I recently sent this email to Ridgid; the Emerson/Rodgid response follows:
There’s been considerable discussion on your own woodworking forum as well as others about the relationship of Emerson/Ridgid with Ryobi. Does Ryobi make some/all Ridgid woodworking tools? How are they connected through the warranty? I’m getting ready to make some major tools purchases and I’m interested in the inter-connections among these firms. Thanks for any light you can shed!
“Thanks for your questions, and for your interest in RIDGID
woodworking tools. While some things about RIDGID are changing, we remain
completely committed to the RIDGID brand and the distribution of RIDGID
woodworking power tools through Home Depot. As you know, RIDGID’s
reputation is based on quality and we plan to see that maintained going
forward. We have developed a program to license the RIDGID brand through
Home Depot to top manufacturers who will fulfill Home Depot’s requirements
in the future. These agreements are still being finalized so most of the
details are not available yet. As soon as they are, we’ll be working with
Home Depot to make more information known. We will continue supporting the
full RIDGID line and will remain a significant manufacturer of RIDGID
wet/dry vacuums, hand tools and other products for Home Depot.
Also, as part of our restructuring, we have contracted with
specialists in the field to provide technical and after sales service for
the woodworking power tool line. RIDGID has always enjoyed an excellent
reputation for service and this agreement will expand and improve
performance in that area even further. For example, nationwide two-day UPS
part service for faster turn around, triple the number available local
service centers, and a dedicated, full-time staff to answer technical
woodworking tool related questions. As might be expected, a transition of
this magnitude, despite the best intentions, can’t be guaranteed to be
absolutely hitch free. We weren’t perfect before, though we’ve always
striven to provide the best service in the industry. This core value is
unchanged. We will continue to monitor performance and demand improvement,
as we have in the past. Our new source is committed to provide levels of
service superior to that provided before and we intend to ensure it. For
instance, since the switch we’ve already documented dramatically reduced “on
hold” time and a far lower “abandon” rate of calls, calls that are dropped
because folks couldn’t be serviced in a timely manner. These two metrics
alone translate to faster service, less frustration and to what we hope is
the ultimate goal, a more satisfied customer experience.
Hopefully, this response helps to fill in some of the blanks.
Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.”
The whole tool marketplace is rapidly changing – loyalities to a brand can be challenged as tool sellers are not necessarily tool makers. Buying a tool today is a very difficult task – one has to do some leg work and sift through the opinions to get the real scoop. Happy shopping!
Replies
What a wonderful example of "corporate-speak."
Huh?
"...to license the RIDGID brand through Home Depot to top manufacturers who will fulfill Home Depot's requirements in the future."
Can you spell C-R-A-F-T-S-M-A-N?
EG: I do appreciate you posting this response from Rigid -- there was so much speculation previously -- at least we have something directly from Rigid now. Sorry to say, I have little or no faith in them being able to provide good customer service 5 or 10 years down the road on tools that will be built by several different companies. One of the major reasons I don't buy any Craftsman power tools is because of the parts difficulties, especially expense, and the lack of technical support. Looks to me like Rigid is going down the same road. They may think they can pull it off, but check back in 2013 and see how it's going. Not well, I'll bet.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I agree with you - I would be concerned about long term support. I bought one of the last Crafstman drill presses made by Emerson - my only Craftsman purchase - and quite a nice machine. However, as you point out, parts and particularly accessories are non-existent.
Emerson is a fine company - I'm sorry they are going in this direction. However, if you look more deeply, you find that Ridgid - a very fine brand of plumbing/hand tools that was purchased by Emerson and they then used customer confidence/trust in that brand to launch a new product line that really has nothing to do with Ridgid. Black & Decker did the same thing with DeWalt - and folks fall for it everyday. Perhaps tools are going the way of VCR's - buy a cheap one, throw it out when it doesn't work anymore and buy another cheap one. Harbor Freight anyone? Sad!
EDGREGG, AMEN! You said a mouthful. Being a tool wielding,no nonsence, woodbutchering, 'Shadetree Mechanic',(Don't panic) for over 50 years,I agree with you when you portray Craftsman and Dewalt as two of many excuses for 'Professional' power tools.
Professional? The worlds oldest? I remember when Black and Decker was the epitomy of hard working everlasting powertools. I place my trust in Milwaukee,Bosch and Porter-Cable.
