Are Ridgid Table saws available in the UK?

[thejarv]

was in the US recently and had a look at a ridgid table saw. looked pretty good for the price but been doing a bit of searching and cannot find anything in the UK. Do they sell there table saws in the UK ??

 

[carlb40]

Rigid like a lot of usa power tool companies have no uk importers. So you would need to import one yourself, and have the added benefit of paying loads on shipping and then the vat/ import duty on top.

 

[thejarv]

just amazed they don't distribute in the UK there full range. they sell other stuff just not there table saws.

 

[jimporter]

I have been looking at this just today and thought the Ridgid R4512 looked pretty good but unfortunately they have a bad reputation for returns as the blade goes out of true on the rise and fall, a problem believed to lie in the trunion design.

What get me is the price differences in the machines on offer. While looking at machines I priced up, at Homedepot online, the two Ridgid machines R4512 and the R4513 ($529 and $499 respectively), the Dewalt DWE7491 ($564.50) and the Bosch 4100 ($529). All these prices include with stands with the 3 portable ones being rise and fall types. At todays exchange rates the most expensive of these, the Dewalt is £338. Now compare that to the cheapest price I could find online in the UK of £699 ex VAT. Are we being ripped off, I think so.

The normal argument for this is the market is not as big in Europe and they don't sell as many, well news folks lower the price and you will sell a lot more. I imagine myself and a lot of other DIYers would buy one for around £420-450 (£338 +VAT) instead of some of the cheaper crap we are offered never mind how many they would sell to tradesmen. I mean for pities sake buying the DWE74911 stand alone is £110 ex VAT.

(if you want a laugh price up the Ryobi brad nailers P320 vs R18N18G-0 and don't even get me started on airless sprayers)

 

[themackay]

Yes rip off Britain is alive and well Its the same with a lot of things I have just bought several fishing reels from Germany and France 20-25% cheaper than here so hows that so the bigger market excuse does not wash I did try a uk supplier to price match.they wouldnt budge

 

[pcb1962]

What get me is the price differences in the machines on offer. While looking at machines I priced up, at Homedepot online, the two Ridgid machines R4512 and the R4513 ($529 and $499 respectively), the Dewalt DWE7491 ($564.50) and the Bosch 4100 ($529). All these prices include with stands with the 3 portable ones being rise and fall types. At todays exchange rates the most expensive of these, the Dewalt is £338. Now compare that to the cheapest price I could find online in the UK of £699 ex VAT. Are we being ripped off, I think so.

I think it's a case of the European mfrs wanting to gain market share in the US and therefore having to price competitively in that market, where they have a host of domestic competitors. Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Craftsman and a whole load more, plus cheap (compared to UK) imports from Ryobi, Makita and others.
If you look at Festool prices in the USA they make you weep compared to here, but Festool are still considered top end of the market and out of reach for most people.

 

[jimporter]

Not quite so. It is true that there is a level of domestic competition but that domestic competition is of a relatively good standard and therefore that is where the competition is. But the homeowner DIYer expects a lot more of their tools than the general DIYer here and we are fed a diet of own brand crap tools by the big box stores. This is not to say the yanks don't have some crap tools they do and you can see them on Homedepot but there is not such a large gap.

Don't understand where your festool comment comes from TS55req $615 (£368)+tax US dealer price, here in UK it can be had for £280-350+VAT so cheaper here before tax.

So using this as an example TS55REQ $615, Dewalt DWE7491 $569 - in UK TS55REQ £280-350, Dewalt DWE7491 £699 or double. Using same type of price conversion it should be around £270.

 

[jimporter]

What actually keeps their prices low in the US is not so much who they are directly competing with, Dewalt/Bosch/Makita/Milwaukee/PC etc, but who they are NOT competing with.

When you have a company like Grizzly selling the G0715 for $795 it is very difficult to sell your Dewalt, Bosch, Ridgid plastic portable for $1150, I mean you are getting into proper cabinet saw money at that point (G0691 anyone). This applies to jointers, planers, etc, and if you can't sell those items at silly prices you can't price your drills, impact drivers, nail guns, CMS, etc at silly prices either and because the "quality" makes are cheaper you don't get the truly cheap junk that we do.

