I've owned and used this saw for several years now and it's been thrown in and out of my truck on job sites on and she's still working great, but your adjustments have helped tremendously thank you.
I must say this is by far the most detailed video on table saw tuning, I just got the exact same model about a week ago and I’ve been having the hardest time tuning it. WELL DONE !!
Aloha Smokey The Bear, Thanks for the kind words and I hope that it helped you out. I kept the saw and have been happy with it. The key is setting it up the way you want to have it so that it operates within your needs and expectations. I'm just at the hobby level so I would like precision but am not worried about the high capacity production aspect of the saw. That saw was the best deal I could find that had the capacity to cut through 4X material. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
L’m having an issue with the 90 degree bevel. I loosened the screw too much and the stop mechanism got loose and now l’m worried I messed things up. L’m going to tighten it back up and hopefully everything works out
@@maverickmikekauai3515 Thanks Mike, this was an excellent video covering everything from A to Z. I appreciate the effort you put into this and have only given one thumbs up because that's all they will give me, but you deserve more! Thanks again from Canada.
I just bought this saw, for many of the same reasons you did. I'll be setting it up tomorrow. Your video touched on all the adjustment questions I had. An EXCELLENT video. Thanks.
This saw was given to me by my father-in-law. I want to replace all the baseboards and door trim inside my house. I was able to put the kickback guard on, but it doesn’t look as high as yours even with the blade lifted all the way. Hope I did it right😂 Thanks for the video!!!
This is by far the best video I’ve seen on this table saw. This was a huge help in tuning mine up! Thank you for taking the time in going through this in such detail!
After working through my saw using this video as my guide, I'm much happier with the results I'm getting. Thank you for your time and effort in putting this together. Cheers!
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to create this detailed video! There not many folks out there that will put this kind of effort to help others. You rock guy!
Just bought this saw to do some projects around the house. Having never used one before is a lot more intricate than I expected, but nothing I can't handle after watching this video.
Wow! Not only were you incredibly detailed but you even made a few suggestions on a better way of the way they said didn’t work! Brilliant!! Thank you for taking the time to explain all steps!!
I bought this over a year ago. I’m watching this video again when I’m at the machine and retune it following your instructions. I was delayed a few months with 2 bathroom remodels but want to confirm the settings. Then, I’ll be making a couple of jigs. Thanks very much Mike! You rock
Hi.. my husband bought me this exact table saw for my birthday yesterday, and i want to thank you for this detailed review and instructions.. this is amazing!!!
Thank you for this video, best one yet. I just purchased this one and it came without a manual so I was lost. I'm so glad your review popped up just in time to save me. Excelent tips and I will be using them tomorrow when I assemble mine thanks again
Thanks for the help. I live 2 hours far from the nearest Home Depot. Watching your video saved me alot of trip to return this saw. I fixed the alignment problem by your help. Thanks again
You're the God! In the middle of doing my floor, Faithful Dewalt went nuts on me. After extensive research decided to go with the Rigid 4514. Your detailed video sure will help me assemble and fix the errors as I put together the saw. Thank you so much!
Aloha Mayan, Thank you for the kind words and hope the video is helpful to you. Christ Jesus the Lord is God manifest in the flesh. I am just a small piece of dust that takes God at His Word. Hope the saw serves you well. Mahalo, Maverick Mike
@@maverickmikekauai3515 My 4514 arrived two days ago. The stand gave me a little hard time, but from your detailed guidance, I was able to assemble the saw without further hold-ups. Thank you so much, Sir.
You do have to spend some time setting the saw up... blade, fence, etc. But once done, the saw is great. Fairly compact which is Nice th-cam.com/users/postUgkxXh-4_3-ZT1fFWP91ZV7iVqzElr0lEb-a I did get an Incra Miter Gauge which takes some setup as well. The stock miter gauge can be adjusted in the miter slot with a little painter's tape... this tightens up the side to side play a lot.
