I noticed some bad cuts (heeling?) on my contractor’s-style table saw (RIDGID TS3650) so I decided to check and see whether my blade was parallel to the miter-guage slots. Turns out, it was not. So, I did what the manual said — I loosened all six bolts holding the trunion assembly to the table. I then snugged up the center trunion bolt at the front of the saw and moved the little lever in the back to try and pivot the blade back into alignment. This worked fine when I first assembled the saw. But this time, the lever was not working well. I couldn’t get the rear part of the blade to pivot enough in the right direction to bring the blade into proper alignment. I then tried tapping the trunion itself with a block of wood and a hammer (several times) but to no avail. Finally, after much cursing, I tried loosening the bevel wheel a bit. BINGO! For some reason, the shaft connected to the bevel wheel was preventing the trunion assembly from moving to where I needed it. Problem solved — or at least I thought.
With the blade now aligned properly, I tried turning the bevel wheel so I could set my blade at 45-degrees. The blade moved a little bit, but then wouldn’t go any farther. Upon closer inspection, the part of the trunion that moves the blade between 0 and 45-degrees was actually shaving a little bit of metal where the two parts rub (sorry, I don’t have exact technical terms for these parts). After scraping these metal shavings out of the trunion and adding a little lubrication, it’s starting to work better. It’s still a bit stiff, though. I’m worried that I’ve really screwed something up. Anybody know what I’m doing wrong? Why is this happening?
Edited 7/5/2005 4:49 pm ET by Toolfreak
Edited 7/5/2005 4:50 pm ET by Toolfreak
Replies
You're okay, you did what was neccesary to square up the blade and get the saw to bevel. Sounds like Rigid could have done a better job manufacturing the saw. Keep it lubed and it will wear in correctly.This isn't uncommon in your saw, I had to adjust a similar saw for a friend a while back.Took at least 6 hours for what I thought was going to be a two hour job.
One thing you need to check is if the trunion is aligned as well. If it isn't, when the blade is set at 45 degrees, the front and back of the balde will not be the same distance to the fence. The result is burned cuts when cutting at 45 degrees.
To check, tilet the blade to 45 and measure the distance between the blade and fence at the front and the back of the blade (it's best to use the same blade tooth when measuring, rotating the blade to move the tooth fore and aft). If the difference is greater than 0.004", you should adjust the trunion by placing shims between the table top and the trunion. If the blade is too close in front, put the shims in front (this is for a RIGHT tilting saw). I use old thin scraper blades for shims, but what you need depends on how out of alignment the trunion is, and how long the distance is between front and back bolts for holding on the table.
After making this adjustment you need to recheck the blade/mitre slot alignment. Also, don't forget to ensure that the 90 and 45 degree stops on the saw are set correctly.
Good luck,
Paul
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