any experiences with the ridgid shop table saw, seems like a really good buy at 600 canadian bucks
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I used to have the Ridgid cab saw - great piece of machinery. I ultimately sold it and bought the fold up contractor saw, but I can certainly recommend that Ridgid saw in good conscience. FWW reviewed it awhile back as well - great review from them.
Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
If your referring to the TS3650 I've had one in my shop for a little over a year now and am very pleased. The rip fence is stright, easy to align and holds true. The saw came alined right out of the box (check it anyway) and so far haven't had any under power problems. Table is flat and true, put some wax on it monthly. For it's price it's hard to beat and have read reviews its rip fence is comparible to many after market fences. I'm not sure if HD is still doing it but they we're offering life time warranty.
Kevin
I just bought (Dec 12, '06) a Ridgid 3650 at Home Depot and yes, they are still offering the lifetime warranty.With a little care, I was able to get the saw out of the car and assembled all on my own. I cut the end of the box open while still in the car and removed as much of the contents as possible, breaking the styrofoam apart piece by piece to get the parts out. Only the tabletop section had to be slid out. To lift the saw I used scrap planks to raise it gradually, inserting one under each side then one under the other, back and forth until the angle was enough to make lifting easier. My wife was present to watch but couldn't contribute. She has a firm rule that I'm not allowed to hurt myself, and I always listen to my wife!It seems like a great saw. I can't wait to start cranking out projects with it.Now my question is what to do with the old table saw (a cheap Tradesman, terribly inadequate as a table saw but maybe servicable as a disk sander. Has anyone else reused an old saw for other purposes. That might make an interesting topic for another thread.
I scraped the motor from my ryobi TS into my home-made drum sander. Haven't found a use for much else on it though.
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
I've had a TS3650 for a little over a year and I like it, I think it is a really good value for the money. I really like the Herc-U-Lift it comes with, it makes it easy to move it around. I recently had it re-wired to run at 240 V and I appreciate the additional torque.
Lance
Recounter,
If your saw has been rewired from 120 to 240, there has been no change in the power the motor generates, only the current it draws. The amount of power is constant and is a function of the current draw multiplied by the supply voltage.
For sake of illustration, if it drew 10 amps at 120 volts, or 1200 watts (about 1 hp derating for normal inefficiencies of induction motors), it now draws 5 amps at 240 volts which is still 1200 watts.
If you are getting increased torque, something else has changed.
Rich
Hmmm, OK, the electrician who re-wired it would have more torque. I thought I had noticed less of a tendancy for it to bog down in thick stock but maybe it was the power of suggestion.
Lance
If the original 110 volt circuit was marginal because you were trying to draw too much power through a wire that was too small an/or too long, then the motor would bog down because of voltage drop. In that case, and a new 220 volt circuit would improve things and you would have more torque available under a load.
If the original wiring was adequate and could supply the needed amperage without a significant voltage drop then there wouldn't be an improvement by switching over to 220 volts.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Aha, I think that's the answer! My shop had inadequate power before and I had the electrician in to add a bunch of new outlets, a dedicated circuit for the dust collector and a dedicated 240 V circuit for the table saw. So I guess it wasn't switching the TS to 240 V that made the difference it was giving it it's own dedicated circuit!
Lance
Recounter, If there were any lights on the same 120V circuit, and if they dimmed, and STAYED dimmed (or if any other lights dimmed on nearby circuits) while the saw was running, you probably have more power now. Rich
You might notice the shop lights don't dim as much when you turn it on!
TFToolfanatic (a.k.a. The man formerly known as "Toolfreak")
> If your saw has been rewired from 120 to 240, there has been no change
> in the power the motor generates, only the current it draws. The
> amount of power is constant and is a function of the current draw
> multiplied by the supply voltage.So, assuming adequate power on the 110v circuit is there, is there any advantage to rewiring to 220v?I'm not claiming these points as true, but...
I know I've read somewhere that motor starts are better,
Lower electric bill,
Less heat generated by motor.Can anyone shed some light on this?
Provided that the 110 volt wiring is adequately sized, there is no advantage to converting the motor to 220 volt. The motor's internal wiring is, in fact, still running at 110 volts even when the feed is converted to 220 volts.
