# Ridgid R4512 Table Saw -- Full Review



## stevenhsieh

Looks like a decent made saw.
I wanted to see it in my local store, but they dont have it yet.


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## khamm

That looks like a much better fence than came on my R4511, which I have since replaced. Nice review

Keith H


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## Routerisstillmyname

Good review.Too bad they didn't stick with cabinet-mounted trunnions.


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## jeffski1

thx for the review.i just purchased this saw last week.looking forward to assembling it this week.this is my first TS.
Jeff


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## DMIHOMECENTER

I am liking mine so far. I agree with your review in every aspect. I will only add that the lift mechanism is smooth going up but kind of dumps going down. I am about to epoxy my floors, so can't help but wonder what it will do to the epoxy the first and twentieth time I set it down with a bang.

Good job.


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## Buttpiratew

I got this saw back in october. when it first became available online. I love it.


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## adrocker

I bought this saw about two months ago, and this review is dead on. Even the assembly and truing times. I also have a small awkward basement workshop. This saw fits my needs perfectly.


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## Moby

I am looking for a new table saw and I have a few questions. First, how is the dust collection on your? And, what horsepower is this saw?


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## devann

Lets see, Ridgid sent you a saw to review and post on your blog and here. Did you hear that Festool? Need a domino joiner review?


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## DMIHOMECENTER

Dust collection is great. It's like a funnel to the bottom center 4" hookup. Shop vac now until I can get the HF installed and going. And not even using a zero clearance insert yet. Tonight was the first time I actually ran some project wood through it. This thing is really quiet, too.

FWIW… I ripped 10 2×6 8 footer down the middle to make 20 2×3's plus ripped 3 4×8 3/4 birch 7-ply in half lengthwise this afternoon. Like butter, I tell you. Ran them in halfway and went around to pull them through. A piece of cake ! A couple of the 2×6's were really knotty and dense like fat lighter. They went through as easy as the rest. I never touched a tape measure. Just dialed in the distance on the fence scale and went to it.

I am liking this saw.


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## edavisj316

I am looking for a new table saw also. This saw looks very much like the Craftsman 21833 contractor saw which has received such bad reviews. Looks like people are much happier with this saw.

Can anyone confirm that the alignment issues that are present with the Craftsman are not an issue with this saw?

Thanks

Ed<><


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## USNA91

Can't confirm anything on alignment, as I am in the shopping/backordering process (high demand item through Home Depot).

What I can confirm is that I spoke to the Bench Dog folks yesterday and they confirmed that their cast-iron router table extension wing mount is compatible with the R4512 table saw. This is not even close to the primary reason I am going with this saw (the table saw reviews on this website are), but it was a tiebreaker to provide a solid table and save space in a garage that will not be a dedicated shop (I still need to park cars and do other work in there, like auto maintenance and rigging lines for sailing).
The Bench Dog rep stated that despite the motor protrusion on the left side of the table saw, that a router mounted to the extension wing will clear the table saw motor cowling.

The two LJ reviews for the Bench Dog table extension can be found here.
Note that there are multiple mount plate choices for the router table, so ensure you select the correct mounting plate for your router.

-Matthew


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## WaywardHoosier

I appreciate the Table Saw reviews from those that own the saw. My main concern is allignment and that seems to be answered here as not an issue.

For a hobbyist and on a budget, the comments help with making my decison which I think will be the Ridgid R4512.

I just want square cuts….


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## Rick_Boyett

Isn't this basically the same saw as the Craftsman 218330? I ask because the reviews of that saw have been very mixed on Lumberjocks.

Frankly I consider this saw to be a step backwards from the R4511, mainly due to Ridgid going back to table mounted trunnions as opposed to cabinet mounted ones from the R4511. I'm also not a fan of stamped steel wings. The 4511's granite surface wasn't perfect but I do think it is superior to stamped steel.

I think folks would be better served spending a little extra cash and getting the Grizzly G0715P hybrid.


