I do apologize for any confusion. You should not use grease for the gears. Grease will collect dust. You should use a gear lubricant instead. This is one I have found that works great. www.amazon.com/d/Bike-Lube/Prolink-LU4004-130226-ProGold-Lubricant/B014T07I6K
Once again very informative but if you see the orange cross member on the back of the cabinet with a hole right in the middle you can put a large screw driver thru the hole and use it to gently move the trunion
Man thank you for this video... it's about 3 years later than I would've liked but I'll take it! When I first bought this saw I managed to fumble my way to getting the blade aligned, through many trial and errors (so many errors), but your video was a nice clear representation of how to get the blade aligned. Thanks again.
Michael, just re-visited this video last night and went over the way my saw is set up. Somehow I was .007 out on blade alignment, but managed to "hammer" it back to square. Actually just loosening the bolts on the trunions did the trick. Re-tested miter gauge to blade, check, same with bevel setting. Fence was out a bit, but brought it back. Then, I did the 5 cut sequence to determine real time conditions, using my Incra miter gauge and a board about 12" x 14". The difference between A and B was 0!!! I re-tested it and got the same result a 2nd time. I whispered "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and turned off the lights. Seriously, thanks loads for sharing your process with us. It's amazing how much better a project turns out when the tools are working as they should. Way more fun.
Really excellent instructional video. One thing though..... no need to tap the trunnions to move them, there is a hole in the vertical support so loosen the trunnion bolts stick a rod or long screwdriver thru the hole and move the trunnion as needed. All else the same.
I have this saw and after a move across the country it wasn't cutting right. It got knocked around a bit by the movers and was out of spec to about 20 thousandths. Thanks to your guidance, it's down to 0.5 thousandths.
This is the best video on RU-vid, out of the dozens that are out there, that thoroughly explains not only how to align the blade but all the other issues that have been commonly reported about this saw. I've been going back and forth on whether to buy this one or the Delta and I think this video finally sold me on the Ridgid. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much for being so thorough and clear on what you were doing and showing. I appreciate it and will be setting my saw up with this method from now on.
I have the same saw that I bought in 2014 my first fence had bow in the extruded aluminum, I contacted Ridged they sent a new fence, this one was damaged in shipping, so along came a third fence that was packaged properly and was straight. As a former CNC installer I was pretty anal about get this square, I did pretty much what you did on the fence with the dial indicator. I have not had to adjust since. TIP When not using the fence release the locking mechanism. I also have a master plate that I put on the Arbor to measure the parallelism between miter slot and the Arbor. A saw blade is not a good reference, the master plate is flat to less than 5, 100 thousand. Adjusting the trunnion was not easy, until I started using bar clamps to move the trunnion. I backed off the pressure on all four trunnion bolts. The retightened the left front bolt to a snug fit. Then using two bar clamps one jaw was on the trunnion. The other jaw was on the out side of the cabinet I did the same with the opposite trunnion and cabinet. This allowed me to micro adjust the movement of the trunnion,by adding pressure on one side and relaxing the other side. With the dial indicator in the miter slot measuring off the master plate I was able get the Arbor parallel to the miter slot. What led me to the clamps was every time I torqued down on the Arbor bolts the trunnion moved. Recently I changed over from 120 volts to 240. If I had to spend over $20.00 to do it I would not bother. In my case I had everything. The motor spools up much faster in the long run I think there is less stress on startup at 240 volts vs 120. I hope this helps someone.
I am shopping to buy a better table saw for my little garage woodworking (Just for fun and creating projects around the house), and this is the one saw I am leaning into it, the Rigid R4512... - And as you mentioned, YES... many people complaining about the alignment, and it was scaring me a bit. I am glad I've found your video, because it gave me some confidence to buy it and try to fix it, if it does come with that problem. Now, after all these years passed, how is it still going for you? Thanks for your time in making this video. We surely appreciate it!!!
I am glad I could help. It is still running great and I run 100’s if not thousands of board feet through it a year. It really is a great saw. For what you are wanting to do, with a good quality blade and good maintenance it could last you for decades.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking WOW.... Mike, that's some tough machine .... Awesome to hear that Sir! I found one thru Facebook Market, brand new, and the seller wants $500 bucks for it. BUT because of the warranty situation, I will stick with H.Depot ($749), so I can have the lifetime warranty. - Again, thank you so much for your greats videos Sir!!
