The Ridgid 10-Inch Wet Tile Saw has been dubbed “The Beast” by the popular tool brand. There’s a pretty good reason for it – this thing is loaded with features and has a monster of a motor. As with most wet tiles saws, there are trade-offs to be made with many seasoned Pros offering their opinions.
Let’s start with the specifications. The 10-inch blade is powered by a 15-amp motor and the design has commercial use in mind. It’s the same 15 amps you find in most Pro 12-inch miter saws, so you know this thing has significant muscle. It needs to though. With cut capacity of 34 inches for rip cuts, 24 inches for diagonal cuts, and 3-3/4 inch depth of cut, it’ll be grinding its way through material a lot harder than 4 x 4 PT and has to do it without chipping.
Key Features
When it comes to features, there’s a lot to talk about. You’ve got a plunging head to control cuts. Using this to plunge down into your cut is a great way to avoid chipping on the ends. A blade brake helps in the safety department while an LED light helps improve the accuracy when shadows or low light make accurate cutting more of a challenge.
Ridgid also integrated a laser into The Beast. While it’s clearly personal preference on whether or not you prefer lasers on any of your saws, it’s a feature that I like to take advantage of. The laser is adjustable, so you’ll be able to line up your cuts exactly how you prefer to see them.
An aluminum miter guide ensures you’re making precise cuts from 0 to 45 degrees. When you need to make a micro-cut, the fence support will help you avoid getting deep cracks in your material.
Pro Tip: To create more professional results at 90 degree joints, use the bevel feature to cut a pair of 45’s instead of butting up 90’s.
There are rear and side water trays to help capture water from larger tile cuts. The main water tray gradually removes debris as it moves toward the filter before being recycled. Less debris getting to the submersible pump should result in much longer life.
The Ridgid R4901 comes with a WS-UV stand. If you haven’t tried one of Ridgid’s gravity rise stands yet, you’re missing out. While the tubing looks bulkier than many stands on the market, it’s really well designed to make transportation and set up easy. Granted, assembly of the stand can be a bit of a challenge, so plan on spending an hour or so getting the whole system put together and ready to go.
Ridgid 10-inch Wet Tile Saw Specifications
- Model: R4091
- Motor: 120V, 15 amp
- No Load Speed: 4500 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10″
- Rip Capacity: 34″
- Diagonal Cut Capacity: 24″
- Max Depth of Cut: 3-3/4″
- Weight: 102 pounds
Wet Tile Saw Pro Tips
One of the biggest challenges you’ll come across (and is well-documented by tile saw users) is blade wobble. This is going to be a common issue with any saw as you increase the blade diameter. While the Ridgid 10-Inch Wet Tile Saw has plenty of power to cut, you’ll still want to take your time. For one thing, you’ll just end up with a cleaner cut, but it goes beyond today’s results.
The diamond blade is being put under a tremendous amount of stress as it cuts through tiles and pavers. That translates into heat, which can warp the blade. Water cooling certainly helps, but it’s not a license to drive tile through like a 16 year old that just got the keys to his dad’s Corvette.
While replacing the blade can solve the issue, it’s not always the problem. Lateral stress on the blade can also begin to bend the arbor. The longer the blade, the more efficient a lever you’re creating when something cause the blade to be anything but true. Once the arbor is bent, replacing it is the only option to save your saw.
I say all that simply to remind you that taking your time will give you the clean results you demand now while ensuring the saw will continue to be cutting true tomorrow. It’s a challenge that every 10-inch wet tile saw has to address in some way.
You’re also going to notice that the Ridgid 10-Inch Wet Tile Saw, like all wet tiles saws, is going to be a bit messy. Ridgid added rear and side water trays to help with spillover on larger tiles, but it’s simply not going to be a perfect solution. As you make a few test cuts to adjust your laser and get a feel for the saw, pay attention to the water collection so you know what kind of tiles sizes you can work with indoors.
Ridgid 10-Inch Wet Tile Saw Performance
Once I got started, the first thing that struck me was the wheeled stand featuring Ridgid’s gravity rise design. This is what the company calls WS-UV, or Wet Saw Utility Vehicle. Moving the saw is simple, and so is raising and collapsing it. At first I was worried that it might feel top heavy but it’s actually very stable. It rolled easily through a 32-inch doorway with about ¾ inch of clearance on either side.
Wet sawing is a messy job, but the side and back trays caught much of the splatter. Because of the risk of splatter, wet tile saws are usually outside, and you have to walk in and out of the house to make cuts. It occurred to me that if Ridgid added an option for a second side tray, almost all splatter would be contained and I could do the work inside. That would save time and effort.
The existing trays filter a lot of tile debris out of the water and Ridgid claims that this extends the life of the 15-amp motor, which makes sense. Less debris in and around the motor usually makes for a longer-lasting one.
The expanding, 2-stage table is made of aluminum with rubber coating. It glides effortlessly back and forth as you cut tile, letting you focus entirely on the cut. The table includes an aluminum miter guide for straight and miter cuts up to 45 degrees both left and right. I did have to lubricate the clamp on the miter guide to get proper function.
Two removable nozzles deliver water to the blade from the bucket below. I found that there was a bit of delay from the time you powered the saw on to the time the water hit the blade, and this was problematic. I would often find myself ready to cut a tile and the water wasn’t there yet. A decrease in this gap would be very helpful. Otherwise, I liked that the bucket was easy to remove and replace.
I really like the side to side movement of the cutting head on the Ridgid 10-inch wet tile saw. It slides along the the structural bar that holds the cutting head. You don’t have to move a large piece of tile, you can just move the blade where you need it instead.
The plunging head is another great feature. It was helpful on one job in particular as I had to cut small pieces of aluminum estrella tile. The saw cut true over the entire review.
The Bottom Line
All around the Ridgid 10-Inch Wet Tile Saw is a great tool and most importantly, it cut true during the entire course of my evaluation. I’d like to see faster water delivery to the blade when the saw is first switched on and the option for a second side tray, but those things won’t stop me from recommending this to other Pros. At around $700, it’s a solid value.
