Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Tools included:

• R851150 1/2″ VSR Drill/Driver
• R855 6 1/2″ Circular Saw
• R854 Reciprocating Saw
• R859 Work Light
• 24v XLi Battery Charger
• (2) 24 volt Lithium-ion Batteries

Experience:

I like this tool combo so it’s ironic that while I’ve been putting off this lengthy review some of the tools are beginning to fail.

This Ridgid combo replaced my long-dead Dewalt combo. that was offered well before a “cordless” sawzall was available so the Ridgid would be my first cordless reciprocating saw. I have used it extensively along with all the tools in the bag over the past year.

I’m carrying the Ridgid Combo with me unless a job calls for more and I’ve gotten away with quite a few tasks without electricity.

• Cordless Drill/Driver
• Cordless Circular Saw
• Cordless Reciprocating Saw
• Cordless Illumination!

Plus, I’ve added Ridgid’s

• Cordless Planer
• Cordless Jigsaw

I keep a power inverter in the truck for battery charging.

Comments:

I’d like to say the Drill/Driver is as good as my little 15v Panasonic. Hahah, why do I like that wimpy panasonic?

I’d like to say the sawzall is as tough as my corded model. I’d like to say the Circular saw even comes close to a Saw Boss or that the flashlight is bright. Hmm… What can I say?

I can say that Ridgid makes tools that feel good in my hand. They are simple to adjust, with nice thick nobs and levers that operate smoothly. They are user-friendly and orange.

The Drill/Driver is heavy as hell with the 24V battery and it’s not small either. This is a framing, exterior heavy duty drill driver and I like it. It’s a little sloppy on fit and finish but it’s a brute and lasts long on the 24V… provided it’s not cold – more on that in a sec. I recently used this driver on slow speed hammer drill setting to drive in 1/4″ lags and an hour before to install #6 brass screws into fancy cabinet hinges. This is not a gentle driver.

The cordless circular saw is ok. At first I was excited because it outperforms my retired Dewalt but it’s really not all that impressive. A few sheets of plywood or a bunch of 2x and even the 24V battery is shot. It’s not the one for ripping 2x material unless it’s just one length and the other battery is charging but it is fantastic to have. I use it all the time for things like working on fence, out buildings, attics or basements without power and anywhere a couple of cuts will do.

The reciprocating saw got a lot of use over the year. That’s likely why three parts on mine are broken .. with an important pin lost. It still works. I know I should order the part before it doesn’t exist, since Ridgid has already replaced this model. The sawzall is important on my job. I’ve gotten away with a lot from this saw but let’s just say my opinion matches it’s strength.

The flashlight is outdated in this age of much brighter and more efficient LEDs. Imagine what we should have attached to those huge 24V batteries.

Ahh.. the Ridgid 24V Batteries: First I have say, I noticed that one battery costs $100. The combo kit came with two. That’s $200… so I got a charger, drill, flashlight and two saws for $200? I’ll say that a charging indicator on the battery and super-fast charging are fantastic!

The batteries hate the cold winters in New England. Mine did anyway. The both of my batteries couldn’t figure out whether they were charged or not. Sometimes a single cut would set the battery to dead but setting on the charger shows full after 10 seconds. Nothing I can do about the cold and never had this problem with the Porter-Cable drill/driver battery.

Summary:

Having all these tools cordless is liberating. Do I feel forced to stick with Ridgid’s cordless line since I’m already in this deep with 4 batteries and 6 tools? How do we end up with one over the other… My friend had this one, the tools were smooth. I liked the charge indicator and the tools seemed to last a long time on a single charge. I bought it and I’ve been happy to own a kit such as this. My suggestion would be to read up on these combos, consider what it means to have a half-dozen tools relying on a battery system. Research the batteries and if Ridgid batteries have the best record, go for it.

Links:
Ridgid X3 R963 5 Piece 18v Lithium-ion Combo Kit
Ridgid R964- 4 piece 18 volt Lithium Ion Combo Kit

Ridgid 24V 1-Hour Lithium-Ion Battery Charger 140315001
RIDGID 24V/18V Max Select XLi Lithium-Ion Hammer Drill

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Specifications:

• Input: 3 Amps.
• No Load Speeds: 7,000 – 12,000 OPM
• Orbit Diameter: 3/32 in.
• Pad Size: 5 in., 8-hole pattern
• Tool Weight: 3.2 lb.