I recently bought one, It's a fantastic saw with crap factory alignment and a decent, but not great fence. Mine was .017 out and .006 out vertical though full blade raise. Took roughly 2 hours back and forth and forth and got everything close enough that the wood will never notice. The Riving knife/splitter on the other hand is total poop. Mine has a twist, was replaced and the replacement was just as bad. You won't notice if you middle it with a 1/8" kerf blade, but narrower blades I had to pick a side and aligned it push toward the fence.
Excellent video Michael. I will definitely be using your techniques to check my saw as soon as the weather warms up again - thanks for this info! Also, may I just say that i feel this is one of your best videos to date. The camera angles were spot on for everything you were explaining and that we needed to see. Really nice work here sir!
Mary, I agree with you. He is already a good teacher. Now his videos are starting to get really good as well. It’s about time for his channel to blow up I’m thinking.
Thank you. I have been looking for a table saw and keep coming back to Ridged. Seeing how easy everything is to adjust I think you made my decision. Thank you for taking the time!!
I just bought one of these on Craig's list. The blade was off front to back by 3/16". Yes. 187 thousands. Perhaps I should have moved the table but I just pulled the rear trunnion and slotted the holes. Now it's within 1 thousands
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking I was hoping to get to it tomorrow. This video randomly popped up on RU-vid. I already subscribe to Kings so that was probably a factor.
I recently replaced my fence and rails with the Incra TS-LS Joinery System, it nice. Yes The Joinery System cost more than the saw,to me it was worth it. I also added the Incra Master Lift II with the clean sweep
I keep going back and forth on getting the ts-LSC or waiting to get a bigger saw. In all my research I think the ts-ls is the bang for the buck when upgrading.
Cool I returned mine to home depot because motor went out after 10 minutes of work, got it back and it's a whole 3/8 out, I actually got my old good saw going again and haven't even tried to work on this one yet
Ugh. I hate that. You should give it a shot. I am also going to get a set of PALS to test on mine. They are supposed to make it easier to adjust the trunion. Im going to test that and do a video on it.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking yeah the only reason I got rigid is because it's all I could find that someone had on hand and I needed it that day because my other 2 saws are too big to move from my shop to jobsite. At least now I can have a backup table saw " or my son will for his shop lol" thank you for the video.
Very nice video. And great explanation. I have the same saw and you are right- it is a great saw. A lot of bang for the buck. Plus, with the LSA it is a no brainer for the weekend/hobby woodworker.
Still an amazing video! Watching for the umpteenth time over the years to refresh. Question: do you find you have to do this often? Seems mine doesn't hold for long and I had read somewhere that the washers used are too small and weak and the indent into the hole and then that shape always forces it back to position that's off.
I have to redo mine about once a year. Occasionally, more often but no more than every 6 months. That is something I have not heard. You can always try and order replacement bolts and see if that helps. Especially if you have the LSA on it.
Awesome camera angles, excellent details, thank you very much. When buying a used tool it's always nice to watch videos like this since I didn't put the tool together from the cart. Is it worth the upgrade to a cabinet saw for a hobbyist? Is it an upgrade?
Thank you very much. In my opinion, if you’re a hobbyist I would say no. The only reason I could think to “upgrade” would be if you just wanted the extra safety of a sawstop. Other than that I think the extra expense couldn’t be justified. But again that is just my opinion.
Thank you for the video but I can not get mine any better than .0075 in. I'm somewhat of a newbie here, am I stressing too much about being off by that much or do I really need to get back out there and figure something out. I'm about to slap a for sale sign on it and find another table saw which sucks because I did really like this saw and the next step up will be another $500+
Look up PALS for the r4512. They should be able to help you. Also double check that your blade is flat enough. You should be ok at that as long as it’s not binding on you when you make cuts but if I could I would try and get just a touch better.
how are you testing the arbor nut? Is the tip of the guage resting on the arbor nut because my saw blade does not come up that high to actually test the arbor nut. Or is the guage touching the blade next to the arbor nut? Thanks for the video.
Hi Chris. You aren’t testing the nut you are testing the arbor itself. You raise the blade to full height and put the gauge as close to the center of the blade as you can. The gauge will be touching the blade a little above the arbor and nut. As long as you don’t have a severely warped blade then rotating the blade will give you an accurate measure of how straight your arbor is. Like I said in the video you don’t want more than a .005” deflection.
Thanks so much for the video. I will be checking mine today. Should I wipe all the inner parts with mineral spirits then spray garage door lubricant on the moving parts? it should be silicone based but wont it attract dust...or should i use wax.