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## Routerisstillmyname

Grizzly G0715P is also not a true Hybrid since it does not have cabinet-mounted trunnions.
These days, just because a saw has motor mounted inside and therefor dust collection, it's called a hybrid which is a total falsification and deceptive.


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## crank49

This is exactly the same as the Sears Craftsman 21833, except the paint color and the warranty. I've had the Sears saw for almost a year and I like it more every day. Don't know why anyone gave it a bad review other than some folks just like to pick on Sears products.. I always reported satisfaction with mine. *And nobody sent me one to review.*

There was one little trick about setting the blade to be parallel with the miter slot. Don't try it with the blade in the highest position. With the blade all the way up the mechinism binds the trunnions where you can't get the full range of adjustment. Once I figured this out I got my alignment dead on and it has stayed that way.

Anyone know what the Ridgid sells for? I paid $409 for the Craftsman.


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## dpark

@crank49, you got an awesome deal on your saw if you paid $409. It currently lists for $549. The r4512 lists for the same.

I've got the r4512, and I agree it's almost an exact clone of the Craftsman. I've been very happy with mine so far. I've got the blade aligned to the miter slots within about .001" last I checked, and maybe .002" on the fence vs the miter slot.

My biggest complaint so far is that the fence doesn't self-align when locking down. It has some play, and simply sliding and then locking can result in it being slightly angled. Pressing on the front of the fence (pushing it into the table), works around the issue and gives reliable alignment, but I feel this shouldn't be necessary. The fence itself also has about .002" of concavity on the left side (haven't checked the right side). I don't know if that's considered excessive for a fence or not. I've thought about putting an auxiliary fence on, but I'm not sure I'd be able to get it any straighter.


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## WaywardHoosier

Home Depot sells in store for $499. If Craftsman 218330 would match the price I would buy it.

I am not interested in previous models being better, I cannot buy them since they are discontinued and my Craigs List sells junk and no one offers Ridgid R4511's in new shape in the listing. It is a not a moot point to me.

I am on a budget and if I can get a nice saw for $500 or less AND can make payments over 6 monthes that is very attractive. The Grizzly G0715P costs $785 AND I have to get it into my basement.

Not doubting that other preferred saws are a good buy but some woodworkers are at different levels of need. That is why I like the reviews from people that use this saw.

I use a radial arm saw now, I can live wiht .002" of concavity. I do not have an instrument that goes to .001 accuracy and traceable.


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## dpark

@WaywardHoosier, the various HD stores must carry have different list prices. It was listed for $549 at my local one about a week ago. At $499, I think it's a good price. (I think it's not bad at $549.) You might consider asking if they can lower it further (they knocked $50 off mine because they wanted to get them out of overhead), or consider signing up for HD's email, and telling them you just moved. I got a 10% off coupon that way.

I agree that the comparison to previous models is pretty pointless. I can't buy a new r4511. I can't even find one used. I compared the r4512 to its current competition, and it seemed that my choices were basically to buy the virtually-identical Craftsman, the Porter-Cable PCB270TS, or something at a much higher price point. I didn't and still don't need an $800 tablesaw. I need an affordable table saw with a mobile base that will do the job. The r4512 fits that bill for me.

By the way, you might want to consider buying a cheap dial indicator for alignment. Harbor Freight has one for about $15. I picked up one on Amazon for $13 (now listed for $24, though). It makes it much easier to align the saw, and lets you measure those .001" differences.


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## WaywardHoosier

Yes, I was surprised by the $499 price since the Home Depot website price is $549. I will look int othe 10% off discount.

A fellow worker and quite the Craftsman has the Porter Cable PCB270TS and he is very pleased with it.

I will also look into the .001 accuracy gauges.