The only tools Craftsman can rightfully boast of, is their auto repair hand tools (Ratchets/sockets and wrenches) Beware, you young mechanics,Don't waste your money on the 'Sears' brand wrenches etc;
They'll let you down and snap,slip and bennnd when you need them most. So will Sears customer service (The're not guaranteed)
Japan,Taiwan China and Mexico also make junk like that,but cheaper.
When Makita,Ryobi and others produce their cordless tools with decent American made Jacobs chucks and not those cheezy ,slipping ,bit chewing ,wobbly, rubber sleeved clamps, I'll buy one.
Stein
Yes the firms have radically changed. Black & Decker had a wonderful reputation - not the most innovative company but their true colors started coming out as early as the 60's. They bought DeWalt from AMF and promptly put the large B&D logo on the radial arm saws and sales dropped. They quickly learned that branding is very important. They also introduced the first battery drill in the 60's but it was limited because of the battery technology at the time.
Starting in the 60's through today, B&D has developed a reputation of buying technology (by buying competitors) then running them into the ground. DeWalt essentially disappeared n the 70's, Master Power disappeared (Cooper Tools has reconstituted them), Elu no longer exists and the beat goes on.
Black & Decker and many other frims are no longer tool manufacturers - they are mass market product merchandisers. They all recognize the buying power of Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, etc. - building an extra heavy duty 1/2" drill with triple gear reduction that won't fail you in a crawl space is not on their minds. But don't forget, there are some fine manufacturers still out there - nobody talks about Sioux and they make a fine machine - both air and electric.
Your correct by saying Black & Decker ruined Dewalt,why? corporate greed..
Black & Decker & Dewalt once were proud names in the power tool Industry.but now both just plain sux... it really is interesting to watch how major changes over the years have come into play with the tool companys.
Althou there are still some strong players out there.. Milwaukee,Freud,Bosch,Delta,Millers Falls,Klein,Sioux,Porter-Cable,Channellock,
Just to name a few..
ToolDoc
Morning Doc,
I look at it this way:
Rigid, Ryobi, Grizz, Craftsman, Skil, B&D, etc.----all for one, and one for all. Except for the oddball diamond in the rough, they are all the same. What bothers me is buying them, and then witching about them. Or worse yet, those that buy a tool they don't know how to use, destroying it, and then blaming the manufacturer.
Don
HI Don: Yes I have seen many of Lad bring Junk tools on the job site & then when the pc of crap breaks there crying..Buy Good tools & you only have to buy once..if your Lucky.. I always tried to buy the best tools I could cause Ive made a living with them..
take Care.. ToolDoc
My dad who worked many, many years for Skil (or is it Bosch now?) used to call "Black and Decker" "Bleak and Dorker". I get no respect ...
I have a B&D cordless drill that has worked very well for many years (other than the fact that it now smells like burning garlic when I put it under heavy tork). I have had to call customer service once and they were very helpful. Maybe it's an individual thing. Catch someone on a bad day and the whole company get's a bad name.
-Ken
Ken: IM glad you got good service from Black & Decker/Dewalt ,cause the service at my local service center is the worist that I have ever gotten anywhere. its soo bad that not only myself but also other friends in the trades have stoped buying Dewalt products..its a shame caused like my Dad I had bought B&D/Dewalt HD power tools for years..Now I use only Milwaukee & Porter-Cable & have fast friendly service..
ToolDoc
Miller's Falls?
Tools are still being produced by some source with this logo?
One of my weaknesses is collecting vintage Miller's Falls handtools - I have a bunch of nice ones from before WWII. I wasn't aware that any "Miller's Falls" tools were being produced today, other than the fact that you can buy a brace from Woodcraft with that logo but it is from some 1970's overstock and not that great a brace. Compare to the "Miller's Falls" Parson's Brace with permaloid grips. Schweeeet!
Ed; Yup Millers Falls hand tools are still being made by GOD only knows who but there still being marketed ,but there a rare find in the hardware stores for some reason I found them at a small local hardware store & thought they were old stock but the owner told me there still made..I have a few older ones that were my dads soo when I saw the name i knew the brand.. I still have one of there old circular saws it still runs..they made great power tools also..
Edit=> I just remembered that Ingersol Rand had bought out millers Falls in I think the late 80s or soo,could be that there still marketing the name?
ToolDoc
Edited 6/6/2003 12:27:45 AM ET by TOOLDOC
Tooldoc,
Thanks for the info. I did not know that.
