Not a Good buy
Written: Aug 07 '06
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: 90 day satisfaction guarantee
Cons: 3/4hp motor,quality control,vibration,dust control,lousy sheet metal stand
The Bottom Line: A huge dissapointment from a once great manufacturer. Poor quality control at the plant and cost saving reductions in material quality result in a saw to avoid.
|
|
|
| jimbo73's Full Review: Ridgid 14" Band Saw BS1400 |
Please be advised that this review is based on the new (orange and black) version of this saw. I have no doubt that the "older" gray models of this saw did live up to expectations. For those of you unfamiliar with what I am referring too, I'll briefly explain. Originally the Ridgid Power tools were made by Emmerson Electric mostly in the USA and the quality was fantastic for the price. These tools were painted gray and black. These are the Ridgid Tools that you will find reviewed in publications like Fine Wood Working. The bandsaw that I purchased would never have been given the "best value" award by Fine Woodworking.
Approximately 4 years ago, the Ridgid name was bought by One World who also owns the Ryobi brand name. At that time the paint scheme was changed to the current orange and black and all manufacturing was moved off shore. Since then, the quality of the Ridgid stationary power tools has gone steadily down hill (this is based on my own experience and online reviews). Don't get me wrong here, there is some great machinery made off shore. Now onto my review.
Overall the saw suffers from weak points in dust collection, vibration control and quality control at the factory. The dust collection is useless. Period. I own a 2hp Delta dust collector and after adapting 4" tube to the 2 1/2" fitting, there was too much resistance to make dust collecting effective. A shop vac hooked up as intended doesn't help either. Mind you, this dust collection design is not limited to this saw and is shared by the majority of 14" bandsaws.
The second flaw is in vibration control. The two units that I had (I'll explain that in a minute) suffered from serious vibration transmitted to the table. After aligning the belts and giving them a chance to (run-in) there was still excessive vibration in the table making it difficult to accurately follow layout lines on fine work (eg cutting router patterns). I believe the vibration is a combination of the motor, belt, and poorly balanced wheels.
As I mentioned above, I owned two of these units and this leads into the third flaw, quality control. Here is what when wrong with unit#1:
-both tires were too big and came off the wheels. Ridgid sent me replacements that were a good 2" smaller. Problem solved
-the entire upper blade guard/guide assembly moved back and forth as the wheels rotated. It wasn't huge but was enough to notice when turning the wheels by hand.
-upper wheel had .010" runout (no big deal) but the lower wheel had a whopping .026". Ridgid said they would send me a new one but it was back ordered and would take at least 4 weeks
So, I figured this unit was a lemon. Hey, it happens to the best of manufacturers. Home Depot was more than happy to take the unit back (I was well within the 90days) and give me a new one.
Unit#2
-screw holding the switch housing to the mounting plate was overtightened at the factory and cracked the switch housing. Ridgid said they would send me a new one but it was backorded for at least 4 weeks
-again, tires were too big and came off during saw operation
-blade guard/guide assembly did not travel parallel to the blade causing the guide blocks to continually press against the blade in certain positions
-lastly and most aggravating, the thumb screws responsible for holding the blade guide and locking thrust bearing movement on the upper guide continually came loose during every saw operation. This resulted in having to readjust every time I used the saw. ARRRGH!
So, since I was still within the 90days, unit#2 went back to Home Depot. I did not bring home a 3rd unit.
In conclusion, based on my experience, I can't recommend this saw. If you are a crafter looking for somthing more than a scroll saw but at a decent price, look at Ryobi's 10" bandsaw. If you are a beginning woodworker or an intermediate (like me) steer way clear of this saw. The amount of tuning and aftermarket upgrades needed to make this saw a smooth running and clean cutting is not worth it. As for what to buy instead, there is always Laguna ($$$$$), Powermatic ($$$$), or the USA made Delta X5 ($$$).
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jimbo73
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.