very pleased with this saw – regardless of where it was made. and for the record, you can write a book about recalls that were made to american made cars – and I live right here in the states … so this is not a flame war – just stating the facts. ‘made in america’ does not necessarily mean anything except for the location of manufacturing.

don’t judge a book by its cover.

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

Wow not good…but I have an older model…

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

I’m glad, it seems that my TS is not one of those on the Recall (manufacturing date CD0847)

Still I feel like I should call just to be 100% sure.

-- Norwalk, CA 90650

Thanks for the heads up. I know several people with this saw.

for the record, you can write a book about recalls that were made to american made cars

True, but there are on average 4 times as many recalls for Chinese produced products as American produced products.

If you want to compare recalls in cars you would need to figure out where the component that caused the recall was produced, or if it was a design failure.

I’m shocked we haven’t seen Steel City issuing a recall as well. Same plant, same parts

marcb – as I stated.. I wasn’t trying to start a flame war on who’s been recalled more, just stating a fact and reminding everyone that pointing fingers in today’s global economy doesn’t really do any good anymore. I agree with you that parts are made everywhere, and there’s more to it than just “made in XXX”. – no. I don’t want to compare anything…lol. (doesn’t do me any good, I got better things to do with my time and energy)

I totally agree with you that it’s alarming that I haven’t seen any recall statements from Steel City, which is actually the original MFG that had to deal with this very same issue before Ridgid even introduced their (same) saw. – which only brings back my reason for going with Ridgid and NOT getting a SC saw…

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

just checked on the Ridgid.com website where I have the saw registered – mine was also from the 47th week of production. phhhshew…

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

I called Ridgid today as mine was one on the recall list. They said there wasn’t a service center willing to come to my house, so I could take it there, all 450+ lbs. or take it back to the store for a refund.

Marcb,

I think the problem with the Ridgid is the same. Luckly my saw was made (CD0847) after the cuttoff date. And actually I feel better now reading that post about the the Steel City saw. I am feeling the manufacturing problem was corrected with the vendor before the cutoff date. I am kinda expecting there might also be a recall notice for the Steel City saw coming down the road.

Cato – I strongly suggest raising your voice with Ridgid. after all – they did put it in writing in the recall – FREE, HOUSE SERVICE! period. if anything – they, or HD should take responsibility and give you a replacement with them bringing you a new one to your place, and hauling the old one back. I know other’s were able to arrange for similar deal (although for different reasons). it is a shame that a generally good customer service be trashed like this because the affiliated service centers can only give limited service.

I would definitely try to go higher with Ridgid, and with HD simultaneously – after all, this is a RECALL, not even something that is user related, or part of the regular or Lifetime warranty. this is a SAFETY ISSUE. and you should press them with that point in mind!

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

I agree with Sharon you should press the issue with the appropriate people. Home service is not an option it is a requirement.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Thanks a lot, I just checked and I have one of the bad ones.

Sharon and Karson- Yes, agree with you both on this and is on the docket for today. Mulled it over last night as to a course of action here, as to whether dump the saw and replace for peace of mind, or get Ridgid and HD to replace or repair.

I do like the saw and it fits for what I do, so will pursue today.

On the Ridgid site, there were half a dozen other people that got the same story from Ridgid as I did yesterday, and I think their flimsy response is not going to cut it with those guys either.

Bob, I know at least a couple more that also have the issue, and same service blockade. it is important to press against Ridgid to take up the responsibility and go beyond their normal capabilities to get this thing taken care of and done with.

or people will get real pissed off, and all that Ridgid has worked for have a great deal of potential to go down the drain. I personally hope thats not going to be the case.

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

PurpLev- I should find out today whether I can get a repair scheduled. Talked to a different rep and there is a service guy in VA that is going out to make the in home repairs, but its a big state so we will see.
The rep told me yesterday the 1200 saws were in the recall, but that could be hearsay in their office.

If I can’t get the service call, then I’m going to call the HD manager where I bought the saw. I’ve heard several people have done that and HD is sending a truck to pick up their saw, but if they want a replacement they have to pay the difference in sale price. I think this whole recall deal has Ridgid scrambling and each day may bring a different response as they feel their way through it triage style!!