Great video on this table saw. Lots of details, just what I needed. I found answers to the problems I was having. Ridgid should hire you to make instructional videos for them.
Great video, and Aloha to you. Living in Oklahoma but born in Honolulu. Military families move all the time, we just happened to be there when I was born. I had a hard time with my saw, I measured the 90 degree angle at 88.8, nowhere acceptable. I could not turn the cam to the right at all so I ended up using pliers on the back side like you showed and finally got it at 89.9, good enough for me. The riving knife drove me up the wall. I would set it then while tightening it up it would drift to the right and out of alignment with the blade. This was taken care of by moving it to the left out of alignment just a little then tightening it up and it drifted to the right perfectly aligned. All other angles were spot on. I don't understand how everything could be spot on except the 90 degree angle but that was the case. Thank you for making this video, you answered a ton of questions I had and did a much better job then the instruction manual.
What an absolute pleasure this video is. I want to thank you for taking the time to put in so much detail. I was just getting ready to return my unit but because of your video, I will just make these adjustments and get to work. Thank you Mike!
Your time invested into this video is appreciated and was in part helpful in part in helping me make a decision on purchasing this saw. One point I'd like to make is what I tell most of the youtubers who make videos on table saws. You don't square a rip fence to the blade, you make it parallel. This applies to the miter slots on the table as well. If your miter slots are parallel with the blade then you may adjust your rip fence to be parallel to the miter slots. Conversely, you square a miter gauge to the saw blade/miter slots. Have a nice day
Aloha Charles, Great point! I'm glad I got the saw BUT it is not great if you are trying to do precision work like furniture making. But it is marketed as a contractors job site table saw and for that job it is mostly ok. Thanks again for the great comment. Mike
Mike, thank you SO much for this video. I just bought this saw and the set up went rather quickly (for me). I would NOT haver been able to do all the adjustments without help had it not been for your video.
I just bought this saw today. I went through the adjustments but after watching your video I realize there are some I missed. Most settings I have checked so far had to be corrected like yours. I actually laughed when adjusting the 45 degree setting when it said to move the pointer to align with the 45 mark after setting the6 pointer on the 0 degree mark. They needed to make the scale adjustable too. I found the same issue with the table top as yours, it is not flat. Had to keep saying to myself; its not a cabinet saw. Thanks for the great video!
Aloha Jeff, Thanks for the great comment about the video. Enjoy the saw and as long as we understand who this saw is made for then we should be able to deal with it's many issues. Another issue you may find as you use the saw is with the Riving Knife. Mine saw so thick that I noticed it was throwing my cuts off. I have had several conversations with other folks about this issue and what I did to "correct" the problem. Check for the post in an earlier thread. Mahalo, Mike
I just bought this saw today. On sale at HD for $397 Canadian dollars. It’s still in the back of my truck. I was wondering why so cheap $200 off regular price. I was going to get the skil but the price was great. Glad I watched your great video before unpacking. I should be fine for decks and fences, only ripping with it. I’ve got the dewalt 780 miter saw which is spot on.
Aloha J, That's a good price. I'm reasonably happy with the saw but it certainly would not be my first choice for furniture making. Glad you enjoyed the video! Mahalo, Mike
Mike, I have had my Rigid for over a year now. I did not do any adjustments out of the box that I remember. I have, over the last year, used it a lot and compensated for the degrees of out alignment. I will be following your video to get mine up to par very soon. Better tuning = higher quality work and saves time. Thanks for this. Mahalo
Aloha Jay, Sounds like you got a fairly decent saw right out of the box! That's awesome. So many of the issues with this saw would just disappear IF the table top was manufactured straight. Mahalo for the kind words! Mike
Great Video. Very detailed, and to the point. I have had this saw for about a week now and started using straight out of the box because I had some stuff that needed to be done. The cut were pretty good, I was surprised at how good with no adjustments. Now I have a couple days to relax I will check every measurement that you have detailed. You are a big part of why I love You Tube.