Martin Maloley I would vacuum it out and get everything as clean as you can. You are right. Grease and wax will attract dust. I mis spoke and after I published the video I spoke with a friend. What you should use is a gear lubricant. I will be putting a link to the one I think is best in the description. Thank you for pointing that out.
Here is the link to the lubricant so you can find it easier. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VT0CA8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=kingsf-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B000VT0CA8&linkId=141799a6113afa7e4d4a675aa165423f
I apologize for the extremely late response. I just noticed your comment. I check mine about every six months. I only recently had to adjust it since I did the video. The only reason was because I replaced two of the trunion bolts with a set of TABS from Harold Adams. As long as you get the bolts tight once a year would be average for having to adjust it.
Thanks for your wonderful videos on the R4512 it helps alot. I have a problem with the blade guard, I cannot get it to attach to the riving knife. When I get it to "attach" it only stays on when the blade is higher up and will not stay on when the blade is lowered. Do you have any wisdom on this?
I do actually. I’m not sure how to type it out without Plagiarizing the manual lol. So, I will record a short video on how to do it and I will try to have it uploaded by tomorrow. I will comment here with the link once it is live.
Hey! Thanks for this great video. I tried it, but I can't seem to move the alignment more than 5thou (same direction as in the video). Is there a problem with the limit of adjustment possible?
There shouldn’t be an issue with that. Maybe try and loosen the bolts a tad more. Make sure you are loosening three and not just two. Also maybe try and spray with wd-40 or some other lubricant. Also make sure you are not moving it when re-tightening the bolts. Let me know if any of this helps.
If the problem is the blade then you will need to replace it. If it is the arbor itself then you will need to have it repaired. There are a couple of things that can cause the arbor to be out. Hopefully it’s a loose pulley or the motor. If the arbor is bent then it will have to be replaced.
Am I mistaken in thinking that it’s only necessary to loosen one side because you can still make the blade parallel by moving one trunnion and the other will automatically fall in line?
Well that’s a tough one. Yes, technically speaking you would be incorrect. It could work but the chances are far greater that the other side being tightened would prevent you from making an adjustment.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking Thank you soooooooooo much for a quick reply you are a saint! This crap is so freaking frustrating. This is my second table saw because my last one, a Delta hybrid saw 37-512t I think, was so frustrating to align and the company refused to respond to my repeated requests for help, they literally never got back to me and instructions are absent in the manual. To my dismay when I purchased this saw I am once again having issues aligning it. I just looked up the PALS kit and am hoping that it will fit this saw. I’m going to try and loosen the third easily accessible bolt right now and give it another go with fingers crossed that it will work. Do you have any other quick tips on how to get this thing in alignment?
I believe that is because you want to reference off the top of the table and not the bottom of the miter slot. That way any debris that may be in the slot will not mess the measurements.
I had a comment requesting the link for the igaging saw gauge, but just found it: www.amazon.com/iGaging-35-0928-Digital-Saw-Gauge/dp/B00AQGLB1K/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=igaging&qid=1551327686&s=gateway&sr=8-4 Thanks for the video. I have this saw and was thinking about refreshing it for this year. Much appreciated. Edit: I went thru these procedures and set up my saw in just a short period of time. It was very easy thanks to having watched this before trying it. I never would have even done it otherwise. Again, I do appreciate this. Now I feel like my saw cuts will be that much better than before.
I do apologize. I never saw a comment asking for a link. If I had I would have posted it. I am very glad you were able to find it and that I was able to help.
The 0 should not be aligned with the blade. When the fence is on the right side of the blade and it is touching the blade, the line in the clear plastic window (near the handle) should be on the 0. If the fence is in the left side then all of that is true for the left window. If it is not then you can loosen the two screws on the window and adjust it. If there isn’t enough room to do so then you will have to loosen the front rail and adjust it either left or right depending on which way you need to move the line.
Great video! Good explanations, and covered thoroughly. You even covered things I didn’t think of. It’s a good idea to check that the arbor is true and that the blade is flat. I like the comparison of the two alignment jugs at the beginning. I’ll get a link to this put in my description as well, so I can send everyone here. Not just because you cover the contractor style saw, but you cover more stuff. Awesome buddy!!
Hi, sorry to bug you again.. (last time was befoe I bought the saw) ... Every time I try to tighten the bolts after I get 0, it shifts like mad .. Is this normal or are my trunnions poorly machined? ... I have 10 days left on the 90 day in store exchange but would much rather not have to drag the saw back out of my basement .. sigh ...