All the talk of poor quality in power tools is disheartening. I love my new Milwaukee router. It is the best one I've ever owned and the quality seems beautiful to me. A whole new ballgame in routers, as far as I am concerned. I spent the first hour of ownership just turning it on and turning it off, fascinated with the "soft start" feature. Makes me want to buy a bunch more Milwaukee tools.
Ed
I had the same experience with my new soft-start Bosch. How the heck do they get it to do that?
I don't know, Mark. When I think of my first Sears router from the early eighties that seemed to want to jump out of your hands and hurl itself into geosynchronos orbit whenever you hit the start switch, it's quite an upgrade. Seems to run quieter, too.
Picked up the Hitachi 10" SCMS a couple of weeks ago and had the same experience with the soft start. First tool I've had with the feature. Breaking the years of habit of just pulling the trigger and cutting is taking some time to get used to. The blade doesn't cut so well when turning slow. Saw is great though.
Just saw an ad for the single stage IR air compressors and they hp was listed in the typical peak hp BS. Really disappointing to see them going that route also. I assume their honest marketing was costing them sales on great products that blow the crap imports out of the water.
Don
Ed
Wondering how that "Ole Milwaukee" was doing? Did you get the table finished yet. I love the soft start. I got the Bosch router (one of four) and Don's Hitachi SCMS and they've got the soft start. You think before you pull the trigger as to let it get up to speed. You'll fall asleep if you don't. ha..
Guess it's no different than a TS or DC. You should let them build speed as it's takes a few moments for them to go peak also.
Have a good one...
sarge..jt
Hi Sarge,
I got sidetracked by buying some land this spring and then roped into building a deck for some friends so I haven't built the router table yet. It's on the list, though. I have used the Milwaukee 3.5 HP router freehand and it is very nice - everything about it is solid and well-made. The router body slides completely out of the baseplate at the push of a button for bit changes. I started collecting some bits with half-inch shanks (just used quarter-inch before) and that makes a big difference. With this router and a quality, sharp bit with a half-inch shank, I'm into a whole new ballgame of routing. Would highly recommend the Milwaukee to anyone who needs a new router.
Well if it would quit threatening to rain, I could finish up this deck. For about two weeks, I've been washing pressure-treated lumber out of clothers, hair, tools, everything. Yucccck! Later,
Ed
Sioux makes great tools ........... still remember using their valve grinder in high school shop (many, many moons ago). I like the looks of PC's Heritage line, especially the 100H router. Did away with the plastic- it's an polished all metal housing now. It's got to cost more to make, and I wonder how long they will produce it. Too many new tools don't seem designed to be better but rather with an eye to lower production costs.
Sioux started out in the 20's or 30's making valve lathes and grew from there. Did you know they were purchased by Snap-On in the early 90's? Fortunately Snap-On is a quality organization (now a publicly held company with an internation market).
The Porter-Cable heritage line is quite nice - the aluminum housings hold up quite well. Porter-Cable had some great tools - a palm size portable plane, a 1/4 hp router with a contour handle, a heavy duty hedge trimmer with cutters on both sides and a shear pin and a riding lawn mower! Black & Decker's most famous product is problably the Holegun series of drills - excellent machines that ran all day under extreme conditions. None of their products can meet that performance today (with the exception of a 1/2 inch model and larger, all DeWalts today are two stage gearing creating considerable strain on the motor to produce the torque. Times change, so do the tools!
I didn't know that Snap On owned Sioux ........ the angle drill is on my wish list. Snap On bought Sandvik......... now called Bahco. http://www.bahco.com/ Hard to keep track of who owns who these days.
Dear First Lady of the Forest: I have been following this Ridgid Halabaloo from the get go..Ive been reading various postings on other forums,Ridgid,woodnet & wood..from what I gather Ridgid has been giving the "Old Run Around" to its owners & Faith full followers for some time..seems they all knew that Ryobi has been "Courtin" Ridgid Mangement for some time & now Emerson Electric has finnaly announced that most defently Ryobi is going to mfg & service Ridgid power tools..Will this spell the END to Ridgid..who knows but Home Depot has been promoting Ryobi power tools very heavy while ignoring the Ridgid brand for quite some time..As for you queston will Ridgid be around in the near future?? The way that Ridgid & Home Depot has been handling the line it sure doesnt look good for the Home Team now does it...When Emerson/Ridgid split with Craftsman they never should of went with Home depot they should of marketed there tools with every Hardware/supply place in the USA..HD has a nasty way of just dropping the ball with there power tools look at Delta/Porter-Cable they all but took most of those tools off the shelfs & replaced them with Ryobi,why because they cater to the DIYcrowd who buy cheaper tools..Lowes isnt much better but I have noticed there getting better at stocking Pro power tools at my local Lowes.. its a shame I just hope we dont lose another Major mfg of quality power tools to corporate greed...
