When putting together our Home Depot Black Friday Deals post last week, we mentioned Ridgid’s portable table saw, which will be on sale from its $299 normal price. But at the time, we didn’t think too deeply about it. The saw looked vaguely familiar, and there were no red flags or headlines proclaiming that it was something special.
A couple of days later, Chris from Tool Rank mentioned that it was back at Home Depot. Back? When did it leave? But as we thought about it more, we didn’t recall seeing this model at any recent trips to HD, only the larger saws.
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The Ridgid’s $299 price point aligns it with Bosch’s new GTS1031 table saw and Dewalt’s DE745 saw. However, while the Ridgid looks to have all the specs and accoutrements one would expect from a professional portable table saw, there don’t seem to be any bells and whistles to really set it apart.
Todd from ToolBoxBuzz mentioned that he checked with Ridgid and found out that the saw is only available for a limited time. That probably explains why you cannot find this saw on Ridgid’s website.
Okay, so the R45161 is a revision of the R4516 table saw that was sold in the past before being discontinued. And supposedly it’s only available for a limited time unless it sells well enough for Ridgid and Home Depot to make it a regularly stocked item.
While the price looks good and the features and specs look reasonable, it’s a tough choice to buy a power tool with an uncertain future. A while back a reader asked me to help him source a replacement part for a discontinued Ridgid benchtop tool he owned. He loved the tool’s performance and wanted to repair and not replace it. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to get the part he needed.
The saw does look to be a great buy, especially on Black Friday when the price will drop by 10%, but we’re not sure we’d give it a thumbs-up. And there’s one more question to ask. Why was the R4516 discontinued in the first place? If it didn’t stand up to the competition then, how will it stand up now?
Still, we’ve had great experiences with Ridgid in the past. With that in mind, we do consider this a good buy, but urge caution. If you’re concerned over replacement part availability, you may want to see how things play out.
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Update: It looks like this saw is no longer available, as of 3/2/13.
mnoswad1
found this.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/8794/ridgid-r4516-portable-tablesaw
Stuart
Ah, so the handle pulls out and there are built-in wheels!
But the fact that it was a “limited run” in 2009 still makes me hesitant. Why a 2-year hiatus?
mnoswad1
then I found this….
LINK
and this..
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-15-amp-10-34-professional-jobsite-saw-21828/p-00921828000P
So maybe parts are available.
Mickey
Funny, I was just looking at that saw the other day, I had no idea it was ever discontinued at some point. I like the saw but I’d be concerned about finding replacement parts if it will only be a limited production model.
Colin
It seems that all ridgid tools carry a lifetime warranty? I’m not sure if there are any stipulations, and my last trip to HD was the first time I was made aware of this in one of their “Compare to the competition” bullet point charts.
If this is the case, I wouldn’t be too worried about parts/repair as they’d likely repair or swap any defective item. Can anyone else confirm a “lifetime warranty”?
cris
This table saw seems to be a regular item in the Canada.
Stuart
That’s strange, but it looks like you’re right. HomeDepot’s Canadian site still shows the R4516 in stock.
Colin, here is Ridgid’s very detailed warranty policy. For power tools, they call it a lifetime service agreement.
andrew c
From I have read this replaced s previous version. Basically they upgraded the fence system to be more robust.
Eric Webber
I have the r4516 (canadian) bought a week ago. Parts are available, and cheaper identical parts are available from sears for the twin version – Craftsman 21828
Also pretty cheap to add an outfeed assembly by adding the Craftsman parts, since the 21828 has one and the r4516 has it only as an option
Outfeed Assembly: 089110113704
Brackets: 089110113095 You need two
Screws: 410161010 You need four of M6x26mm Hex
Total cost, about 40$ shipped from Sears parts
Ken
Just bought one today. Took it out of the box and turned it on, seems loud to me , but powerful. I’m satisfied. Time will tell.
The saw sliced through some tough black African mahogany I have had for more than two years without breathing hard.