Some will read this review wondering why a saw that’s been out for quite a few years gets a review in PTR. The Ridgid MS255SR 10-inch dual bevel sliding miter saw came out in 2012 and had a limited run that lasted up through 2014. But that was pretty much the last time anyone could purchase it.
It was a great saw then, but The Home Depot replaced it with a model manufactured by TTI (the parent company behind Ridgid, Ryobi, and Milwaukee Electric Tool Co.) The Ridgid R4112 and R4122 were decent dual bevel miter saws, but the sliding MS255SR had such good results that it was reintroduced this year around June. Yes, you can once again purchase the Ridgid MS255SR at The Home Depot. We decided to give this sliding miter a fresh look so Pros can decide if they’re getting a product that measured up to the original.
I crawled all over this saw and found features I like nearly everywhere I looked. This saw brings a lot to the table to talk about, so buckle up, and hang on!
First Impressions
As soon as you pull the Ridgid MS255SR out of the box, you immediately notice some contrasting colors—and all with a purpose. Ridgid Orange dominates the housing, giving way to the Red of the included Diablo 40-tooth general purpose blade. I can’t think of a better combination for the price. When we do shootouts, we try to control as many variables as possible. With saws, that means slapping identical blades on each tool. It just so happens we used this exact blade in our recent portable jobsite table saw shootout. We chose it because it delivered a good combination of cutting speed and finished cut quality.
Taking a 360-degree look around the Ridgid MS255SR 10-inch dual bevel sliding miter saw, a couple of things immediately stood out. First, the cord. That’s right, the black power cord is worth mentioning. Rather than running it up the side of the housing and having to constantly keep it out of the way, Ridgid ran it through the slides and out the back. Now that I think about it, this doesn’t seem all that difficult to do, but it makes a big difference.
Yes, Still Talking About Cord Management…
Another topic of conversation with cord management would have to center around the innovative—wait for it—cord wrap. Why every miter saw doesn’t have a cord wrap is above my pay grade. However, it’s an incredibly welcome feature on Ridgid’s 10-inch miter.
Ridgid MS255SR Miter and Bevel Controls
Moving around to the front of the saw, you’ll see another reason to cue the Hallelujah Chorus. All the miter and bevel controls are mercifully housed up front. For mitering, just grab the front and center detent override. Pushing it to the right with your thumb evacuates the detent. When you let go, it just slips back into position to catch the next one. Pushing it to the left locks it in the override position until you flip it back to center. When you’re not working in a detent angle, pushing down the large miter lock holds your angle tight.
Bevel adjustments appear on both the right and left sides of the miter levers. On the left, you have the bevel lock. Releasing it allow you to engage in standard left bevel adjustments. When you need to tilt right, an override lever on the right side gets you beyond the zero degree stop to open up the opposite side. Locking the override back in position doesn’t keep you on the right. You just slip the saw back over the zero stop, and it will reengage.
Other Notable Ridgid MS255SR Features
The crown stop on the slide may take a few minutes to figure out if you don’t read the manual first. You need to press the button down to release the slide and then down again to open the lock back up for the shaft to be reinserted. With the button down, push the slide all the way back, then release it. Sliding the motor head forward will lock it back into the crown stop position when it catches. The lock puts the motor head in position for the greatest cutting depth… almost. It’s a little nit picky, but you can gain an extra 1/4-inch by moving the stop back a little more.
There aren’t any side extensions on the Ridgid MS255SR. For that, we recommend picking up a nice miter saw stand with built-in extensions, or just grabbing some portable roller feed stands. This certainly isn’t a deal breaker, but I’ve been so used to having them that it was a noticeable omission. Mounted to a good miter saw stand—like Ridgid’s MS-UV stand—will quickly make that a moot point.
Like most miter saws we use, there is a depth stop adjustment bolt to help you handle Dado-style and other non-through cuts.
