# Rigid 4510, a Beginner's Perspective



## Craftsman70 (Jul 31, 2012)

Congrats on you new saw. I heavily compared that one with the Dewalt 744 and Bosch over the summer and like that tool a lot. I'd say the only con I saw was the tape-measure. That aside, I think that saw is a better value than the Dewalt or Bosch. In the end I bought a used contractor saw from CL and am questioning that decision this winter as I try to cram my tools in to the garage tight enough to get our cars in. As it stands, my contractor saw is buried until spring. If I'd gotten something more portable like you bought, I'd still be able to drag it out and use it during the weekends.


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## woodshaver (Mar 21, 2009)

Great review Brian, 
I have the older copy of this same saw. It does the job ok. I like it. I once had an old cast iron Craftsman belt drive table saw. I had to sell it during a move. I ended up with a 2 car garage for a work shop so I chose this saw for the same reason you did "space". It will do all I need it to do for now. But a belt drive is so much smoother and more solid and runs with much less noise. I have everything on wheels in my shop so if I have to get my truck in there I can shift everything to one side. 
Hope your new saw works well for many years to come!

Tony


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## TonyInGuam (Nov 1, 2012)

Brian, I have the same saw and I think it's great for the price. If you look in the manual you'll find that the riving knife has two settings. One is for the guards and such, this setting is much higher. The other setting is much lower and would require you to raise the blade up very high for the kickback paws to clear the material,which is probably where yours is set. Enjoy the saw, Tony


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

"2. Con - the instructions for assembling the folding cart SUCK. Big time. There is some small text, and one small exploded parts diagram, and even a guy like me with an engineering degree couldn't decode it. So I had to fall back and look at the picture on the box while gleaning what details I could from the instructions. " 
that's interesting…cause i believe my R4510 came fully assembled.


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## SamScavo (Jan 3, 2013)

Glad to hear you are having good a experience with the Ridgid…I just bought the comparable model from Porter-Cable I have only used it once and like it a lot. Their assembly instructions suck too.


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## ljhhontx (Jan 17, 2011)

I had one that I bought reconditioned and it was a real workhorse, it is one of the few portables that will take a regular dado blade set up. Sadly mine bit the dust a couple of years ago when I turned it on the commutator on the motor blew apart cracking the motor case and spitting out parts, looked for a replacement motor and they wanted as much for the motor as I had paid for the saw to begin with. All said though it paid for itself several times over. Good luck with yours.


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## Willeh (Dec 30, 2011)

I have the same saw and after over a year of heavy use, am very happy with it. Even the factory blade is decent. Mine came fully assembled tho..


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Universal motors are used on most bench top saws and miter saws. As a rule, they are much louder than induction motors. I just bought a 1960 vintage Delta radial arm saw (almost said "radio alarm saw," which I saw in a CL posting one time). It's the one with the swiveling turret for doing miters, which I always thought was an intriguing design. When I run it, I can hear nothing but the soft whistling of the blade, it's that smooth. I suspect the bearings are plain or sleeve bearings. Ball or needle bearings are of course much better, but they do rumble, even more so if they're getting a bit worn.
Anyhow, not trying to hijack your post. Congratulations on the new saw. I've never used the Ridgid, but I've had a Ryobi and a Craftsman. The Ryobi actually was a pretty good saw; the C'man a piece of junk. Both had universal motors.
What planer did you get?


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

I got the Dewalt 735 planer.

I'm jealous of those of you who got your saw completely assembled. Would have been another half our of cutting I could have done if mine came that way!!

-Brian


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## otindashop (Nov 13, 2012)

Brian:

I just got this saw a few months ago and…I totally agree with you on the "instructions" for the folding cart. Whereas the cart is a clever and sturdy design, it is a rascal of a shin bumper to assemble.

The saw is what it is all about and I love ours as it folds up nicely and stores everything perfectly on board it.

A good blade makes all the difference in any saw, so I got a couple of Freud's to boot.

Have fun with yours. I really like ours. It is a great value for the money.

Burt


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