 

[pcb1962]

Don't understand where your festool comment comes from TS55req $615 (£368)+tax US dealer price, here in UK it can be had for £280-350+VAT so cheaper here before tax.

Here: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/fest ... ander.aspx That's just under 250 quid, versus
http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/s ... -68NdT09hE
and here: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/fest ... outer.aspx ( £320 ) versus
http://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/fes ... -240v.html

Show me a Rotex 90 for 250 quid or an OF 1400 for 320 in the UK and I'll bite your hand off.

TS55 is not a good example as there's been a lot of pretty competitive deals here in the past few months.

 

[jimporter]

But even so if we accept the £320 vs £350 (no tax remember) which is nowhere near £340 vs £700. If we use the same ratios then £340 becomes £372ex or (£446 inc) for the DWE7491. Apply Dewalts multiplier and you would be paying near £700 for the OF1400,or £840 inc, then you really would think Festool expensive.

 

[Uk-Cobra]

I was looking about and came across this.

http://www.plccenter.co.uk/en-GB/Buy/RI ... TOOL/R4512

 

[RobinBHM]

Im sure a lot of UK table saws are pretty Rigid

 

[Eric The Viking]

Newsflash: Piles of cheap tool-junk still available in the USA - visit any Harbour Freight store. I did recently, it was depressing. So was Fry's Electronics (which now also sells groceries!), and even Sears isn't what it used to be.

I was trying to kit my son out with some electronics tools. The Harbour Freight stuff was so badly made some of the pliers still had sharp burred edges from grinding.

Eventually happened on a lovely little independent place in San Francisco though (I think it was Coles on Polk & Green) that sold decent small hand tools and a selection of excellent looking router cutters, so they are out there.

America seems to have very similar junk to the stuff we get, but the good stuff is a bit more readily available.

 

[AES]

Re the OP's Q re Rigid tools:

I'm not sure but THINK I read somewhere that the European Brand AEG (now owned by the Chinese) is ALSO the brand Rigid in the US.

Certainly some Rigid tools I've seen on US video clips, etc, are the same vivid orange colour that AEG brand tools are here "on the Continent".

The only trouble is that although I'm certain that AEG (the power tools, not the domestic items) are now Chinese, not German any more (I got that info from an official AEG brochure released here a year or three back) I can't remember where/how I found out about Rigid and AEG being the same tools - I've done a quick Google before posting this and can't find confirmation of that "fact", sorry.

ALSO: I don't know if AEG tools are available in UK - sorry again!

AES

 

[Droogs]

I've always thought US companies they didn't sell their table saws here due to the fact that their arbour are able to take stacked dados and EU legislation only allows arbours that are too short to do so

 

[petermillard]

Re the OP's Q re Rigid tools:

I'm not sure but THINK I read somewhere that the European Brand AEG (now owned by the Chinese) is ALSO the brand Rigid in the US.

ALSO: I don't know if AEG tools are available in UK - sorry again!

AES

Ridged and AEG are bands owned by Hong Kong-based TechTronic Industries (TTI) who also own the Milwaukee and Ryobi tool brands, as well as Hoover, Dirt Devil and Vax (and others - http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands/)

AEG are widely available in the UK. [THUMBS UP SIGN]

 

[iNewbie]

I've always thought US companies they didn't sell their table saws here due to the fact that their arbour are able to take stacked dados and EU legislation only allows arbours that are too short to do so

They also have to conform to other EU specs - I once emailed about their Bobbin/belt sander (now available from Rutlands and others) and was told they weren't ROHS compliant.

 

[AES]

OK, thanks, Peter Millard, I hope the OP sees that info.

BTW, when AEG was German, apparently those letters (in jest?) stood for Auspacken, Einschaltern, Geht nicht" - translation - unpack, turn on, doesn't go.

The AEG tools I see here in Switzerland don't look half bad, but I have no hands-on experience of them, nor do I know anyone who has. I have read comments here that Ryobi used to be good but is now not so much, so noting the post above, perhaps AEG has gone the same way? I dunno.

AES

Edited to add credit to Peter Millard for the info.