The fence extensions slide out to make room for the blade during bevel cuts. They also give you additional lateral support for trim. Unscrewing the bolts further, you can completely remove them if needed. More of the features come into play when it comes to actually setting and cutting your material.
The Cutting Experience
Time to Clamp Down on the Nonsense
With some material, it’s just easier to clamp it down than to hold onto to it. Ridgid makes the best miter clamp I have ever seen. It locks into place on either side and can slide up and down the shaft for vertical adjustments—nothing groundbreaking there. That’s when they go completely outside the box with a double pivot, quick release design.
The horizontal pivot spins the clamp laterally where you need it. By pressing in on the joint, a vertical pivot lets you clamp vertically as usual. But, you can also angle it for securing crown molding and even place it horizontally (though you’re limited to about 1 inch of horizontal clamping). Making things even better, a quick release on the clamp gives you the ability to quickly get positioned before twisting it down to secure the material. It reminds me of the new Hart clamps.
Light and Laser Show
Now that your material is secure, it’s time for a laser and light show. Ridgid’s gravity LED swings within its housing to keep the LED light directed at the same angle through the cut. This leaves you with optimal light coverage no matter how tall or wide the material is that you’re cutting.
Twin red lasers flank the blade inside the blade guard. Ridgid calibrated them out of the box so the width between lasers is very nearly dead on the width of the blade.
Making the Cut
Reaching up to grab the handle will give lefties a sigh of relief—the trigger safety can be operated from either side. It’s centered on the blade, making it easy to operate right- or left-handed. Ridgid also angled the handle down slightly, giving you a little more leverage. It makes a noticeable difference in how much effort it takes to lower the blade.
We tell people this all the time: Put a great blade on a solid platform, and your saw will cut beautifully. The Ridgid MS255SR 10-inch dual bevel sliding miter saw is no exception to this rule as the 15-amp motor drives the Diablo blade to slice through wood with seemingly little effort. Resizing 2×4 and 4×4 pressure treated lumber didn’t make it seem like we were putting any stress on the motor.
Hooking up the dust collector was another treat. I initially had concerns about the distance between the base and dust chute. These were quickly calmed as a surprising percentage of dust was removed from each cut. It’s honestly among the best I’ve seen. If everyone got this right, our shops would be a whole lot cleaner.
The front mounted controls make mitering and beveling simpler and much more enjoyable. The miter stops are solid, and there’s no chance of pushing out of or past the slots. If anything, I’d like to have a few positive stops for the bevel adjustments and a little better sight line to the angle markings.
Conclusions
The Ridgid MS255SR 10-inch dual bevel sliding miter saw is flush with features in its well though out design. If there’s anything I could ask for on the next generation, it would be for integrated side extensions, bevel locks at common angles, and a better sight line to the bevel angle markings. You get confident and smooth cutting performance thanks to the 15-amp belt driven motor and the included Diablo blade.
Like I mentioned in the beginning, this saw was out in very limited supply for a couple years before being replaced. Its reintroduction along with a $349 price tag might make it the most popular 10-inch miter saw available. When I look at the price and consider the performance, it’s hard to imagine dropping more money on a different saw. I can highly recommend the Ridgid MS255SR to all professional users.
Ridgid MS255SR 10-inch Dual Bevel Sliding Miter Saw Specifications
- Model: Ridgid MS255SR
- Motor: 120 volt, 15 amp
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Stock Blade: Diablo D1040A 40T General Purpose Blade
- No Load Speed: 3600 RPM
- Maximum Cross Cut Capacity: 3-1/2 x 12 inches
- 45 Degree Miter Capacity: 1-7/8 x 12 inches
- Maximum Cutting Depth: 3-1/2 inches
- Miter Range: 52 degrees left, 60 degrees right
- Bevel Range: 45 degrees left and right
- Weight: 46.74 pounds
- Price: $349
- Warranty: Lifetime service agreement (with registration)