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## crank49

I got the Craftsman 21833 last year when Sears had it on sale for Father's Day. It was $409 and with Tennessee sales tax it came to very close to $449. The full retail price at that time was listed as $599. I did not buy the extended warranty or pay for any shipping. I picked it up at the store in a big HEAVY box which they had two guys bring to my pickup truck and they loaded it in the bed for me. I have not seen this saw on sale for less than $499 since I got mine, but they do often have it on sale.

As far as Home Depot having the Ridgid saw on sale for $499, I do believe Sears has a sale price matching policy, but not sure how that could be applied for a Craftsman tool that is the same as a Ridgid tool.


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## dpark

Is there any particular reason to prefer Craftsman vs Home Depot and worry about price matching and such? They're so similar that I'd recommend just getting the cheaper of the two. If you find them at the same price, you can pick your favorite color.


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## Furnitude

dpark, I can't tell you what the difference is between the actual saws. I looked at a floor model of the Craftsman version and it looked the same to me as far as features and finish. But beyond the price difference, the other factor is the warranty. Ridgid's is lifetime whereas the Sears warranty is one year. It depends on how much that is worth to you.


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## V1king

I bought the Craftsman 21833 a few weeks ago at the "Friends and Family" sale, for about $500. HD had the Ridged on sale at the time for the same price-- I suppose I could have tried for an extra 10% off at HD but the Craftsman was the one I wanted. 
This Craftsman is my second TS, and I couldn't be happier with it!
Just from reading specs, looks like the Ridgid has a smaller motor. Ridgid motor is listed at 13 amps at 120V only, the Craftsman is 15 amps at 120V and can be converted to at 240V.
Do you know if the motors are different, or do they just rate them differently?


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## dpark

@Furnitude/Mitch, I wasn't really asking for specific differences, though there are a few minor ones that some might consider important (e.g. the riving knife lock is also different). I was (slightly sarcastically) addressing the comments about getting one price matched and such. I'm not sure there's enough difference to worry about. The big stuff (mobile base, fence, stamped steel extensions, etc.) seem nearly identical. Thanks for pointing out the warranty, though. That is a potential factor for some people.

@V1king, thanks for pointing out the difference in the motor. I hadn't realized that the motor was different. I believe that the Ridgid can be rewired for 220/240, but I'm not certain. I'll try to find the manual tomorrow and confirm. If one is rated at 13 amp and the other is 15 amp, then they are probably different motors. I can't find a horsepower rating for the Ridgid online, though.


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## Woodworker51

I have had the Ridgid saw for about two months & am very happy with it.An advantage over the Sears might be the Ridgid lifetime warranty. It went together pretty easily, I had a couple of questions & called their tech services who were very helpful. I brought a Harbor Freight 20% coupon and asked for the manager who wouldn't give me 20% but did give me a 10% discount so it would probably pay to ask for the manager. I paid $450 for it after the discount.


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## SoCalDJ

I too grabbed this saw. A really nice investment in my opinion. I'm working out of my garage, but when I'm done I have to move everything back into the corner so we can park cars  !

The price/preformance/portability of this saw is what really sold me.

To my understanding it's the exact same as the craftsman mentioned, EXCEPT the warranty. Again the biggest thing that sold me as well.

This saw is basically brand new, and I have yet to be able to find replacement parts on Ridgid's parts website yet!

Setup did take a while, but you can fine tune accuracy to be precise, the exception being if the fence is bowed, then you'd have to ask Ridgid for a replacement or just buy an aftermarket one.

A couple of problems I've noticed are with a dado stack, there's a locking bar for the riving knife/splitter the comes in towards the blade arbor and if you have an 8" dado stack you won't be able to lock in the riving knife. The other issue has been finding a zero tolerance insert, I gave up looking and just bought some UHMC plastic from Amazon and plan to make my own. You could probably make an auxiliary fence in the same way if the original came bowed.

Overall though, great saw, at a great price, with a great warranty.


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## jerkylips

Hello everyone! Just signed up, looking at this saw at HD right now..

