As a brand name, how do you view Ridgid?

[Dave Zellers]

Not a power tool, but the only Ridgid thing I own is a very flexible, heavy duty 12g 25 foot extension cord that stays flexible in even the coldest weather. Love it.

Bought it at my local lumber yard, not a BORG.

Plus I do want an OSS and hear nothing but good things about Ridgid's and I may just pull the trigger some day based on all the positive talk here and elsewhere..

[Mark Bolton]

What you are saying isn't true. If you register a tool bought at Home Depot for Ridgid's Lifetime Service Agreement, you go to a Ridgid website and create a Ridgid customer service account. Home Depot isn't involved other than to provide a link to the Ridgid web page. If you expect Ridgid to be in business and support their commercial and industrial tools, then you can also expect them to honor the LSA of tools bought at Home Depot.

I may well be wrong but I don't think ridgid in OH is supporting the HD line of consumer tools. Ridgid has likely (for a price) sold their namesake to HD for the duration of a contract. It's no different than John deere allowing their name to be put on a mower that was once branded as Scott's but didn't sell.

Again, may well be wrong, but it's always been my conclusion that ridgid consumer tools at HD are simply HD tools made to their specs and at their say so, with a paid contract to ridgid allowing them to use ridgid branding.

[Dave Lehnert]

Ridgid woodworking tools, to my understanding, is not made by Ridgid the plumbing co. The name is licensed to the parent company that makes Ryobi and Milwaukee tools. (anyone know for sure? )
I own the Ridgid 12" sliding miter saw and like it a lot. http://www.ridgid.com/us/en/12-inch-...ound-miter-saw The cut is perfect and the stock blade cuts as smooth as glass on 2" Maple. You do read a lot about Ridgid lifetime service agreement problems. I did register the tool and figure if they do not honer the agreement 10 years from now I am no worse off if I purchased another brand with no lifetime warranty.
I kinda have my eye on Ridgid worm drive saw https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/seven-a...-wormdrive-saw when a project comes up and I need a new saw.

[Andy Fox]

My take is: "sometimes makes great tools. figure out which ones are great before purchasing."

I have a Ridgid 13" planer and a palm nailer. Both work great.

[glenn bradley]

Between dad and I I believe we have 7 of the small 12v lithium Ridgid Drills. The first set we got around Christmas 2009 IIRC. After using them for about a year we got some of the new version with dual speeds. They have been worked hard for years and have had all batteries replaced for free at least 3 times under the LSA. they are my go-to drill motor when making furniture. I would not build a house or do a neighborhood full of kitchens with them but for my work, they are a favorite.

[Richard Shaefer]

I've owned more than few Rigid tools and have developed a shaded opinion of them:

the stationary/large portable tools USED to be very good. They were made by Emerson, who also used to make Craftsman tools back when they were good, too. Now they're largely made by Ryobi, and have not held up well, so I avoid them.

the small portable tools with a plug work well for infrequent use. they have not held up for me well in hard environments, but should be fine for most of what I would consider 'light industrial' use.

the cordless tools are crap, garbage, and should be killed with napalm on sight. Iv'e been through more chargers and batteries than I care to count, and the 'forever' warranty on the batteries actually refers to how long it takes to get a new battery after the old ones die. Rigid isn't like Craftsman, you don't take the drill back to Home Depot for replacement, you take it to some seedy back-alley repair shop where maybe, one day, they might get around to fixing it for you. Screw that.

[Curt Harms]

I have to wonder when Corporate is going to decide the LSA at least regarding batteries is going to decide it's too expensive to continue. Hard to believe there's enough margin in 12 v. cordless drill to replace the battery multiple times and still have it remain profitable - unless the markup on batteries is HUGE.

[Paul McGaha]

I started out with a Ridgid contractors saw, couple of shop vacs and a benchtop thickness planer from them. They were ok. I upgraded to a Unisaw and a stationary planer after a few years.

The only thing I have left from them are the shop vacs, which have certainly done a great job about working and lasting. I've noticed Home Depot does a good job of supporting the shop vacs with accessories (filters) also.

Personally, for portable or stationary tools I'd look to something better.

I think you could do just as well with Jet or Grizzly with the stationary tools. Or maybe buy the stationary tools used, Our local craigslist is good about having good values on used woodworking tools. And the Sawmill Creek classified section.

Maybe Bosch or others for the portable tools.

Just my $.02.

