Does Ridgid/Emerson make Sears parts?

[GaryMc]

Recently I ordered a replacement housing/arbor assembly for a 25-year-old Craftsman table saw, from searspartsdirect. The new parts are an exact replicate of the old ones, except:

1) The new arbor does not have that @#!!**! fillet at the end of the threads.
2) The casting and machining is much improved over the original.

I saw a post here some time ago stating that the arbor issue had been resolved on the Ridgid saws, but I assumed that would not stretch back to a (Sears) model from a quarter-century ago. Unless, of course, Emerson still makes the replacement parts for Sears. Is that true? If so, thanks for the improvements.

[JSchnarre]

Gary,

We did make the part you ordered, though we do not make any of Sears' parts currently.

Jake

[GaryMc]

Jake, carrying this a bit farther...

When I look at the parts lists/diagrams for the TS2412 at ridgidparts, they appear virtually identical to those for the 25-year-old Craftsman TS on searspartsdirect (except, of course, the Ridgid name is missing from the top of the page) AND (a big and), the prices are anywhere from 10% to 50% less. Putting 2 and 2 together, I'm guessing I could order a few more items like a new arbor nut and washer from Ridgid and save a few bucks?

[JSchnarre]

You should be able to order the nut and washer from us for your Craftsman saw, but I cannot guarantee that all parts will fit in every case, as we have updated and changed many things from the Craftsman days.

[DCH]

Gary, Here's my take on the whole issue along with a couple of cents, it's a little long but you might find my experiences interesting.
First off though I must compliment Jake, he does a wonderful job of staying neutral on the Craftsman/Emerson(Ridgid) situation, he deserves an atta boy or something for not bad mouthing those guys over at Sears. I on the other hand no longer spend my tool dollars there unless I must for some odd reason, so I can shoot off my mouth.
I have an almost 20 year old Craftsman saw that has needed a part here or there in the past couple of years, in addition mine was purchased with the stamped steel extensions (not the cast ones). When I wanted to purchase the cast web extensions I determined that the Ridgid would fit my saw and I could save a bunch of $$$ in the process. They almost bolted straight on, the holes were off just a touch, as I recall I ended up drilling one new hole and enlarging 1 of the others, oh well they were less expensive and do the job I wanted. A few months ago my motor started acting up, after exhaustive research I learned the following (it helps to have relatives that work at Sears).
When Emerson and Sears parted company Emerson sold all of the replacement parts for the Crapsman (yes I meant to spell it that way) tools to Sears, when these parts are gone........ (anyones guess is as good as mine). As far as substituting Ridgid parts from what I have been able to determine it's all a crap shoot, although the saws are very similar in appearance things are slightly different, kinda like the extensions the holes measure close with a tape measure. The current Ridgid motor on the other hand was a no go. It took several attempts and a couple of phone calls however I finally was able to turn up a replacement part number for the motor, Sears still has some in stock and I even got the last one at our local parts warehouse, it even came in an Emerson box. After everything I have learned the past few months if I hadn't bought the fancy fence last year I'm not so sure I wouldn't have owned a Ridgid TS2424 by now. But hey, I have new extensions, a very nice fence, and a new motor in a box waiting for the other one to finally give up, it's almost a new saw.
Dave