I have a question & a comment… I was told by someone at a local shop that if I'm keeping the saw in my unheated garage (I live in WI) that I may want to avoid cast iron tops due to rust issues. I've read that waxing the top with car wax helps to prevent this, but I'm not sure how much of an issue it is..

I'm a homeowner that likes to "tinker", projects around the house, attempts at making things, etc. I was originally looking at the small benchtop saws, but it seems like there are a lot of drawbacks to those. Not that I want to spend more money than necessary, but if I can get something twice as good for an extra hundred or so, it seems to make sense..

On to my comment -

Home Depot accepts competitors' coupons. Every week Harbor Freight has a 20% any single item coupon in their ad. I've used this numerous times at HD over the past year or two. Last time I used it to get 20% a Werner ladder. The main reason I'm looking at the Ridgid is because I should be able to get an extra 20% off since Harbor Frieght does sell table saws..


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## DMIHOMECENTER

Yes, you can wax cast iron top(s). I use Mother's Pure Carnauba Wax.

I had a bit of very light surface rust starting at a couple of hand prints before I could get a wax job on my almost new R4512. My fault for neglecting it after use. I got the Emerson Top Saver System and it was/is great. There's enough product in the kit to last me indefinitely. My garage shop is not heated or cooled.


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## jhschult

If someones hasen't said this already.

You can adjust the front rail measurement lines by installing the front rail, keeping the bolts finger tight, and placing the fence on the rail against the blade and sliding the rail (the bolts are in channels) to align the 0" measurement line with the fence marker.

John


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## jhschult

Plus, Home Depot now has a 10% off if you use, ior sign up for a new HD credit card. $50 off isn't too shabby!

John


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## DMIHOMECENTER

Two more months have gone by and I still like this saw very much. ZCI added a couple of months ago. Had to tighten the belt. That's it. Highly recommend.


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## thedude50

i have checked out this saw and refused to review it as it had serious issues with blade alignment and needs to be reworked in this review i saw a list of features that was dead on i did not hear mention of the blade not aligning with the miter slots and that under heavy use the saw goes out of adjustment i have loved other ridgid tools in the past this is unfortunately a saw that i do not recommend instead of this saw i recommend the entry level jet saw Jet JPS-10: 10 In. it is a bit more money but is a much better saw


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## slickSqueegie

a table saw is not meant to roll around! unless you have a job-site saw.The lift system I feel is there for you when you need to move it out of the way every once in a while. I do not think any table saw should be moved around all the time!


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## PaulHWood

Any help on the belt tensioning. My biggest complaint is that the manual is about useless. The diagrams show nothing, and access seems limited when trying to tension the belt


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## Cleveland

did you have to ream out the screw holes in the throat plate? then have to shim the throat plate up so it would plane with the surface?


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## cjhughson

One thing that surprised me more than anything about this saw is that, with all its features and solid construction, there are no leveling feet. I have a less-than-flat basement floor, and after spending $500 on a new saw, I've gotta shim one leg with a wedge. Other than that, though, the saw is great.


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## thelt

I either missed it or you didn't comment about the misalignment issue some people experienced when raising/lowering the blade and/or locking it in. Have you experienced any issues like this? Here is a short video as to what I'm talking about,

If anyone else would like to chime in, feel free.

I am seriously considering buying this saw mainly because of all the features and the lifetime warranty.


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## Furnitude

I haven't experienced that issue. Mine travels up and down fairly smoothly. It's hard to see in the video where the mark is when the blade is in the lowered position. But let's say it's exactly at .000. If it moves by .015, that translates (I think) to about 1/64 of an inch. I'd be interested to know what angle that comes to-how many degrees off from 90. Practically speaking, I'm not sure how that would affect the use of the saw because you'd be adjusting the blade to square when it's raised. I'll have to think about that. I will say it's hard to expect perfection from a discount-price saw, but it's up to you about what tolerances are acceptable. Like I said, i haven't had that issue. If I had, I probably would have seen if I could adjust the blade until I got square cuts consistently. If you could get consistently square cuts, you might not have a problem in the first place.

