New Laminate Trimmer

[Matt Meiser]

I decided to take back the Dewalt Laminate trimmer rather than spend time fabricating a new base. After Lowes, I headed over to Home Depot to see what they had. They just go a new Ridgid model that seems pretty impressive. For $99, you get the trimmer, two different edge guides, and a bit. It is also variable speed (but only 20,000 to 30,000 RPM) and has a 6A motor. Design wise, it is similar to a "real" router in that the motor fits inside the base. Looks like a much better design than the Dewalt and PC 3710. It also looks like it will take PC style guid bushings, but I haven't been out to try one yet.

Mandatory picture below...

[Scott Coffelt]

Can you provide me with more details on the other bases and how they compare to what you get from PC and DeWalt? The one thing I have looked at is the offseting base and how close can you get to the edge. Will it accept a PC bushing? for micro routig on the Leigh jig.

[Mark Hulette]

Matt-

Hmmm. Now you've done it. I got a HD gift card for Christmas that could be put to good use for that little guy!!

I'll be interested to hear an initial review after you have an opportunity to try it out.

Does Ridgid still have the lifetime warranty? Haven't heard anything about it lately...

Congrats on the new tool!

[Matt Meiser]

It just has the one base, but has two edge guide attachments. One is similar to the one that came with the Dewalt, with a bearing that guides it. The other is similar to the Porter Cable edge guide I have for my PC 690, but without any micro adjust feature.

I just took it out to the shop to try it out. Yes, the base does take PC bushings, but at least on mine it is off-center. This could probably be fixed by drilling out the sub-base mounting screw holes and moving the base over slightly. The sub-base is clear plastic and is mounted to the aluminum base very similar to my 690. I put a 1/4" spiral up cut bit in, set the bit depth to be about 1/8", and used it as if I was excavating for a hinge mortise. Worked very nicely. It apparently has a soft start that spins up pretty slowly, but I think it will be nice not to have the thing jerk out of my hand when I switch it on.

Here's the link on Ridgid's site: http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R2400-Laminate-Trimmer/index.htm

[Matt Meiser]

Does Ridgid still have the lifetime warranty? Haven't heard anything about it lately...

3 years now. When they first came out they advertised the lifetime warranty as "limited time" and then switched to 3 years after a few months. They also have a 90 day Satisfaction Guarantee, which says you can take it back any time in 90 days for any reason, according to the paperwork.

[Mark Hulette]

Matt-

Thanks for the link. I tried the HD site and could find the lam trimmer. Sounds pretty good (except for the offcenter base).

Thanks for sharing!

[Cliff Newton]

Scott,

Check out this review http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/rdgdlamtrimrvu.html


Can you provide me with more details on the other bases and how they compare to what you get from PC and DeWalt? The one thing I have looked at is the offseting base and how close can you get to the edge. Will it accept a PC bushing? for micro routig on the Leigh jig.

[Jamie Buxton]

Matt ---
If SMC doesn't have one already, I appoint myself a Review Policeman. SMC's Picture Police require that you post photos of new tool acquisitions, and you're satisfied them quite nicely already. As a Review Policeman, I want you to use this new tool for long enough so you have qualified opinions about it, and then report back to the rest of us about it. Considering the many people who have posted to this thread, and their general unhappiness with other laminate trimmers, there will be many readers who will be interested in your observations.

Jamie

[Pete Harbin]

I've been waiting for those to show up here in Albuquerque, and I finally saw them stocked at our HD yesterday. I've got a couple of little HD gift cards, and (Gloat Alert!) $350 from the Super Bowl pool. I will definately be picking up the new Ridgid this week. Our HD also just got the Ridgid 14.4v Impact Drivers. They look pretty sweet, but I just can't justify one right now. I'll be using my winnings to buy a couple of older hockey jerseys (Ft Wayne Komets and KC Blades) and finally pull the trigger on an EZ Smart system with the new smart clamps.

[Aaron Heck]

For anyone who wants to save a few bucks, home depot seems to be clearing out the PC trimmers for $70, at least in my area.

[Steve Clardy]

Hmm. Guess I will never understand why the concern for router sub plates being centered all around the routers. I always only route with one side of the router.??

[Norman Hitt]

Hmm. Guess I will never understand why the concern for router sub plates being centered all around the routers. I always only route with one side of the router.??

Steve, although I normally only use one side of the router, I don't "always want" to use the same side of the router, so I spent time tweaking most of mine so they are centered. This does become important if you want to use a homemade circle cutting jig, where you just drill a 1" hole in a thin piece of material to use for the arm, and then use a PC style 1" insert placed in the hole. With this setup the circle you are cutting will not be round if the insert is not centered on the router.

[Steve Clardy]

Steve, although I normally only use one side of the router, I don't "always want" to use the same side of the router, so I spent time tweaking most of mine so they are centered. This does become important if you want to use a homemade circle cutting jig, where you just drill a 1" hole in a thin piece of material to use for the arm, and then use a PC style 1" insert placed in the hole. With this setup the circle you are cutting will not be round if the insert is not centered on the router.
That makes sense. I'll have to store that idea back.;)

[Paul Dwight]

I bought the same Ridgid trimmer two weeks ago. I have used it to mill mortises for hinges and other hardware. So far, I like it quite well. It is very comfortable in my hand, runs very smoothly and is easy to control precisely in the cut. It has plenty of power for this kind of shallow mortising. The soft start is a very nice feature. It seems quieter than any of my full-size routers, too.

The template guide opening on my unit was precisely centered on the bit. (I verified this with an alignment pin.)

There are two things I think Ridgid could have designed better. First, when the trimmer is in use the bit is only visible through the one "window" shown in Matt's picture. The rest of the trimmer housing wraps around the bit and only has slots to let air out. When free-hand routing to inset a hinge, for example, I oriented the trimmer so I could see the line marking the first side, then had to turn the trimmer so I could see the line marking the second side, then had to turn the trimmer again so I could see the last line. When using a guide bushing, the small opening in the housing made it very hard to install and tighten the bushing's locking nut.

Second, the mechanism to set the depth of cut makes it hard to make small adjustments. The "rack and pinion" mechanism shown in Matt's photo isn't controlled by the key (that is, the pinion doesn't turn when you turn the key). The key only locks in the depth setting. As near as I can figure, Ridgid intends that you roll the pinion with your thumb to make height adjustments. That works fine for coarse adjustments but it's hard to use for fine adjustments. When I applied enough force to the pinion to overcome the mechanism's friction, I usually ended up overshooting my intended adjustment. I eventually settled on making coarse adjustments by rolling the pinion with my thumb and making fine adjustments by bumping the base of the trimmer with my fist. Kind of slow and definitely low-tech, but it worked OK. I think the PC and DeWalt trimmers have a better design for making fine height adjustments.

Overall, though, I like the little thing. It's a handy addition to my shop. -- Paul