Aloha James, Thanks for the kind words. My fence was good right out of the box as well and the saw was sufficient for "standard tolerance" framing work and similar projects. It just needed to be dialed in better for detailed, precision work and I did the best I could but was limited by the table top being out of square/plumb/even. I'm not a contractor but rather just a novice hobby level woodworker having fun with a new hobby. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
Thank you for this video. I bought this saw back in 2018. It sat in the box for about a year, we finally set it up and made a few shelves back in 2019 2020 time frame. Well last weekend decided to try my hand at edge miters for a floating box shelf and realized very quickly I needed to adjust the saw. Going to have to further adjust per your video.
Aloha GamerNxUSN, Hopefully you ended up with a saw that was not as messed up as mine was. Good luck and thank you for the kind words. Hope the video helps you out. Mahalo, Mike
I've had this same saw for about 10 years now. It was perfect right out of the box, however, now it needs some TLC. Your video will certainly be a big help. By the way, these things seem to last for a long time if you take care of it. As old as mine is it still works just fine. Nice & portable too. Thanks again for the best video on ytube explaining this saw.
I just used this saw over the weekend. I ripped 5 - 2x10x9 footers into 3/4" slats for a Slat Wall project in the entry. I'd say that's a pretty heavy project for this table saw and it performed very well. Also - it took me a little more than 15 minutes to assemble the stand and mount it. :-). Happy I made this purchase last year. Also thanks for the video, it is a great compliment to the manual.
Aloha David, Thanks for the good comments. I also am fairly happy with the saw but I do wish that I could make more accurate cuts with it without having to jump through hoops. Glad you enjoyed the video! Mahalo, Mike
This video was incredibly helpful! Even a mechanically challenged Tennessean like myself was able to figure out this setup due to your video. Thank you!
"Wheel's next... ugly side in, sexy side out..." ROFL 🤣 - I gotta remember that one! Thank you for this awesome vid!!! It's extremely helpful, am assembling my unit tomorrow and will use your vid as a guide (i DO read manuals... but avoid when I can - esp for the simpler stuff). Many, many thanks! 👏🏽
Yes I made it all the way threw this video. Thank you for your great instructional video. I just bought this saw and need to put it togather. I am a contractor and need a new portable saw.
Hit the jackpot with my search for a video on this saw. First pick and perfect. So easy to follow and understand. The hour flew by and you never lost my attention. You have an incredible attention to detail. Thanks for investing your time and sharing the video. Rick from Calgary, Alberta.
I just bought a 4514 last night and happy to say everything was correct out of the box other than the table surface was not square slightly on the edges. I expect stuff to loosen up as it's used but will be using your video to get it back in order. Thanks for the great video
This is a good video. I also just got this saw and ran into the same issue, The zero cam was loose. I wasn't paying real good attention to the video though. When I got chance to take a look I saw my cam was loose and I was also expecting to see a lock nut and there wasn't one. I kind of remember seeing a little nut I could find no use for in the box, but it was gone. So I went to the hardware store to pick up a couple nylock nuts and a little longer button head hex socket screws. So I used more blue locktite on the cam and also used the locknut. I was able to hold the cam pretty well with some long nose vise grips. Then I got to thinking that while I mainly use it with the blade in the vertical position, I do change the angle sometimes. I got to thinking that at that time there would be no tension on the cam and just vibration could cause it so move. So I then took it off again, went back to the hardware store and got a couple of thrush washers to one each screw where the bolt came out of the hole on the inside and ahead of the cam. I did that to the 45 adjust too. I think that will also take care of the can't turn it counterclockwise problem as well. So I have just set it up and I don't know how it will work over time, but I thought I'd add this comment.
Just got one of these bad boys as my first table saw. This video helped a ton on my setup, and especially all the nuggets of wisdom. You definitely put the craft into craftsman. Thanks for all the great details!
