R4511....second thoughts....am I being retarded

[George Farra]

All

To follow Paul's post below which I replied to adding all i've learned about this saw. I am in the buy now ask questions later camp with this saw.....I opted for home delivery scheduled for next weekend.

I am now having second thoughts simply because I jumped on the saw due to its price.

I currently have a Bosch 4100 which I bought last year for $550 :( and I knew I was buying a compromise but I needed portability at the time and I wanted a riving knife...so far the saw has done everything I've asked it to do. I planned on upgrading later on, after buying a bandsaw first, either a hybrid or cabinet style saw.

I never had the Ridgid saw on my personal buy list. At some point I was planning on upgrading to either the CMan zipcode, SC zipcode cousin, Grizzly, Delta, or Jet.....when thier hybrids became available with riving knives.

These are all 1.75-2hp saws, the Ridgid is a 1.5hp.....would 1/4hp even make a difference???? 1/2hp should though...right?

I know I'm going to upgrade the fence to a Delta T2 which will add to my deal. I will also have to purchase a low profile knife from either SC or the dude that sells the shark guards. I estimate all in I'll be at $550 for a solid 1.5hp saw.

My wife has pretty much given my the green light to spend more, if that would make me happy, but I would limit my own budget to $1,000.

I am inclined to walk away from the Ridgid, spend the money on a bandsaw instead and take my chance that I'll find one of the saws above in a year from now at (or hopefully under) my $1,000 budget.

What would you do? Am I crazy for walking away?

HELP!

George

[Jim O'Dell]

That's a tough one! My inclination would be to get the bandsaw now since you have a table saw that you say works fine for you for now. I'm not sure the Ridgid would be that big of a step up from what you have now, even though it is a nice saw, and really nice for the price it's being offered at. But you could resell in a year for what you paid for it pretty easily.
I guess the big question to ask is what projects do you have coming up? Which would help you better with those, a bandsaw, or the Ridgid table saw? That is what I would try to base my decision on. Jim.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi George, in my opinion, it seems like you've decided to keep wood working as a hobby, as you're making long term plans.

I had a contractor saw (which is what the Ridgid really is), then I replaced it with a General 650 cabinet saw, which is now being replaced with a Hammer B3 Winner.

See a pattern developing?

If you are OK with your present saw, stick with it a bit, then get something really nice.

I gave up on the NA style saws because of their shortcomings, and went with a Euro slider.

Buy a band saw, get some use out of it while you consider what sort of table saw you want, and save up some money for it.

So I guess my advice is to return the saw, do some more research and saving, and get something really nice. That way you can save some of the money by not doing the serial upgrade process.

Regards, Rod.

[scott spencer]

George - At $300, I don't think there's much financial downside to the R4511. It should sell pretty easily near that price if you decide not to keep it. I'd give it a shot, then you can make an informed decision. I suspect you'll find the two saws night and day, but YMMV. A decent hybrid could be a saw that you won't outgrow. If you do decide to keep the R4511, do you plan to sell the Bosch? (sold Bosch = new BS, which really nets you two new tools! :))

I really doubt you'll notice much difference between motor power of the various saws you mentioned. Good alignment and good blade selection can make a huge difference in the performance. Selling the stock fence from the R4511 should recoup some cash even if it's only $75, but honestly, I'd give the stock fence a shot before investing in the T2....you might just find that you're happy with it.

Good luck!

[George Farra]

Thanks Guys, I'm keeping the Bosch so it doesn't really net me out on costs and gain me 2 new tools....would would be REALLY cool!

I was thinking about setting up the Ridgid and see what it can do. But I'm in a basement shop and I'd have to take it down in parts, set it up, and do a reverse commute up the stairs if I don't want to keep it.

So thus I thought the hassle may not be worth it and stay focused on the bandsaw.

My projects for this year are a few plant stands, a hallway table, jewelery box. The last and probably biggest is a coffee table for the family room. I think the Bosch can handle all of these and the bandsaw can fill in some gaps regarding cutting joinery, curves, etc.

thoughts?