Sorry it took a day to get back to you. RU-vid hasn’t been notifying me when someone comments. This is normal. The bolts tend to want to move the trunion as you tighten them. You can try using a clamp to hold it place. What I found is if I tighten the bolt toward the front of the saw first( but not completely) and go slow doing a little at a time on each bolt then it worked. If and when I have to adjust it again I will try the clamp trick and see how well that works. And don’t worry about bugging me. This is why I started doing this. It’s not a bother to me at all.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking THANK YOU!!! I was sure my trunnions were toast ... I'll give it another try (with a helper this time!) and pray it works! .. If not, i'll exchange it this week ... thanks again for the help, some RU-vidrs become snobs once they pass 100 subscribers .. LOL
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking I got it down to perfect zero, but it seems if I push on the riving knife handle a little, it goes off, but once I pass a piece of wood through, it goes back to zero ... Everything tightened as tight as possible ... I'm guessing this is just normal?
@MK Designs Fine Woodworking and More LLC, And anyone else ......... Can you tell me exactly which blade you are using? I am using a Forrest Woodworker II (Thin Kerf). I kinda want to switch to a full kerf since I've upgraded to the Incra TS-LS fence system (simply for easier math). My concern is the width of another blade being compatible with my riving knife. I am considering an Amana PR1040C which says it has a blade kerf of .134 and that's too wide for my knife. By the way, I've subscribed.
I use a Forrest woodworker II 40 tooth full kerf blade. Forrest WW10407125 Woodworker II 10-Inch 40 Tooth ATB .125 Kerf Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor www.amazon.com/dp/B0000223VQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JGuBDbRCYEMPB The Amana blade you are talking about should be fine. You don’t want a blade that is thinner than your riving knife. Thicker is ok. I don’t like the thin kerf blades because they tend to flex and sometimes the cuts are off.
Hey Steve. I have the forest ww 2 full kerf with he TS-LS positioner on the same saw at 220V. The full kerf blade is outstanding. I also use a 24 tooth full kerf Frued Industrial(not diablo) ripping blade which is my favorite.
@@foxhallww311 Thanks very much. I want to try this Amana blade. It gets good reviews and as I said, I want to use a 1/8" to simplify math. I neglected to mention, my saw is also at 220v.
It hadn’t started binding yet. It was burning a little bit but what told me something was off was that the blade was cutting on the back end(out feed side) it shouldn’t be doing that, lol.
I want to make sure I understand the question before I answer. You set the dial gauge as close to the arbor as you can (with blade at full height), then set to zero and rotate the blade? As you rotate it you get a reading of .006 and then back to zero? Is that correct?
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking So my mind is made up. I am getting this saw in the next couple of weeks. What is your view on the fence? The reason I ask is that I have a delta unifence which I may fit.
@@ian1957ruth HI. The fence is fantastic for what it is. However, if you have a unisaw fence and it will fit I would use that one. If it won't and you have to use the Ridgid one then as long as you keep it in alignment it will work great for you.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking Thank you for the quick response.👍 It was the comment about the positive stops that got me to look at the manual. Now what about that fence-lol
Hello! I have the same table saw and there is not enough play to completely fix the gap, even after loosening all 4 screws (yes, the 4th one is a bitch!). Do you think I could drill larger holes in 2 of the brackets?
I’m sure it’s possible however I wouldn’t want to suggest that. First of all you could do more harm than good. Meaning, it could be possible to have them too big and the trunnions would have a difficult time staying put. Secondly, I’m positive that would void your warranty. Have you tried moving it the wrong direction and then moving it back? Sometimes that can help. Also take the bolts completely out(one at a time) and make sure there isn’t any gunk keeping it from moving. Short of that I would recommend calling Ridgid support and explain to them that you can’t get the blade parallel to the miter slots. They may have a solution or may send you a part to help fix it. Let me know how it goes.
@@mkdesignsfinewoodworking After 3 hours of almost putting the damn thing on Craig's list I finally got it to 0.017 in. It's decent enough for the hobbyist that I am. But I suspect there's is something else that is wrong. The difference gets larger when the blade is fully elevated, which suggest a glitch with the lift, no?
Yes. That suggests to me that there is an issue with the main trunion. (www.toolpartsdirect.com/ridgid-r4512-10-inch-table-saw.html -part no 69 on the diagram.) I would recommend replacing it if you can.