Mike. Very much appreciate the time you put into this video. I followed you through step by step. My R4514 seems to have made it out of the factory in better shape than yours did. Although the blade needed both horizontal and vertical adjustment, the zero stop blade adjustment worked fine on mine. The left side of the fence was perfectly perpendicular to the table and the low fence didn’t require any adjustment. My stand wouldn’t close all the way so the lock would catch, so I had to remove one of the rubber stops so the release lever could lock in place. Anyway thanks for the tutorial.
Aloha Ron, I'm delighted that your saw arrived in better shape than mine did and that the video was helpful to you. In a way it is good that mine needed extensive tuning so that other folks with the same issues could watch the video and reduce the time necessary to tune their saw up. Mahalo for the response and very kind words. Maverick Mike.
Mine so far appears to be in better shape too but only checked the 90. My table does seem to have a very slight bump right In front of the throat plate
Aloha Charles, Glad to hear that your saw is in better shape. Maybe I just got a poor example of the saw or maybe RIDGID has been improving their manufacturing processes. Mahalo, Mike
I really appreciate this video just got this saw for Christmas. Used this video to make all the small adjustments. Unfortunately just like you I have all the same issues table top not square or level with itself. My bevel angles were off and I had to adjust like you did. My fence was not square so I had to fix that. Not impressed with the saws build quality at all. But it was a gift and I can make it work. Thanks again
Aloha Simple Man, Happy to hear that the video was helpful but bummed to hear that you got a saw that was as messed up as mine from the factory. Hopefully RIDGID will address the manufacturing issues that keep this saw from being a great saw. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
Thanks for posting this. I am Not off to a good start. Got this saw for Christmas. Unboxed it today. No assembly instructions or users manual. Ok. u-tube it is. We ‘ll figure it out. It will take me more than the 15 minutes to assemble that one guy talked about.
I got this saw less than a year ago I'm happy with it... The blade height plastic knob cracked and I had to put a hose clamp on it to keep it from slipping where I couldn't change the height. Now leave it all the way up just in case. Recently had the thing stop working and figured it was the switch Took it apart and didn't take a picture of the wires Before I figured out it was the house wiring Not the breaker, outlet, or switches... So I'm going to be stuck awhile trying to get the switch back together But still, I love the saw
Great video. Thanks. My cuts were never square and I thought it was me. Well, I’ve never calibrated, so yes it was me. In my case, I was off by 0.6 degrees. The saw came without manual but, after inspection, I’ve noticed two hex screws by the 0 and 45. By turning these, you can actually go beyond 0 and 45 and reset the needle
Thank you for your time and patience. I have one of these. My table isn't flat as well and I had the same issues adjusting de Blade on 0° and 45°. A little bit frustrating, but it does a decent job.
Aloha Sandro, Thank you for the kind words. The table not being straight/square is a bit frustration but overall the saw is good and once you get it dialed in (as well as possible anyway) is makes good, accurate, repeatable cuts. Makes me wonder how the table is manufactured for the machining to be so far off?
Thank you for the video. Just picked up one of these yesterday, and have been setting it up today. This was very helpful, as most things needed to be adjusted to get the blade square, riving knife set properly, fence, etc. I also found that the scale for the angle was just wrong. I also had a heck of a lot of trouble getting my 0 adjustment set...there seems to be some folds of some kind of fabric underneath the table that interfere with actually reaching a true 0 degree angle on the blade. I can manage it, but it takes some force on that adjustment wheel to really get it there, and I have to hold tension until the angle is locked... Seems sad, that for an otherwise very nice table saw, the angle adjustment is so problematic. I also had one thought to offer about adjustments. When you aligned your fence, you chose to measure from the flat part of the blade, rather than the recommended point of the outer edge of a tooth. I just thought I would mention that the "kerf" of the blade is from outer tooth edge to outer tooth edge. If you measure to the flat of the blade, the kerf will cut into the width you desire, which should be set by the fence, and you won't actually get a truly accurate cut. So, I'd recommend (and I know this is two years old, but here goes anyway) that you always calibrate your fence distance to the outer edge of the tooth, not the flat of the blade, for the most accurate cut.