Features:

• Soft start and pad brake
• Electronic speed control
• Through body sealed slide switch
• Permanent Magnet Motor™
• Micro Fiber™ hook and loop pad
• On board vacuum adapter

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Experience:

I’m a carpenter but I sure have been through my share of Random Orbit Sanders. Already on ToolboxBlog.com are an AEG and some Porter-Cable models. A few years back I needed a reliable R.O. for my truck toolbox. I bought this Ridgid tool which came with a large case.

A few of the features I like on this tool are the slow-start, the non-slip grip, the easy to operate on-off switch, Velcro cord wrap and the seemingly effective dust collection. The unit feels solid, sealed and smooth.

Links:

Ridgid R2600 at Ridgid.com (Product Data)

Factory-Reconditioned RIDGID ZRR2600 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander at Amazon.com

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Adding another Ridgid cordless tool to my discontinued 24V combo kit, this cordless jigsaw is the fourth in my current collection but is my only ‘cordless’ jigsaw. Featuring Dual Select, this tool is capable of either the Ridgid 18 volt or 24 volt batteries.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Features:

	Works with both 24 volt and 18 volt battery systems
	Variable speed switch – for easier speed control and precise starts
	Dual bevel cutting – base allows both right and left bevel cutting
	Tool free blade clamp – makes blade changes faster and easier
	Tool free shoe adjustment – allows adjustment of shoe with one hand

I have a lot of comments about this new tool of mine so I will keep the experience comments to a minimum. I’ve taken this new jigsaw on a few jobs. These pictures are mostly from a cabinet job. A jigsaw is put to use fabricating cabinets, making the various cuts and cut-outs necessary to fit things together. I haven’t had the chance to cut arches from 12/4 oak yet but I cut a few 2x pieces and a bunch of poplar wood and birch ply so far. Here’s what I found out:

Comments:

I have a few comments about this saw.

The plastic pieces around the blade are for what? Cheap crap that doesn’t belong on a contractors tool, that’s the first thing I noticed. A good shake and they both fall off. I read the lower piece is a blade guide? Seems to me it’s all part of a dust collection system that doesn’t exist. I actually put them in my glove compartment because they’d break in my toolbox.

In my opinion the plate sucks. Why? It’s got eased edges. Precisely the reason I went with the Porter-Cable 7549 over the Bosch long long ago. Talk about blade guides, the P-C 7549 has the best I know of. Anyway, the Ridgid R883 has a weird plate as you can see in the picture. Maybe half of the time a jigsaw cut is in the middle of material allowing you full use of the base. Most of my cuts start at an edge – often I’m just trimming a bit off.. so what happens with rounded edges and these long 1/2″ wide arms protruding on either side of the blade? You have just half an inch of plate resting on wood… and of that 1/2 is beveled so you really don’t know what 90º to the material is. I don’t always get to use the whole plate flat on the material. Today there were cuts when only the first inch of the 1/2″ wide plate was resting on wood.

I don’t like the soft plastic plate and don’t trust it to be a durable surface or precise. I’d prefer a flat steel plate with the mechanics above. The very first thing I did when I took this out of the box was look at the base and then take the formed plastic wrapping off to see if it would lie flat without it. Sorry, that’s what’s between this tool and the material. Trying to get me to believe it’s not a piece of crap is going to be hard.

Battery life is not really an issue with these 24V batteries that last a long time and charge in minutes… but weight is. With a 24V battery the Ridgid R883 is by no means lightweight. Nor is it easily manuevered inside a cabinet.

It’s ironic that I both love the batteries soft no-slip rubber coating; really handy for setting down these tools, but when sliding this jigsaw along a vertical surface I noticed the battery was sticking to the wall.

My last comment regards a real bugger I experience all day today. Most of the time I don’t have the luxury of moving a nice flat piece of material onto saw horses and cutting freely. Most of the time it’s trying to get a tool up in a joist bay or inside a cabinet and wedging my arms around pipes, blocking, bracing whatever.. to get a grip on the tool so you can pull the trigger. WTF!! It’s not working! Well with corded tools the bitch is getting all situated to go and finding it’s not plugged in but with this cordless jigsaw there is a trigger safety and I can tell you that almost all day today when I couldn’t choose which hand held the jigsaw and I had to reach around to hold it, that button was not easy to push. (On the plus side, once you’ve got the trigger started you can let go of the lock.) …but it sucks dealing with a locked trigger. I used two hands, one holding the handle and trigger and one to reach in and push the unlock-please button.