Well it looks like I will get to have a conversation with the RIDGID folks, (I have CD0837) I wonder if they would like to make a trip to my part of Virginia.

When calling RIDGID be sure to remind them the http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09311.html website clearly states: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled table saw and contact One
World Technologies to schedule a free on-site repair.

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

Thank for information … -_-”

-- http://www.mintpowertool.com

Timbo-Seems the standard answer in most cases from OWT is that the service center won’t come out for the repair. Quite a few have had their HD send a truck out to pick up their saw. I live 30 miles from the Danville HD where I got mine, so I’m not sure whether I will be able to arrange that or not.

Talked to the manager at HD where I got the saw. Nice guy, told me to come see him Mon- Tues. gave me his Blackberry number and said he would have his expediter call Ridgid get an RGA number over the phone, and then he would send a truck to get the saw and give me refund or exchange.

That’s fair enough to me, and as long as there is not a hassle over my sale price that I got vs. retail, then I will get the replacement if it is available.

I called Ridgid this morning, the story seems to be changing. They are sending an authorized repair guy from a lawn mower shop 130 miles from my home. Ridgid did confirm the repairs include setting the saw up afterward, I will confirm this with the repair guy when he calls to set up a time. I just hope they don’t think I will be taking a vacation day for repairs.

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

Timbo, glad someone is getting a repair in VA. They are still saying no on site repair for me, and I have to return the saw to HD. I have an appt. with the manager of the HD today and will see what we can work out.

I called my HD manager this a.m. before driving the 30 miles to see him. He is so on top of things. He told me I could come if I wanted but he had already ordered a new saw transferred in from anothe store and he would send it out on a truck as soon as it got there and pick up mine in a swap.

I thought about getting a refund and upgrading since I am going to have to assemble and tune again, but I haven’t needed a 3hp saw yet for my projects around the house and in the workshop so I think I’ll stay with the R4511 for now.

Now I just hope the new one is as good out of the box as the recalled unit, because it really only needed some minor tweaking. So cross my fingers.

Getting my HD manager involved in this was the best route for me to go, because the Ridgid people would just tell me I had to bring the 477lb. machine back to the store. HD took care of everything with one phone call, and are doing what’s right and fair.

Looks like I’ve gotta make a phone call too. My first R4511 was damaged and my HD manager was awesome in that he had someone pick up my old one and deliver a brand new one to my door. However, after having assembled this thing twice already the idea of getting another new one and assembling it for a third time makes me wanna…. well….. I’m not exactly sure but I know it’s not good…..

Stay tuned…..

hhmmmm, looks like they might be getting their act together at Ridgid.

After getting my information she asked, “I’m obligated to ask if would you be able to take it to the service center?” To which I replied “nope”. (Seriously, you think anybody is going to volunteer their backs to load up 475 pounds of saw?)

So, she put me on hold for about 20 minutes while she tried to find a company that would come out to my house and service my saw. After 20 minutes she came back, told me that this was going to take a long time to find, and said she would call me back by the end of the day.

Hopefully I’ll be able to report back with some good news.

dlux, that call back by the end of the day never happened for me, but I did get the extension number and direct line for each rep I talked to so to be able to call them directly. Messages left, and direct conversation on where and when will this happen got me nowhere. The call to my HD manager and the wand was waved for things to happen.
Course it’s not over till it’s over and that will be when the new saw is assembled and running satisfactorily on my workshop floor. But there seems to be a plan in motion to deliver me a new saw, so will wait on that for now.

I talked to the person that is going to do the repair on my saw, he is waiting for the parts and will call me to schedule the repair. I did however tell him I was expecting him to dial it back in when finished so he could bring the proper tools. So far so good….well except i’m just a little uneasy about the lawn mower repair shop part.

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

Timbo, where did you get your one piece rail for the front fence guide? I’ve never been crazy about my two piece that comes with the saw.

With all due respect…what exactly do you guys expect from this Chinese mung? You buy on the cheap and expect service like it’s an Altendorf sliding table saw! If they are able to provide the expense of said service/warranty, does that not then tell you what they actually spent to build the thing in the 1st place…considering what you paid for it ?

Human nature really sucks sometimes…..