Thank you for the best video I've found on this saw! I just bought one a couple of weeks ago. Earlier this year I purchased Ridgid's 12" sliding miter saw w/stand and absolutely love using it. I didn't have to touch a single adjustment! It's solid, dead nuts square out of the box and super easy to set up and move around. So I thought surely their table saw will be just as good, right??? ...well...I might have been better off going to Lowe's and getting a Bosch with their gravity rise stand...LOL. When I assembled my R4514 I too thought about returning it. I ran into all the same issues but I am still very happy with it. In my opinion the fence system is the linchpin of any table saw, and Ridgid did well.The only issue that really bothers me is the tabletop being out of flat on the opposite sides of the miter slots. However, it's 100% better than my first saw, the Hitachi C10RJ. The rack and pinion fence was crap. It drove me nuts and I ended up selling it a couple years later. It drove me nuts. At the time I was new to woodworking and have learned a lot about tuning power tools since. The manual was translated into english and made tuning the saw that much more difficult. Even when I got it close to true it wouldn't hold for very long. Pardon me for writing a "book" here lol! I really want to thank you for the time and effort you put into this video. IMHO it's definitely worth paying to watch and Ridgid/Home Depot should be first in line! They definitely owe you for helping their customers! God bless you sir!
Sounds good, lived in TX for a few years. The Bosch looks like a really nice saw but it is pricey. I couldn't justify the expense for occasional use at the hobby level. Will just wait for good sales and see what popps up. My next project will be to make a mobile workshop bench with all the tools (toys!) mounted to it. Been watching videos of many cool benches gathering ideas. There are lots of talented folks out there with good ideas.
Thanks. Great detail. Super helpful. Thanks for putting in the effort. Just bought one of these and have been finding it to be sort of marginal but usable once I do the adjustments you show.
I just bought the same saw and yea making adjustments on it its a challenge but I really like the 4sec stop and the soft start and honestly compare to my old skill saw its night and day this is much quieter than the skill saw thanks for the vid I still have to finish my adjust ments so Ill be watching this video again.
It’s been a challenge also the slight dip on the left on mine it got better what I did was loosen the screws on the mounting bracket’s remember it’s aluminum and aluminum gets stressed with so much tork so letting it relax and tapping it from underneath helps.
thank you. using a clients saw.......she said I have a table saw just use it....I have a chopsaw, just use it.......neither was adjusted. couldn't figure the rigid table saw but you showed me how.....thanks
Really appreciate this video. Had this saw for several months now. One thing I did think about is the fence.... two issues I've had. When its locked, it moves at the last second. The other is that it's also not square to the table itself....same issue with yours. I thought about building a sacrificial fence out of melamine or something so I can adjust it better.
Aloha Portland, Check the owners manual, there is an easy adjustment to give the fence more bite when tightened, I think is was a nut on the front or bak of the fence. #2: I discovered that the riving knife on my saw was much thicker than the kerf of the saw blade so that was throwing off my cuts. Run some straight lines and I think you will find that may be the problem for you as well. I covered that fix with another person who was having the same problem so check out that explanation in the comments. It was within the last 2-3 months that I made the post. Mahalo and good luck, Mike
Ridgid may have seen your bungee. Mine came with the preconnected leg parts wrapped in shrink plastic to hold them in place. I left the shrink wrap on until all parts were connected by number. Then once the wheels were on I cut the plastic wrap off. Simple and easy now.
Well Mike, I ended up taking the saw back. For the first couple of cuts the on/off switch worked perfectly, but the third time I turned it on to make a cut, the motor stopped as soon as I took my finger off the green button. From that point on the motor wouldn’t stay on whenever I pushed and released the on button. I called Ridgid’s customer service and the told me it was probably a defective switch, so I took the saw back to Home Depot and exchanged it for another R4514. The exact same thing happened with the second saw. Customer service told me they could send me a switch, but the problem might not be the switch. I just don’t have the patience to have to be repairing a brand new saw so I took my refund and guess I’ll be waiting for the DeWalt or Bosch to go on sale.
