RIDGID/JET Bandsaw

[Bud Duffy]

I bought myself a Ridgid bandsaw at Home Depot just before christmas( too good of a sale to pass up $300 ) ok so a couple weeks agao i decide to get a riserblock kit ,call ridgid they tell me they have recalled all the block kits for saftey defect.I ask when they will have more they say dont know depends on how long engineering will take . In the mean time i got a set of Carter guides at Woodcraft , i took the upper guide rod in with me to be sure i got the right ones as it is 75 miles one way there. Got to the store and they dont have any for a Ridgid so i look at the ones for Delta and they are a little diffrent so i look at the ones for Jet they fit perfect.So thinks i why not try a Jet riser block kit they didnt have one in stock so i went to my favorite toy store Idaho Tool he says sure i got one let me go get it , i take it home and and as i open the box i notice it has been opened and taped shut again, open the box and the guide rod and gaurd and the gaurd that goes next to the frame are missing . I call back to the store and get the same salesman he apoligizes all over the place and i tell him these things happen he says bring it back in and he will swap me for another , i explain the drive he says wait a min comes back and says he went and got another one opened it to make sure it is all there and will UPS it to me the next day and to just bring back what i dont use out of the two kits next time i am in town. Now i call that customer service! Also come to find out Carter does make a set of guides for a Ridgid the man i talked to at Carter said that they are the same kit just diffrent labels. Anyway the point of this long story is that it apeers Jet makes Ridgid bandsaws for Home Depot or they make an exact copy of them. So i guess i got me a Jet 14inch bandsaw brand new for $ 299! P.S. Is this considered a gloat?

[Steve Powell]

FWIW, the people over on the RIDGID forum have been reporting that the riser kits that they ordered at the end of the year have been arriving. They are saying that the RIDGID quality hold issue has been resolved and the new kits are now available.

You might want to search the RIDGID site for risers. I think it was posted a couple of weeks ago.

(I know you already have the JET kit, but you never know when something will turn out to not work properly.)

[scott spencer]

Hi Bud - Congrats on the new saw!

I'm not so certain that Jet makes the Ridgid. It's more likely that they're made in the same plant, but I'm not really certain of that either. I seem to recall someone using a riser block from yet another saw on a Ridgid....maybe the Griz? Alot of time castings are made at the same plants....

Maybe someone can clarify for us.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

If you bought a grey Ridgid BS you bought an Emerson made bandsaw made overseas for Ridgid in Taiwan. If you bought an orange one, you bought one made by OWT in China (Craftsman, Ryobi, Metabo, etc).

Nothing made for Ridgid by Jet per se, but most 14" bandsaws are very similar in nature and some use generic parts and the only difference is the paint.