ToolDoc
Edited 6/2/2003 12:41:21 PM ET by TOOLDOC
I took a trip to Lowe's the other night (it's about 10 miles further than Home Depot), and there's no comparison in the tool departments. Much better selection at Lowe's. They also have considerably more variety in saw blades, and they sell Porter Cable sanding discs, etc., both in 5-packs and in bulk packs.
Earlier in the week, I got into a conversation at Home Depot with a man who had been waiting for a Roybi planer to come in stock there since January! Wonder what the scoop is there...they have a demo model sitting on display.
One thing no one has mentioned in these threads is the possible impact of Amazon-mania on the local availability of power tools. I'm sure that even the big boxes are affected by the fact that so many people just hop onto Amazon.com when they want to buy a saw, planer, bandsaw, whatever. Never minding what it does to the smaller dealers who actually know what a bandsaw is and how to use it.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie: I agree Lowes has a far better tool dept than Home Depot & I like Lowes better for lumber & Bldg supplies ,I use to buy my 3/4" birch cabinet plywood from HD because they had it for $39.95 a sheet but I had mentioned it to the manager at Lowes & now they have it for the same price plus carry Red Oak cabinet grade plywood for the same price..Lucky me..<G>..sure beats paying $45.00 at the other Lumber Yards..I noticed you stated that you met a fellow waiting for a Ryobi planer hmm maybe Ryobi is waiting til they take over the Ridgid line & are going to incorparate both into one..???IM sure were going to see some major changes in both Ryobi & Ridgid tools & also the line they make for Sears/Craftsman.. Just hope they dont screw everything up..
ToolDoc
Just a few brief observations:
1. Glad I don't have to deal with their customer service, since we obviously do not speak the same language.
2. They forgot to answer your questions.
3. Looks like more American and Canadian jobs going to China.
Jeff
Just heard that the Nebraska division manufacturing Vice Grips is closing and Vice Grips will now be manufactured in China. That doesn't set well with locals.
I buy Rigid scroll saw blades and have found them to be the best. Wonder if their tools were as good. Guess it doesn't matter if cust. service is so bad.
My 2 centavos .. (admittedly worth much less than 2 cents)
-Ken
Ken,
To be fair, I have to make it clear that my remarks about Ridgid's customer service were intended as a commentary on the language used in their email response. From what I have heard, Home Depot/Ridgid has provided very good service to their customers.
Jeff
Ken; I noticed you said you use Ridgid scrollsaw blades have you ever tried either Olson or Flying Dutchman blades?? I use both & find them to be really great blades on my scrollsaws..
ToolDoc
I used Olson blades for a while. I'm not sure if I was using the wrong tension, speed, feed or what but they all broke just above the bottom pin hold and after a few cuts.
When I tried Rigid blades that problem went away. They do get dull after a dozen cuts or so but they're not constantly breaking.
For the most part I've been cutting 3/4 or 1" well seasoned walnut.
For what it's worth, the Rigid blades are more expensive and seem to be made of more .. well .. rigid steel.
Any tips?
-Ken
Ken: Any Tips? ===> Yes.. check out the following web sites tons of info here http://groups.msn.com/scrollsawportraits/home.htm
http://www.scrollsaws.com
http://www.mikesworkshop.com
http://www.justwoodworking.com ==> has a scrollsaw forum
http://www.woodmagazine.com ==> has a scrollsaw forum
Ken have you tried adjusting your tension it sounds like it needs a adjustment,check your owners manual for your saw..
Happy scrolling.. ToolDoc
Edited 6/3/2003 11:31:13 AM ET by TOOLDOC
Wow! I had no idea scroll sawing was that big. Thank you sir.
Ken: Your Quite Welcome & glad to add you to the list of us Happy Scrollers..<G>..it is fast becoming one of Americas #1 past times & all you need is a scrollsaw +wood +time= Happiness..& if you have children Iencourage you to include them in your hobby as its safe & tons of fun..
Happy Scrolling.. ToolDoc
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