PHM

[Yonak Hawkins]

Please refer to this post from another thread : http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...75#post2278875

[scott spencer]

As with any brand, you really need to evaluate the individual tool in question. Overall Ridgid has been a decent middle of the road value brand, but they've had their lemons and their gems. The Ridgid lathe was not well regarded. The 14" BS had a history of having excessive vibration issues. The OSS and the TS3650 get/got lots of praise. Their new R4512 is a mixed bag, that's been plagued with a long term, and ongoing alignment problem. I can't kill my Ridgid shop vac even though I've totally abused it for more than 10 years. I was not fond of my R4330 planer, but the R4331 seems better so far. Their former Titanium saw blades, presumably made by Freud, were great, but have been discontinued. As always, it pays to do the research.

I find it interesting how closely associated many of the Ridgid and Craftsman tools have been over the years, yet Ridgid seems to get a bit more respect, even when the tools are nearly identical. The Craftsman and Ridgid contractor saws are closely related cousins, that have both been made by Emerson, and then TTI/Ryobi, and have many interchangeable components. The Craftsman and Ridgid hybrid saws both came from Steel City/Orion and shared the same guts and top. The 21833 and R4512 hybrid style contractor saws are very similar, and allegedly come from the same manufacturer (Dayton AFAIK). Ridgid and Craftsman shop vacs came from the same stable at one time (Emerson). The Craftsman 21828 and Ridgid R4516 portable jobsite saws were nearly identical.

[Art Mann]

I may well be wrong but I don't think ridgid in OH is supporting the HD line of consumer tools. Ridgid has likely (for a price) sold their namesake to HD for the duration of a contract. It's no different than John deere allowing their name to be put on a mower that was once branded as Scott's but didn't sell.

Again, may well be wrong, but it's always been my conclusion that ridgid consumer tools at HD are simply HD tools made to their specs and at their say so, with a paid contract to ridgid allowing them to use ridgid branding.

Here is the Ridgid web page you go to to register your hand tools for the lifetime service agreement.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/product-registration

Notice that it is the same place you go to to register your commercial plumbing tools and equipment. If you don't trust their electrical hand tools, then you shouldn't trust their commercial equipment either. The relationship between HD and Ridgid may change tomorrow, but it has been the same for the last 20 or so years.

[Greg R Bradley]

The Ridgid Power Tools sold by Home Depot have very little to do with the tools made by Ridgid. The Home Depot Ridgid are made by TTI, a Chinese company, and are sold outside the US under the name AEG. AEG fits alongside Ryobi in TTI's lineup.

Ridgid vacs are made by Emerson, who own Ridgid and used to make lots of the tools that people liked sold under the brand name Craftsman.

There isn't much the same from a Ridgid F-Series bench vise and a TTi made Ridgid power tool other than the name.

TTI seems to be doing a decent job of holding the quality on many tools after buying Milwaukee Tool. I recently bought a 1/4" corded drill that is made in China. It compares well to the US made one I bought 5-10 years ago. We will see if it holds up as well.

[Art Mann]

The Ridgid Power Tools sold by Home Depot have very little to do with the tools made by Ridgid. The Home Depot Ridgid are made by TTI, a Chinese company, and are sold outside the US under the name AEG. AEG fits alongside Ryobi in TTI's lineup.

Ridgid vacs are made by Emerson, who own Ridgid and used to make lots of the tools that people liked sold under the brand name Craftsman.

There isn't much the same from a Ridgid F-Series bench vise and a TTi made Ridgid power tool other than the name.

TTI seems to be doing a decent job of holding the quality on many tools after buying Milwaukee Tool. I recently bought a 1/4" corded drill that is made in China. It compares well to the US made one I bought 5-10 years ago. We will see if it holds up as well.

It doesn't matter who manufacturers Ridgid tools. Some Powermatic tools are made in the same Chinese factory as Grizzly. When you buy one and register your lifetime service agreement, you go to the same website that you go to to register Ridgid pipe threaders and other industrial tools. It is the same company that is responsible for replacements if something breaks. If you don't believe me, follow the link I already provided. It has nothing to do with either Ryobi or Home Depot.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

My Ridged finish nailer is my favorite over the hitachi and senco.
I tossed The 1/4 sheet palm sander the first week.
Some are great, some not so.

[Brett Luna]

The Ridgid Power Tools sold by Home Depot have very little to do with the tools made by Ridgid. The Home Depot Ridgid are made by TTI, a Chinese company, and are sold outside the US under the name AEG. AEG fits alongside Ryobi in TTI's lineup.

Could it be that this is a moot point? Looking at "Where to Buy" on the Ridgid website, it appears that there aren't many options at all for buying Ridgid power tools. The several online vendors seem to carry the plumbing line mostly, along with shop vacs, with only a couple of vendors carrying the odd power tool or two. Searching the entire US for brick-and-mortar places that carry power tools returns 3196 results. The first 1000 were Home Depot locations, which included a great many retail and tool rental listings for the same location, so with 2250 stores or so, I'm guessing that Home Depot comprises all of those search results.