The better starting and the motor's running cooler after converting to 220 volts will only occur if the 110 volt wiring was inadequate and couldn't supply the need current at a full 110 volts.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Steve,
Do you mean the Ridgid TS2400 benchtop saw? If so, my review is that it is an amazing saw. Terrific fence, accurate, large table surface.
I wrote an extensive review back in March 2005, when I first bought the saw. It has continued to be a reliable machine in my shop.
Here's a link:
http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=5830.1
Edited 12/10/2006 9:26 pm ET by MatthewSchenker
I have had a Ridgid TS2424 for 4 years now and NO complaints. I think most Ridgid tools are a good buy. Good bang for the buck.
John
The only thing I really hate about the TS3650 (I assume that's the saw you're referring to) is that it takes way too many turns of the wheel to adjust the blade up or down.
TF
I use one at work. Good fence, but a bit wimpy on the power side. I'd spend more for a 3HP saw, or maybe go with a 2HP griz.
For a portable saw, everyone I work with uses the Bosch. A good saw.
The 3650 is a decent contractor saw, but it has the same downfalls of any contractor saw with an outboard motor. Hybrids are increasing in popularity and in the number of models available because they address most of the complaints that contractor saws have incurred over the years...there's no real downside. So I guess my advice is to jump straight to a hybrid with an enclosed motor in your price range.
Edited 12/12/2006 10:06 am ET by Knotscott
I wrote the review of the Ridgid TS3650 saw for Fine Woodworking Magazine.
The saw is definitely not like all of the other contractor's saws. The design of the arbor and trunnion assembly is radically different, as are almost all of the saw's other components. The redesign eliminates all of the problems normally associated with contractor's saws. The saw's performance is as good as or even better than most of the hybrids at a better price.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
I bought one after the FWW review. I love it. My shop in small and in the basement so the ability to move it around and still get strong performance is a god send. Besides the weight that made it a pain to set up right after assembly, the only complanint I have had is the angle of the dust port makes it a little hard to hook up to my portable DC. Not sure those are real complaints, especially weight issue -- kind of like the guy who complainted about being hung with a new rope.
Dan C.
Dan,
It is a very heavy saw. The Ridgid was the only contractor's style machine that I needed help to move while it was crated. Part of what makes it such a good performer is the heavy cast iron yoke that supports the arbor and the motor.
John W.
John - The 3650 still suffers the issues associated with an outboard motor. The motors bump and lift things when bevelled, take up space, make DC more problematic, and have longer drive belts than hybrids and cabinet saws. Hybrids have addressed the issues caused by the outboard motor. I'd think something like a new "Ridgid TS3655" hybrid with an internal motor would make the 3650 a step better. The only advantage I'm aware of with an outboard motor, is ease of dismounting. The DeWalt DW746, Grizzly G0478, GI 50-220, and Sunhill CT-250 hybrids have a similar cast blade shroud/trunnion design as the 3650/Craftsman/Emerson type contractor saw design, so what advantage would an outboard motor have over those hybrids?
You own or have spent some time using a TS3650?
You claimed the Ridgid saw "has the same downfalls of any contractor saw" and in my experience the saw does not have any of the usual problems because it is not constructed like all other contractor's saws. When I tested it, it stayed in alignment at all blade angles, the flat belt drive was exceptionally smooth, and the blade shroud did an excellent job of capturing sawdust when hooked up to a shop vac.
In addition the machine could be quickly and easily tuned up, something that is nearly impossible on a typical contractor's saw. The fence is excellent and the roll around base was the best I've seen on any tool.
The additional space taken up by the motor sticking out the back is irrelevant, a saw sits in the middle of a room and typically has an out feed table that takes up far more space than the motor.
The saw doesn't have any great advantages over a hybrid saw, but it is as good a saw as any of the hybrids I have worked with and it typically costs less.
John W.
John - I have spent some time with it, but I didn't make the claim you quoted me on. My claim was that "The 3650 still suffers the issues associated with an outboard motor"...a very different statement than, "You claimed the Ridgid saw "has the same downfalls of any contractor saw". It definitely has some feature advantages. I inquired about the disadvantages of the outboard motor, which to the best of my knowledge has few advantages and some inherent disadvantages in alot of typical home shops. When the motor on my contractor saw lifted my workbench up, I didn't consider it irrelevant. Nor did I consider it an advantage to build an enclosure for the back to aid in DC...something that I often forgot to remove when tilting the blade until I encountered resistance. My point was that I think the 3650 would be an even better saw if it were a hybrid, which is a design that has some inherent advantages that contractor saws, including the 3650, don't have.
