[Woodworkers] Another Ridgid Tale

Wed Nov 25 10:54:16 PST 2015

Of course Frank would say that!  He works for Ridgid.

But, my first Dewalt set of many, many years ago had batteries that I
thought lasted forever.  Used them in trenches, in the snow, and
occasionallyHowever, it seems every new generation of batteries from DeWalt
the life of them grows shorter.  Not happy with that.

Al

On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 1:05 PM, Joe Johns via Woodworkers <
woodworkers at lists.sawdusters.org> wrote:

> Somewhere 'round first part of August 2015 I began noticin' the batteries
> powering the shop's 18-volt Ridgid tools were giving up their ghosts.  By
> saying that I mean, once charged they didn't last long in the tool or last
> long on the shelf after being charged.
>
> If I were to pursue it, I'd be a shoe-in for the Supreme Poster Child of
> cordless tools; I use them constantly and almost every day.  Granted, I
> don't use the recip, circular saw or flashlight all that often but I can
> tell you the drills and impact driver are like air to me - without them I'd
> die.  They are in my hands all the damn time and, more often than not, all
> three are on the bench at the same time.
>
> Ten years ago this past November 1st Lauri and I were at Home Depot in
> Missoula.  Our purpose there was varied but my primary mission was to get
> another cordless drill.  Don't get me wrong, the one I had was working
> perfectly - it was a simple fact I absolutely needed two drills.  Two years
> prior (2003) I got the Ridgid 14.4-volt drill - just the drill, nothing but
> the drill, so help me Zeus.  Now it's two years later (2005) and I'm in
> there discovering they no longer have the 14.4-volt variety and have taken
> the 18-volt road.
>
> I'm standing there looking at and fondling the drill, nothing but the
> drill (shut up Dave!) and Lauri, bless her buttons, is off somewhere else
> and notices Home Depot has a cordless kit on sale.  So, she wheels over and
> sees me looking at the drill, and fondling nothing but the drill, nods her
> head indicating behind her and says, "Come with me."
>
> We get over there and she flings her arm theatrically saying, "Lookee
> here...hardly $200 more and you get this whole kit with all these other
> tools plus two extra batteries!"
>
> At that precise moment there was no doubt in my mind believing the mold
> making her was destroyed the second after she was born.
>
> Now let us walk down the path of time passing to November 9, 2015, which
> was ten years and eight days after that day inside Home Depot.  I'm in the
> shop working on a piece of furniture and the final straw of me dealing with
> them batteries was laid on my shoulder; I couldn't bare the load any
> longer.  I came home, called the Ridgid service center up in Kalispell and
> told Frank to expect a box being delivered to him the next morning.  In
> that box was also a letter detailing the problem, along with the Lifetime
> Warranty registration information on the tools and batteries and a
> statement saying the batteries needed to be replaced.
>
> A buddy of mine was going up there the next morning so I sent the box with
> him.  Instant *Saved Postage* award achieved!  "Jeff,"  I said handing
> the piece of paper to him like it was the Terms of Surrender we gave to the
> Japanese, "Be sure whoever you give the box to in that shop signs this
> receipt...since it ain't going USPS this is the only way I can prove they
> got the goods."
>
> "Ummm, Joey, since I'm the one dropping it off then I think I can bare
> witness to that fact."
>
> "Yessss, ordinarily that would be sufficient but I have to consider the
> possibility of you stopping at Wendy's afterward and choking to death on a
> french fry."
>
> "Hummm...yes, I can see how that would be very disturbing for ya."
>
> "I know!  I don't wanna buy another cordless tool arrangement."
>
> Now we're at the point where a little fun math can be done.
>
> The entire kit was $379.00 (flashlight, recip, 1/2" drill ((with hammer
> drill capability)) an impact driver, circular saw AND three batteries.  If
> we take ten years and eight days then that comes to 3658 days, which
> ciphers out to a tad bit over .10 cents a day.  I know a lot of people who
> have and swear by DeWalt and Makita and Bosch and all the others hawking
> cordless tools but I can easily and confidently stand on the cheesiest soap
> box and proclaim Ridgid to be the boss.  And, before you wonder and to save
> you from asking, I'll tell you now.  Yes, except for Milwaukee, I have
> owned all the major brands and they, collectively, pale in comparison.
>
> It would be fun to get their new kit (same five tools but only 2 batteries
> and the flashlight is now LED but, other than that, it still has the same
> $379 price tag) with the lithium-ion feature but that is hard for me to
> justify when the ones I have are 12 and 10 years old and are still going at
> it like bunnies - well...bunnies with new batteries.
>
> Ohhh, yeah, I nearly forgot.  Frank?  The guy at the tool repair center?
> Well, Jeff told me Frank stood right there in front of him and stated, "The
> only power tools anyone should ever buy are Ridgid."
>
> I am honor bound to agree with him.  So, once again, I am advising anyone
> here contemplating a cordless tool purchase to seriously give Ridgid your
> nod of approval, just be certain you register your tool(s) online with
> Ridgid.
>
> The new batteries arrived today and along with them was a statement that I
> must re-register the new batteries in order to continue...yes, continue the
> clearly outstanding warranty.
>
> That is all.
>
> --
> Joe,
> The Twisted Knot Woodshop, "There's never been a classier joint"
> Visit the Twisted Knot Woodshop - http://www.twistedknotwoodshop.com
>
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