Aloha Ron, Wow, that's bad news. They must have gotten a bad batch of switches from their supplier. The switch on my saw has been working just fine up until this point and I used the saw again today. The main reason I purchased this saw was it's ability to cut 4X material at a great price. I just wish the table was flat/square. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
fantastic job on the video. Your alt. procedure for the 45 bevel stop worked great. I need to spend more time on the extension bolts slots if I want to get better results on larger work pieces.
Aloha Mark, Hallelujah, so glad the video was helpful to you. Thank you for the kind words and hope everything works out well for you. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
Aloha spoilerwarning28, Thank you for the encouraging words. Glad you enjoyed the video. I feel like I had to join VEA (Video Editors Anonymous) after that one. I just like detailed videos. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
Thank you, Thank you and Thank you, I got the same saw few months ago and I had issues with the blade and the raving knife. Thank to you it was easy to solved. Not as many issues as you, Thank you again.
JUST BOUGHT THIS SAW TODAY,,,,AFTER WATCHING YOUR VIDEO, I AM DISAPOINTED IN THE QUALITY OF THIS SAW. I HAD AN R 4512 WHICH WAS TOPKNOTCH AND JUST $500.00 NEW SEVERAL YRS. AGO. DOWNSIZED AND HAD TO GO SMALLER. I PRAY MY TABLE IS FLATTER OR I WILL RETURN THE SAW,,,,THANKS THOUGH, WAS A GREAT VIDEO !!!!
Aloha Harry, If RIDGID could just get the table top flat and square in the manufacturing process then it would be a great saw. As it it is ok for contractor/jobsite use but i'm just a hobby guy that is getting into woodworking and am more interested in precision than production. But for the price point and the ability to cut 4X material it was a good balance for me. Just wish the table top was flat on my saw. Thanks for the kind words and hope the video was helpful to you. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
@@maverickmikekauai3515 HELLO MAVERICK MIKE,,,,I GOT ANXIOUS AND UNBOXED MY SAW TODAY AND SET IT UP. THE TABLE TOP WAS NOT FLAT BUT WAS FLATTER THAN YOURS. THE ON/OFF SWITCH ACTED UP AND DIDN'T LET THE SAW START, BUT I WAS PERSISTANT AND IT FINALLY STARTED WORKING. I CUT A SAMPLE AND CHECKED FOR SQUARE AND IT WAS GOOD SO I THINK THIS SAW WILL BE GOOD FOR ME ALSO.
I just got one today and my directions give a completely different spot to adjust the blade. There are two nuts to loosen for horizontal adjustment, and two screws for vertical adjustment.
Thanks for this great review! The non flatness of the table literally had me put this back in the box. I'm torn as to whether I should take it back or keep. The fact that you can adjust the table helps. I would assume most cast iron table tops have the same issue. Honestly, it's a great deal for the price, so I might be keeping it. I may swap it out and test at the store to see if there is less variance. Anyway, this was a great video and will be referencing it often as I setup. Thank you.
Aloha Rocky, I had the same struggle you did as to keep or return the saw. I ended up keeping mine because like you said it was a good deal for the capacity of the saw. I have made various sleds that help negate some of the table top flatness issues and am happy with the saw so far. Thanks for the great comments! Mahalo, Mike.
The only thing I can add is that Mike turns the box upside down to extract the saw. I left mine in the upright box until I'd finished the stand assembly. Once finished I turned the assembly upside down and attached it that way to the upside down saw. Then it was easy for me to pull up the saw into the upright position with a little leaning. And I did it all by myself!!
Mike, Well done! Like you, I was amazed that almost everything was off a degree or two. Sad when mass manufacturing can't get standards/precision correct. Makes you wonder where Quality Control went.
