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I’ve been using the new RIDGID R4031S 7” wet tile saw for the past few months and so far it’s been a good saw to work with. Not a pro saw, not a great saw, but good enough. I use it because it’s lightweight and cuts straight, if you pay attention.
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RIDGID 9 Amp 7 in. Blade Corded Wet Tile Saw with Stand
Just a heads up, I’m going to reference the DeWalt D24000 10” wet tile saw I reviewed a few months back to give some perspective on this RIDGID 7”. The D24000 is a tile industry standard pro-level saw.
Power
The R4031S, S for stand, runs a 9amp, 1-3/4HP motor. It rips through porcelain with less bog down than DeWalt’s D24000, which is probably due mostly to the DeWalt running a larger blade.
Capacity
The RIDGID has a 24-25” rip, an 18” diagonal, and a 2-1/4” depth of cut.
Weight
The RIDGID stand weighs 14 lbs, is semi wobbly, and has four height settings. The highest gives you a 36” cutting cart deck height. It also has quick release clips that make the stand easy to collapse if you need more room in your vehicle.
The rest of the setup, including the saw, cutting cart, miter gauge, water tray, blade, and water pump weighs only 29.8 lbs. That’s 44 lbs with the stand. At this weight I can carry everything from the truck in one trip.
Compare that to the DeWalt, which is so much heavier that, for me, it’s a three trip set up. Honestly, the RIDGID’s light weight is the only reason I carry it over the D24000. If the DeWalt weighed less I’d pay up for it’s higher build quality.
Cut Quality
I cut the same porcelain tile on the RIDGID and the DeWalt D24000 and got the same jagged edge. The difference is in the precision, which comes down to tray play.
The RIDGID’s deck play when the front or back rollers come off the rail is 1/16”, which is not close enough to run decent grout lines. So you can’t just measure and rip 24” tile off the fence. Instead, you have to pay close attention and maybe mark and follow a line, which slows you down.
The D24000 has 1/32” of off-rail play. So you can rip 24” tile against the fence and expect to be within a 32nd and get decent grout lines.
And don’t bother upgrading to RIDGID’s “CHIP FREE” $40 blade.
Build Quality
The cutting cart runs plastic rollers that clog with tile dust and need to be cleared out to roll again. The plunge has no spring. The blade change has no spindle lock button. The onboard blade change wrenches do not fit the miter stop adjustment screws.
The drain plug location is right over the stand leg. So you can’t just let it drain out over a 5gal. bucket at the end of the day. Instead, you have to babysit and when it gets low replace the cap so it doesn’t run onto the stand leg and make a mess.
The water nozzles are removable for cleaning and feed just enough water to keep things wet. But watch out because they can easily burn onto the blade if they are knocked off line. The inner nozzle is especially close to the blade.
Water Containment
The newly redesigned aluminum cutting cart contains water well for 12” or smaller tile. And water adheres to tile so you can cut large tile indoors if you’re careful on the pull back.
You still get water spray out of the back as you push the tile forward. But this new model R4031 has an improved splash guard that works as well as the DeWalt guard. Both spray out of the back. I’ve been using a mud mixing bin on the floor to capture the overspray and it works pretty good.
Bottom Line
This is not a pro saw because of the drain plug location, build quality, etc. But it’s lightweight and it cuts straight if you work it right. If you get one I hope it works as hard for you as mine has for me. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you next time.
