Disappointed with my new Ridgid R4511 TS rails

[Randall Clark]

I bought a new granite top Ridgid for the great price that some were getting 6-8 months ago. However, I am unhappy with the rails. Each rail (front and back) is a two piece section, and the joint is not smooth. I read somewhwere where some guys were buying angle iron and making new rails. I don't know that I have access to that kind of solution. What are my other options? Is there an affordable after-market rail system that will fit my R4511 and its fence?

[Don Alexander]

well ,this might not be a popular opinion, but if it was me and there were problems like that with the saw i would insist that they either fix it so its right or refund my money.

there is no way i would be spending either time or money fixing a brand new saw; no excuse for a brand new saw having major flaws IMO

[Greg Cuetara]

i picked up the same saw and tried to install the fence system and in my opinion it is a piece of junk. I bought another fence for my old saw and i just slapped that onto it and kept going. My suggestion is to go look for an aftermarket fence system.

You can modify any fence system to fit any saw....it might take a little bit of work to get the bolt patterns to match up but no problems.

If you really want to use that fence system one option would be to find a tube the same size that you currently have but in one piece rather than 2 pieces. You probably can go to any misc. metal shop and they can cut a piece for you then you can drill and tap whatever holes you need to match the support system.

Greg

[Adam Strong]

I have had this saw for over a year using the stock set up. If you spend a little time and do some adjusting it will work just fine. Sure I would like an upgraded fence with one piece rails, but the stocker works just fine until I really get the itch to upgrade. I use this saw quite often and it never causes any accuracy problems. Honestly, for the price of the saw, you cannot expect it to come with a $300 professional fence. :rolleyes:

[Chris Harry]

I think you can make just about any aftermarket fence fit. The biggest "issue" would be making sure the holes in the rail holders line up with the holes in the granite top and wings.

I actually built my own one piece setup out of common steel. Its amazing how many local steel places you can find if you just start calling around. I called a few commercial places, explained what I needed and ended up at a place thats about 8 miles from me that will sell in small quantities. All in all I think the materials were about 100 bux, so weigh that vs getting an aftermarket system (like a Bies, Bies clone, Incra, etc).

Unfortunately right after I finished my one piece setup a decent deal for an Incra ts setup came up on CL. I had to drive a little to get it, but that went on in place of my DIY one piece setup. The incra doesnt have as much rip capacity as the setup I built, but it hasnt hurt me yet.

[Mike Green]

Check out the Ridgid forum http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/index.php several people have added aftermarket fences (Delta T2, Biesemeyer, Jet etc) to the R4511.