That’s a bunch of negatives but I’ll say that I’m glad to own this tool. It’s great having cordless with the 24V power. It’s great having a cordless jigsaw as this one moves freely from the outside tool station to the indoor task location throughout the day. I trust it’s pretty decent, I bought one. That in part is due to the fact I have and thoroughly like my Ridgid 24V Cordless Combo Pack and already have the batteries.

Although I’m guessing you can buy this with a case, the Ridgid R883 may be the first cordless power tool I’ve bought that didn’t come with battery or carrying case. Just a saw in a cardboard wrapper.

[View with PicLens]

Links:

The Ridgid 883 Cordless Jigsaw at Ridgid.com

Description: This stand has everything and it weighs it. There are nice steel rollers on multi-direction adjustable support arms. Fasten your saw to removable  mounting rails that simply clamp to the stand for easy attachment and removal. It’s got great levers to tighten all the adjustments. There are poorly designed legs that pull out and pivot down from the extensions.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Experience:
I struggled with the package at the Depot. I got a cart. I assembled for an hour. Fit and finish were questionable. I mounted the saw and brought it to a siding job for a month. It’s a little unsure of itself on its tubular feet. A little top heavy, no doubt. The first week on the job both support legs for the roller extensions broke off. One orange clip shattered but the leg still worked. Some laborers failed to notice the little steel ball you press in to unlock the leg before pivoting it back up and sliding it inside the extension leg and broke it clean off.
Comments:
It’s a 100lb. nightmare. That’s my impression and it comes at a high price because this stand does it all. MOST importantly, it’s got wheels. The sole reason I purchased this down-right heavy-as-lead miter saw stand was for the wheels. I should have known better when I couldn’t manage the box in the store without a cart. The second best feature are the nice rollers but the support legs on mine broke leaving the roller supported by the extension arms, a little wobbly.

I dislike this stand so much that I started this blog. It pisses me off every time I use it and I’ll tell you why because it’s features epitomize the demands of a mobile carpentry shop but it’s functionality and quality are seriously lacking.
I recently purchased another miter saw. I picked up the Makita LS1013FL . The 10" Makita comes in a few pounds lighter on the scales which helps with day after day lifting from shop to truck to job back to truck and shop, ugh. So sick of this back and forth am I that I decided to buy wheels for my saw; roll to truck, pivot onto bed and slide it in. No lifting.
Well, true enough I can now roll my saw, attached to the MS-UV, to my tailgate, lift and heave-ho it’s in. Open tailgate, lean down wheels first and roll to site. The stand should weigh less than 1/2 of it’s current weight of 94lbs !

[View with PicLens]

Links:
MS-UV at Ridgid.com (Product Data)

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Description:
This 13″ Thickness Planer uses a 3-blade cutterhead and features multiple depth presets for repeated cuts at common sizes.  Powered by a 120V / 15 Amp Motor with Overload Protection and Dual-Edge, Quick Change Blades this planer also features a Precision Lead-Screw system eliminating the need for a cutterhead locking system.

Experience:
After attaching the rear assembly I plugged it in and fed it wood. The results were smooth, as expected from the first few hundred feet under new blades. End snipe occurred at both ends but was limited to about 2 1/2″ and barely noticeable on the leading edge. Raising and lowering the blade is smooth and easy. A turn toward you raises the blade which must be opposite from my DEWALT DW734 because it’s counter-intuitive for me. The cut-depth indicator is more accurate than the Dewalt.

Comments:
I have several Ridgid tools now. Although the funny looking orange brand seems a bit on the heavy side, they are well thought out and include features I have wanted on my everyday tools. I especially like my discontinued RIDGID 24V XLi 4-Piece Cordless Combo Kit which includes fast recharging, remaining charge indicators on the batteries, ease of blade/bit changing and sufficient power.

In the month since I purchased this planer I have sent thousands of feet through it. The only complaint I have regards the dust diverter attached on the back side by two thumb-screws. It’s a removable permanent attachment that when left on prevents the outfeed table from folding up resulting in a larger footprint in the shop and creating one more tool I have to break-down for transport and reassemble at the site. For the benefits of it’s smooth operation, ease of depth setting, presets, cut indicator, width and price I am happy with it so far. (Not sure if this one is a powerhouse; it seems a bit whimpier than the Dewalt but the price was right and I wanted to give the orange guys a try on this one due to their one-step-ahead designs.)

Links:
Product page at Ridgid.com