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

Cato – I made it from a piece of 2” square tubing (1/8” wall) 72” long from a local metal shop, also had them bend a piece of angle (3/16”) to mount it on for more support. I sanded the tube down to bare metal masked it off, and painted it.

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

Fedsaw – well until I scratch together 20K I guess I’ll keep the saw but please be quiet about this. If Ridgid monitors this thread our little scam may me up!

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

Well it looks like the “fun” has begun for me, as I did not receive a call today. I guess I’ll call them tomorrow.

fedsawdave – not sure where you’re getting your info. so far Ridgid/HD have been taking care of each and every person with this problem, it just boils down to each personal case and the best way they can handle it – but everyone is getting this resolved one by one.

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

Purp, my point is that HD/Rigid have the warranty repair built in to this price AND again, what does a consumer expect from this stuff made in China? Italian quality? See dlux’s post above yours…the “did not receive a call” part. They are hoping that they can get buy on a certain % of consumers.

And yeah timbo, if iit doesn’t say binford YOUR scam is up! That right there somes it up…go buy Binford and then bitch when it turns out to be crap!

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

Fedsawdave- you’re probably right on target in your response to Purp on the warranty repair, on a relatively inexpensive table saw made in China. A marketing effort by TTI the OEM of the R4511 to offer an affordable alternative for the hobbyist that might not need or be able to justify the much higher price tag of a 3-5hp cabinet saw for occasional weekend use, which again would probably have manufacture origins in China or Taiwan.

So, in this global economy that exists where saws, cars, whatever have a mix of Chinese, German, U.S.A., etc. made parts what would you suggest for that occasional user that is not a professional and has a small workshop and a budget to answer to??

If an Altendorf sliding TS sits on the floor of your workshop, that’s great, but that’s a very sophisticated saw probably well out of the range of the most serious hobbyist or for most professionals for that matter.

Out of curiousity, what table saw do you have now? What will you buy when you have to replace it?

Dave – that is true, I don’t think it has anything to do with the origin of the product, as I see this business technique being practiced all over the map, in different markets – putting the word out there, and hoping for a certain % of customer to not even bother. That said – for a $600 saw (most of us got it at ~$450) I am getting all the performance I need. and for those customers that push to get their issue resolved – Ridgid/HD will find a solution, one way or another. (for the record – I am not on the recall %)

My point is – it seems that people like to bash products based on their country of origin, but at todays global market, companies are improving their quality, and with parts being mfg all over the world, even ‘made in the yyy’ does not necessarily mean that it’s of higher quality as the parts might be from country ‘zzz’.

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

Fedsawdave- I was just joking, don’t take it so hard, sorry to set you off like that.

I totally agree with Cato and Purplev the saw being a good fit for the hobbyist, I am satisfied with its performance still think it was a great buy, and it is perfectly reasonable to expect good service to repair this recall regardless of the country of origin. I also respect the decision of other woodworkers to purchase a different brand.

And I apologize in advance for this: I have not found another tool that even comes close to the quality of Binford tools.

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

HOme Depot only sold 3000 of these saws in 7 months? Somehow I was expecting more

-- Ed

My saw has a date code of CD0836 which is within the affected dates of manufacture for the recall. I called the hot line number and after giving my serial number and was told they would ship the part to the party responsible for the repair. After the part arrives at their shop they will call me to schedule an on site repair. I was also given the phone number and the name of the business doing the repair. It only took about three minutes to set up.
Not all r4511’s sold by the Home Depot are part of the recall. Only those with manufacturing date codes between CD0829 and CD0837.

authorized repair guy from a lawn mower shop

Somehow, that wouldn’t make me feel safe about repairs…

-- Router è ancora il mio nome.

Actually, from what others that have told me about the repair a lawnmower shop tech should have no problem.
Apparently they slide a 3/4 slug over the arbor and test the end of the shaft by tightening your blade nut with a torque wrench to a specified amt of Lbs. if it passes then its okay, if not and breaks then they have to replace by removing pulley and whatever from the other side. Shaft is removed using a gear puller and new one inserted. Thats just a brief synopsis of it from what I remember, but if anyone wants the exact procedure I could copy and paste as I may have some inaccuracies in my rendition of it here.

