Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ridgid R4512 Table Saw - The Nickel Test

I'm pretty much finished with the basic set-up of my Ridgid R4512 table saw. I've installed the wings and rails and the storage brackets. I've installed the blade, blade guard and safety pawls. I'll do a whole post soon about how to work the safety equipment. The blade guard and pawls install and uninstall very easily, so I'll demonstrate that soon. Otherwise, it's time to do the nickel test to see how well I've done setting things up. The nickel test involves setting a nickel on edge on the table of the saw, turning the motor on and seeing if the vibrations knock the nickel over. If they do, then something is out of whack. When I first turned on the saw, I did notice some vibration but I quickly fixed that by shimming one of the legs. My basement floor is not flat at all, so the saw wasn't sitting solidly on all four legs. When I shimmed the leg and tried again, the vibration totally went away. Here is the real test of whether the saw is in or out of whack (that's a technical term):


4 Comments:

Silence Dogood said...

I'm curious to know if you've gotten a chance to test out the R4512? I'm thinking of purchasing one and was looking to see what your thoughts are...

Unknown said...

I bought a R5412 within the last month. I too found it to take about 4 hours to assemble. Unfortunately, one of the supplied (stamped) wrenches (for 'doing' the blade) was the wrong size. Also the tape measure index on one of the rails was placed in the wrong position and so it only reads correctly on one side. A call to Ridgid cust. serv. linked me to a helpful and knowledgeable woman who, without problem, said I'd have the replacement parts in 3 business days. That was almost a month ago ... no sign of them yet. Follow up due on my part. I also had no problem with keeping a penny and/or nickel standing on edge at startup (altho I had to go thru a few pennies to find one that would stand up on it's own in the first place -- older pennies can be edge worn so a newer one is better).
I'm generally happy with the saw. The mobility, the sound level, and accuracy are all major pluses. The downside was moving it in the first place (before assembly) .... this sucker is H-E-A-V-Y. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I used a Lowes Discount coupon at HomeDepot and paid about $450 (pre-tax) for mine. Not bad.
Anyone found a good source for zero clearance inserts? We can make 'em but I'd rather spend my time on building things. I put a CMT ITKplus blade (the TK stands for Thin Kerf) on it and the pair are a dream. It does not cut like butter ... only butter cuts like butter, but it was smooth, easy and fast thru some 2" oak.

Unknown said...

I just assembled my R4512 this week, and love it thus far. One of the table extensions however must have gotten some air bubbles on the surface when it was getting painted so the surface is not flat. Not sure how you were able to get hold of a decent service rep, mine told me to return the saw to Home Depot! I definitely don't wan't to have to disassemble it and then pay to return it to t

Furnitude said...

Hi Kevin,
I've got a couple suggestions about customer service. You can go on the Ridgid forum and post a question. It seems like customer service monitors that pretty closely, so you might get a response. Another way, believe it or not, is to post on Ridgid's facebook page. I've seem them resolve issues with customers there. The address is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIDGID-Tools/76956398205

Dirk, I would suggest you try what I mentioned to Kevin in resolving these issues. I bet they'll take care of it. As far as the zero clearance insert, I'm working on a design for one of those for the R4512. The challenge is that the lip the insert would rest on is so shallow -- i believe it is about 1/8th of an inch -- that a typical homemade, plywood insert won't work. If I make progress on that soon, I'll post about it.