George

[Jerome Hanby]

You could get up very early, assemble and play with it in the drive way and then break it back down for the basement if you like it or return if you don't...


Thanks Guys, I'm keeping the Bosch so it doesn't really net me out on costs and gain me 2 new tools....would would be REALLY cool!

I was thinking about setting up the Ridgid and see what it can do. But I'm in a basement shop and I'd have to take it down in parts, set it up, and do a reverse commute up the stairs if I don't want to keep it.

So thus I thought the hassle may not be worth it and stay focused on the bandsaw.

My projects for this year are a few plant stands, a hallway table, jewelery box. The last and probably biggest is a coffee table for the family room. I think the Bosch can handle all of these and the bandsaw can fill in some gaps regarding cutting joinery, curves, etc.

thoughts?

George

[Bob Haskett]

I don't know what kind of work you do, but I know my woodworking would have to get A LOT more serious before I think I could warrant any more saw than I have now (Ridgid R4511). It is a lot of saw for the 299. Heck it is a lot of saw for $500. I fully suggest you set it up and give it a run.

[Terry Welty]

I'm guessing if you haven't got the saw loaded up in your truck, you're probably too late... I bought one over a month ago and I had to go to 3 home depots to find one... Now that they're marked down to $299, they're being sopped up like gravy... In my opinion, it's a great saw...

[Rick Moyer]

I don't know anything about the table saws in question, but; if you're ok with your current saw and don't have any bandsaw, I would say get a bandsaw. I also agree with Jim O'Dell re: it depends on what work you intend to do, but the bandsaw will give you more options.

[Adam Shapiro]

If you're being retarded, than at least we're doing it together, I'm keeping my 4100 as well. I literally stood in HD for 45 minutes staring at the 4511, thinking about how I'd carry that beast into my basement. In the end, it was mostly a space consideration. The Bosch I can move outside when I need more ripping space, the 4511 isn't getting moved anywhere. The only time I've ever had a power issue with the Bosch was resawing a bit of 3" cherry, and it even managed that given enough time and some cleanup on the planer. My biggest complaint has been the short table for crosscuts, and I think a building a sled my be a better investment than a new saw.

Of course, the new PC router, new Ridgid 4 pc combo, new HPLV sprayer, new Festool saw and rails, and 2 new clamp sets all in the last 2 months also played a part in the decision to not spend the money right now. Especially since I need a new drill press.....

[George Farra]

Guys,

Thank you for all the input. I'm still on the fence, but the saw is already paid for and its mine. I opted for home delivery since I couldn't get it home with my car......so before they deliver it, I BETTER MAKE UP MY MIND!!!!

I'm just constantly going back and forth since I has a TS (even though this is a lot more saw than my Bosch) and would like to add a bandsaw

TIA

George

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I'll chime in. I started hacking wood about 2 years ago. My first purchase was a table saw. My choices were the Bosch vs. the Ridgid portable contractor saws. I ended up buying a used Ridgid and used it for 2 years. I think the Bosch and the Ridgid are comparable portable contractor saws. I recently bought the R4511 to upgrade. The R4511 is a vastly superior to the portable contractor Ridgid. To name a few things: the R4511 is heavier, larger and flat table, more power, more space before the blade, has riving knife (I made one to replace the factory), quieter, and comes with a lifetime warranty. I got mine for a little below MSRP and thought that was cheap. At $299, the steep discount seems almost a crime against the company that makes it. In short, I would buy the saw again, at retail, if I can turn back time.

One thing, try not to remove the main table section from the cabinet. I did in order to assemble the saw and had a bit of alignment trouble afterward.

My $0.02.

[Scott Gibbons]

I started looking for a new table saw this week, and accidentally stumbed upon this thread. As soon as I read this I started calling of the home depots in SE michigan. After about 1 hour of calling around I found out they 3 in Southfield. They held it for me and I hauld butt to get there. It is now proudly in my garage awaiting final assembly. Man this thing is HEAVY

Thank you for the heads up!!!!!