I found the post on the arbor test so here it is:

”My local service guy just left. He was very polite and efficient. This was his first R4511 recall job. One World Technology had sent him a “testing kit” which consists of instructions, a puck-shaped metal spacer about 2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch in thickness with a central hole so it can slide onto the arbor, a new arbor shaft nut, and a sticker that indicates the saw was tested.

I feel quite comfortable using the saw now. Since I don’t torque my saw blades to even 1/10 of what was tested, I don’t think I’ll have any problems. Back to using my saw .”

Here is a post from a guy who repaired his own used saw:

Here’s how it all went down.

You also get a nice little sticker to place above the data plate that says “Arbor Inspected”.

authorized repair guy from a lawn mower shop
Somehow, that wouldn’t make me feel safe about repairs…

Well if he says he sharpened and balanced the blade, and your saw is fitted with a grass catcher after he leaves you might want to start worrying…

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

Brad- Ha, you are right!! In my case no lawnmower repairman would come to my house so I have to get HD to pick up my recall and swap with a new machine.

Just thought I would give a quick update; The repair guy just left, my saw passed the test and did not need the arbor replaced ,Yay!

But Brad, he did say f I replaced the blade with a good mulching blade I would not need the grass catcher :)

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

HD delivered my replacement saw this afternoon, and took away the recalled one. Man I wish a repairman had come to test/fix the old one, so I wouldn’t have to go through the assembly again.

Though, I found as I started uncrating and sorting for assembly that most everything came back to me, and so far it has gone much much faster than first time. Saw is now resting on its back on a skid with plywood on it.

I did not take off the top this time, so now that the base and lift assembly is on I will get my neigbor to help me stand it up tomorrow. After its up it will be just adding wings, knobs, etc.

congrats guys! sounds like good news.

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

My new date code is 0915, and so far nothing has jumped out as a significant design change. There may be a few minor things somewhere as people tend to tinker for improvements sake, but I haven’t noticed anything yet.
Only thing I will do different this time is that now that I know how everything assembles, I will pay more attention to fine tuning alignments.

The way my TS situation was handled deserves some props.

First off, although RIDGID never called me back, they did find a shop who would do “house calls”. This particular shop called me on Monday to set up a time. So, props to RIDGID for coming through on their commitment. However, I know why it took them so long now….

When the repair shop called me, dude gave me his name and then told me where his shop is located, SAN ANTONIO. That might not seem like a big deal, but considering I live in Houston which is 200 miles away, I think it’s a pretty big deal. Not only did these guys drive down here this morning from San Antonio, but they were very knowledgeable and friendly. After talking with them for a while, I found that there was not one shop in Houston or Dallas who was certified in RIDGID repairs that were willing/able to do house calls. To find out that this shop has been doing business with RIDGID for many years. Because of their kindness I told them I’d throw their names out on the forum. So if you’re in Texas and you ever need any work done on your RIDGID tools check out
Texas Repair Center
11937 Perrin Beitel Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78217
210-657-7670

They said they have loved working with RIDGID all these years and were very surprised about this whole arbor situation. According to them they had never seen anything like this before.

Anyway, TS didn’t need anything done to it as it passed inspection. “Arbor Passed” sticker is on and I’m once again back in business. Loooooooove being able to share good news!

congrats! good to hear that. kudos to Ridgid service once again, and the shops that work with them.

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

I had to have my arbor replaced and the repair guy traveled 70 miles to get to Fargo and said he was headed to MPLS to replace arbors down there. That has to be 140 miles for him so anyone who gets it is too far to travel can not be that far from their repair guy.

The whole process took about an hour.

Never had the problem Cato had, although the lady did ask me if I could bring it to the repair shop when I explained weight of machine and size not fitting in my vehicle she came around quickly.

Jeff

-- Jeff, Fargo, ND

Hey guys -

I’m in The Woodlands, TX – same deal – same guys came out from San Antonio – GREATEST GUYS – wonderful job – I was thinking I may be done w/ Ridgid when they pulled out that “bring it back or get a new one” – then they had the San Antonio guys make the trip -

Thanks Ridgid – and Thanks Texas Repair Center !!!

Woodlander

-- "Government "help" to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off. " - Ayn Rand