You said "it has the same downfalls of any contractor saw with an outboard motor". and while it does have an outboard motor, it does not have problems with vibration, or poor alignment, or inadequate dust collection, and it can be tuned up simply.
I'm curious, how did the Ridgid saw "lift your work bench up"?
The Ridgid saw has a shroud around the blade with a port to connect it to a shop vac or dust collection system, I don't see why you would have had to build an enclosure for the back to improve on the dust collection. When I tested the saw, hooked up to a shop vac, the dust collection was excellent.
John W.
My outfeed table was attached to the workbench and it was located above the motor. The motor tilted and lifted the bracing of the outfeed table and knocked out the alignment...it was definitely my fault, but an internally mounted motor is just more convenient to me.My Ridgid shop vac is pretty loud and doesn't handle piles of dust as well as my DC system with 4" hose. The shop vac filter clogs quickly and the bucket fills up rapidly too. The GI 50-220 and Griz G0478 hybrids have a dust shroud also, but it dumps into the enclosure to a 4" port allowing use with standard DC's.
Edited 12/14/2006 8:03 pm ET by Knotscott
Wow, you're saying all this good stuff about the 3650, and it's the exact rig I have (with a long outfeed table, and DC hooked up to the blade shroud).
The only downside to what you're saying is that while I was nearly breaking my arm patting myself on the back for having mine tuned up so well and you're saying it's pretty easy to tune, adjust and "dial in." Oh well. Personally, I think this saw is an accurate cabinet-making machine if you want it to be and are inclined to build a bunch of cabinets.
I'm still saving bucks for a Sawstop cabinet saw. By the way, I saw a whole bunch of these Ridgid 3650 saws around here when people were rebuilding from hurricane damage.
The Ridgid is the only saw I have ever worked on that was designed specifically to be easy to adjust, and all they added were a couple of extra bolts and a little cam, all of the other saw designers should be ashamed for not having something similar.
The saw also has a blade tilt lock that actually locks down the entire trunnion assembly making the saw very stiff and accurate. This is something that isn't even found on full size cabinet saws.
This is the only contractor's style saw that can be considered a true cabinetmakers grade tool.
Keep saving for the Sawstop, they are also in a class all by themselves.
John W.
I'm with John. I've had this saw for 3 years and it's a great saw for the money (probably worth much more than the $400 or so I paid for it). I am hoping, however, that somebody builds a better aftermarket splitter to fit this saw. I really like the Merlin-type splitters, but can't find one to fit this particular saw.TFToolfanatic (a.k.a. The man formerly known as "Toolfreak")Edited 12/21/2006 10:26 am ET by Toolfanatic
Edited 12/21/2006 10:27 am ET by Toolfanatic
I can't remember the name of it, but I installed an aftermarket splitter in my zero clearance insert that is a half cirlcle shape green plastic, and has three prongs that fit down in the insert. You can change the profile of the inserts by flipping sides to get the best fit, and you buy for your saw blade width--narrow kerf is yellow plastic and regular kerf is green. The narrow kerf kit is also more expensive. Took about 30 minutes to install, and I love it. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
MY ONLY CAMPLAINT IS THAT IT TAKES ABOUT 6 HOUR TO ASSEMBLE OUT OF THE BOX. AND ONCE YOU BUILD IT GRAB A NEIGHBOR TO HELP YOU LIFT IT AND SET IT RIGHT SIDE UP. I'VE HAD MINE FOR ALL MOST TWO YEARS AND IT IS THE BEST MACHINE I'VE EVER WORKED WITH
ITS VERY MOBILE TO MOVE AROUND YOUR SHOP THE FENCE IS ACCURATE AND STAYS THAT WAY(I HAVE NOT HAD TO ADJUST MINE SINCE I BUILT IT) LOTS OF POWER TO CUT AND THIS MACHINE LOVE TO CUT WOOD.
IF YOU GET ONE YOU WILL NEED A SMALL TRUCK THE BOW IS ABOUT 2' H X 3' W X 4' L AND WEIGHS IN AT A VERY HEAVY 300 LBS GOOD LUCK IN YOUR QUEST AND MAY ALL YOUR CUTS BE SAFE
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