[Rich Engelhardt]

As the owner of two table saws allow me to put in my $.02.
I have a portable, not up to the level of the Bosch but, it does what I need it to do - it's a Hitachi job site.
I also have a Ridgid TS3660.

If room allows, I'd say go for it and let them deliver it.

Having two table saws can be a real time saver.

Set one up for ripping and the other for dados or cross cutting.

Until you've had the pleasure of going to a tool, already setup for the task at hand, it's not something you'd think would be that big of a deal.

For $299 - that's a heck of a lot of saw.
If I had the money to spare, I believe I'd give it a lot of long hard thought myself - despite already having two saws.

It really is that much of a time saver!

[glenn bradley]

I had a contractor saw (which is what the Ridgid really is),

I hadn't really checked this saw out but is the motor really a pivot mount that hangs on rods? I guess I assumed it was mounted to the trunnion carriage and the trunnions were cabinet mounted(?). Just curious as there has been so much discussion on this saw lately ;-)

[Greg Peterson]

This saw is a poor mans cabinet saw and has little, if any thing in common with a contractor saw.

It may look like a contractor saw upon first glance, but with a fully enclosed cabinet and cabinet mounted trunnions, it is definitely not like your fathers contractor saw.

The riving knife and DC alone make this saw a keeper. I have a Dylos particulate counter in my shop and I can say that the DC on this saw works just fine. I would have ended up spending a couple hundred dollars just trying to get my old CMan saw dust collection under control.

It is an absolute pleasure to be able to stay in the shop after cutting boards. Who would have thought it could be this nice?

If DC is a concern, the R4511 should be a serious consideration.

[scott spencer]

I hadn't really checked this saw out but is the motor really a pivot mount that hangs on rods? I guess I assumed it was mounted to the trunnion carriage and the trunnions were cabinet mounted(?). Just curious as there has been so much discussion on this saw lately ;-)

Here's a peek inside the R4511 Glenn:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/r4511topview.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/R4511Trunion.jpg

[Hugh Jardon]

It's a hybrid 3/4 cabinet saw, not a contractor saw.

I have a RIDGID TS3660, which is definitely a contractor saw. I bought it when it was clearanced out at $399 (with HD discount=$282), at the time the $599 R4511 came in.

I then decided to get the R4511 when it dropped to $499 (with rebate=$399), and sell the 3660 to part finance it. Having assembled the saws, I decided to keep the contractor saw for reasons stated above, and it now is a dado saw.

The 4511 is a beast of a saw for $299. You simply cannot go wrong at that price. Sure, the fence rails are not great, but that's really the only criticism I can level at it for the price. On the positive side, it weighs nearly 500lb, has a cabinet, built in herc-U-lift, table will never rust, has a riving knife, real t-tracks, yadda yadda. For $299, it is a steal.

Last week I went out looking for the $199 jointer and failed to find one, but came home with a second R4511. I was still in my 90 day satisfaction period on the first R4511 and got $200 back. So the second one was net $99. It will live in my garage for breaking down sheet goods before taking them down to the basement. 3/4 plywood is just too heavy to take a whole sheet down comfortably. For $99, I have a Rolls-Royce solution to that problem.

So, from someone who has 3 RIDGID table saws, that together cost $780, or an average of $260 each, I would say keep it. You can always sell it on if you find you need the money or space. You may lose or gain $50-$100, but I would think you'll be keeping it once you play with it.

[George Farra]

Rich

I've thought of that as well......since I'm keeping the Bosch, I can always keep it set up for a specific task, or secondary cut rather than having to change set ups.

I have no idea why I'm on the fence with this. At $299, it costs less than some cordless tools!!

[glenn bradley]

Here's a peek inside the R4511 Glenn:

Thanks Scott. That's what I thought was going on under the hood but, I have been wrong before:rolleyes:. This configuration certainly avoids the usual problems of a contractor. Other than some comments on the split fence (that also plagued the 22114 IIRC), folks seem to really like this one at the price. This will be a completely different experience than the job-site saw.