Tools and Tool Buying

[paulmilot]

Hi,

   I'm thinking of replacing my really old Craftsman table saw. From most of the sites I visited, seems most woodworkers were very happy with the Ridgid R4511 table saw. It has a granite top. Most of the responses I received thought this was lot of saw for the money. I would really like to hear what serious woodworkers think about this saw and any others I should consider.

    Thanks

[knotscott]

Because you're looking at a hybrid, I'm assuming you're restricted to 120v? 

The Ridgid R4511 is made by Steel City's Orion subsidiary.  It features cabinet mounted trunnions, a hybrid design with the motor inside the enclosure, riving knife, one piece cast arbor carriage, large handwheels, and the Herculift.  The achilles heal appears to be the two-piece front fence rail, but most owners like the fence. 

I'd also look into the Steel City versions of this saw...the 35920 and the 35930 with the upgraded fence.  I'd also give a look to the Craftsman 22124, also made by Orion. 

General International has a new 50-240GT hybrid, that appears to be made by Steel City/Orion, but I'm speculating about that based on similarities to the other Orion saws. 

The Jet Proshop also gets excellent marks, and is well worth a look. 

Grizzly makes two that are worthy of consideration...the G0478 and the G0661. 

If you're not restricted to 120v, by all means take a look at the Grizzly G1023SL...a 3hp industrial cabinet saw for $795 ($889 to shipped).  It's a more substantial saw than any of the hybrids.  It does not have a stock riving knife, but after market riving knife device called a BORK can be added. 

Any of these saws is only as good as their setup and blade selection.  Do a good job with both, and any of these should serve you well.

[paulmilot]

Thanks Scott, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.  The Ridgid R4511 has been discontinued with no replacement, yet.. I plan to checkout the saws you mentioned. Is there a hybred saw that stand out over all the others? Or are they just about all the same..

   Thanks again..

[Jabbeyrn]

I wonder why they are discontinuing the saw? I have been contemplating about buying one, and I saw today at my local HD has a sale price 100 dollars cheaper than it usually is. The gentleman at the store couldn't answer my questions and he didnt know there was a recall.

[knotscott]

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paulmilot wrote:

...Is there a hybred saw that stand out over all the others? Or are they just about all the same..

   Thanks again..

---

Just ask any owner...theirs is best!

IMHO, there's not a single "best", but there are pros and cons to each that are worth considering.  The most evolved trunnion design goes to the new Steel City and R4511 IMHO.  The 35920 and R4511 are a bit weak in the fence.  The 35930 has an excellent trunnion design matched up with an excellent fence.  The GI 50-240GT sports cabinet mounted trunnions too, and mates those with a riving knife, which suggests it may have the same trunnion system as the two new Steel City and Ridgid hybrids....it's fence looks pretty nice too, so this one could be very well done.

The 22124 has cabinet mounted trunnions, but has the older style connecting rods, and a traditional splitter.  I had no issues with either of those aspects, but the one piece cast arbor carriage and the riving knife are more elegant solutions.  The Biese fence is excellent, plus I'm a bit more comfortable with cast iron than granite.  It's also been spotted at really low clearance prices.   I know very little about the new Craftsman 22116 that's supposedly replacing the 22124...if it's also from Orion (and it appears to be), it may have the same trunnion system as the 35920, 35930, R4511, and GI 50-240GT, and might be worth a good look at the right price.

Both of the Grizzly hybrids and the Jet have table mounted trunnions with the one piece arbor carriage, mated with good fences.  The table mounted trunnions will be harder to align, but once done, it shouldn't be a chronic hassle. 

These are all good saws with excellent potential to serve you well once setup properly and equipped with a good blade.  I'd weight out your preferences, service reputation, retail sitation, price, warranty, etc., and go with the one that makes the most sense to you. 

I didn't include the Delta hybrids earlier...it seems to be a viable saw too, but is priced at least comparably to the others (often higher), but doesn't necessarily offer more IMO.  It offers the least evolved trunnion system by combining the table mounted trunnions with the connecting rods as an arbor carriage, and offers a traditional splitter.  There's simply no advantage IMO other than 3 solid fence choices, which may be a valid reason to choose it.  Time for Stanley Tool to step up and offer a redesigned hybrid IMHO.

[jandsjacobson99]

There was a recall on the arbor of those ridgid saws; apparently they forgot to make the arbor strong enough to use a dado blade and they started breaking while doing such.  According to the recall website there were three reports of them breaking and no injuries.