I've had my saw for about 3 or 4 years now and it's holding up well. A couple areas of complaint are the fence, which isn't 90 degrees to the table, and I'm having trouble with the lever that secures the riving knife. I probably just need to clean it off. With the fence, I'll admit I've used it as a planing stop, which wasn't smart. It is aluminum, after all. Otherwise, it works well for me.


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## dumbo

Furnitude ; I read your review for the R4512 but I was a little surprised at your comment about the blade that came with the saw. That blade is only good for rough cut like cutting 2X4s then you said you got a very expensive Forrest blade but didn't say how many teeth on it. What really amazed me is that you didn't already have an assortment of blades designed for whatever you are going to cut. Like 80 tooth for 1/4" material up to 40 tooth non combo for 3" material. Cutting wood is the same as cutting metal.
Now! I can hear ever one out laughing after I tell you all about the best blades I have ever found and now only use. My table saw is tweeked blade to fence with a feeler gage so it cuts true. About four years ago I found a 10" C2 carbide 60 tooth blade on sale for $19.99 and decide to test it out. I now have 40,60 and 80 tooth blades from this same place for my table saw and radial arm saw. I cut only hardwoods and some exotics and I am still using that first blade I bought. I strait edge a board on the jointer then cut the opposite edge and there no cut marks of any kind. These blades have a 1/8" kerf so fence setup is simple. NOW where do I get these blades?
HARBOR FRIEGHT


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## ChipSawdust

New guy here with this saw; I read the LJ reviews and many others before buying the saw.

I had a DeWalt portable before this, and loved the rack and pinion fence; super accurate for a little saw like that. But I need a better setup for the shop (which is the front of my 2 car gar).

Bottom line: I love this saw! I imagine keeping it forever unless I win the lottery and can afford (1) a brand-new Corvette and (2) a whole new building for my shop.

I cut lots and lots of quartersawn white oak. It's never let me down, just sails through it. One long 8/8 board pinched after about 6 feet of ripping but the saw didn't stop; it just let me know that board was pinching like mad.

I never use stock sawblades… I already had some Freud blades and why put anything less on your saw? Mine are thin kerf; were I to buy a 1/8 kerf it would be a WWII blade for sure.

Thinking about putting an Incra LS-TS fence system on this saw, as the stock fence is-meh. It works as long as I always use my tape. I am a hobbyist, but I still like to get things done quickly. A friend has the Vega system and he swears by it, so I'm a little on the "fence" about the Incra still.

Anyway, you've just read my first post on this forum.


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## PaulHWood

I got a used delta fence and it is night and day from the original.


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## TheFalconJetDriver

I own the R4512 I replaced the stamped steel wings with white Formica over top of two layers of 3/4 MDF.
With 3/4 inch pine as a frame this is very solid and it has been on the TS for the last 3 years. I have full length wings made this way on both sides of the saw and the lift mechanism lifts the saw with this additional weight.
I found that my first fence had thirty thousands bow in the Aluminum extrusion. I contacted Ridged and they sent me a new fence that arrived damaged due to poor packaging. I also had an issue with the miter gauge the plastic nut broke. So on the third shipment the fence and miter gauge arrived with no damage. This fence was parallel.
I was able to get the trunnion aligned with the miter slot dead on with lots of work ( I am a former CNC machine installer) I used a master plate milled to 3/100,000 over 10 inches this plate mounts to the arbor.using a dial indicator 
0-.0001 the master plate is now parallel to miter slot. In The vertical plane the master plate did move 5 thousands to the left when the blade was raised to the limit but came back to zero when cranked back down about 1/8 inch.
It is not perfect but what do you expect for $500.00 and I coming from a trash can table saw, a circular saw mounted to OSB sitting in a trash can. Before that I had A Delta Unisaw. Yes it was a divorce involved.


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