It went to the $1000+ and very heavy cast stationary table saws. I think ridge actually has one that's a little bit under $1,000 that looks really well made. The problem is it's a few hundred pounds. Unless someone has a shop where it can be permanently set up it's not going to work for a lot of us
Aloha Ryan, Thanks for the kind words. Good luck dialing the saw in and I hope the saw top is more "square" for you than mine was. Mahalo, Maverick Mike.
much for this video you don’t know it but I’ve been hanging out with you for about 3 hours now lol. Had i not found this video I wouldn’t have been able to adjust this saw blade because i had the exact same issue i still can not even set my dial for zero but the blade is perfect and that’s all that matter I don’t want to return it because i got it at Home Depot for $340 i also got signed up for the credit card ha ha. Thank you so much and god bless
You did an excellent job setting up your saw. Regardless of the model saw this is an excellent tutorial for anyone adjusting any table saw. It is interesting that there seems to be little choice today between the portable job site saw with cast aluminum top and a full blown cast iron cabinet grade. The ground cast iron topped contractors saw with full thickness blade seems to have disappeared except for one or two models. On the other side an aluminum table does not rust. You have probably adjusted your saw beyond the tolerance of the material available at a big box store and I say good on you for that! If you add a table saw sled you will no doubt get good service from this saw. The mitre gauge on all portable saws suck these days. The Ridgid however looks better than my Dewalt. The Dewalt has an odd sized mitre gauge slot so even an aftermarket mitre gauge is problematic. I bet most people would pay a bit more for a well milled mitre slot (3/4x3/8) or a good mitre gauge of decent size and quality. I own a Dewalt and Delta Unisaw. I miss our old Delta contractors saw with the 1 1/2 hp motor sticking out the back!
@@maverickmikekauai3515 do you know why they recommend only 6” dados for this saw? I only have 8” and was wondering how this would be bad for it. Thanks again
Wow this was a very impressive video! I bought my saw last year from DTO as a factory blemished for $329 and thought I got a deal but now that I have some experience under my belt, it was way too much! I have every issue you had, except the few things I haven’t checked yet, like overall table flatness, and fence flatness. My biggest problem is that my riving knife is out of alignment with the blade, and there’s not enough adjustment available to fix it. Its probably about 1/32” past the blade. I found out today the riving knife is also vertically out of alignment, meaning it’s bent. I’m considering removing the riving knife altogether and switching to a 7 1/4” blade. Otherwise I’ll probably need to take it to a repair shop or spend more money to get one of those kreg splitters. I wish I had just bought it from Home Depot so I could take it back there.
Aloha SoCal Kevin, I also ended up having the same problems with my riving knife. For your safety DO NOT operate the saw without a riving knife. To fix my riving knife issue I shifted gears into beast mode. I removed the knife from the saw and took my hand held grinder to it. I removed steel from the riving knife attempting keep the blade flat and the material thickness even throughout the length of the knife. I removed enough material so that the riving knife was just a little thinner than the kerf of the saw blade. Then I chamfered the leading edge. Using a rattle can I repainted the riving knife black and reinstalled the riving knife. I was then able to properly adjust the riving knife and it would no longer "catch" on the wood being passed through the saw. It works much better now. Although, I'm sure that riving wont be warrantied now!!😆 It is a shame that a saw that has so much potential is so messed up by a continuous string of quality and execution issues. Oh well, It was a good price but you get what you pay for.. Thanks for the great comment! Mahalo, Mike
@@maverickmikekauai3515 thanks for your response and the detailed info on your solution to the riving knife problem! My cuts currently end up drifting away from the fence causing them to come up too short. I'm going to spend all of today trying to get my table saw in alignment. All the adjustments I made 6 months ago are off again. I love the easy fold up design of this table saw, but you're right, the quality issues really kill it. I've heard trying to warranty it takes 4-8 weeks and I just don't have that time right now. A replacement riving knife is about $50 and it might only tell me the base plate is bent too. I was considering switching to the 7 1/4" blade after seeing it work well for several people here on TH-cam. I know it's not a good idea to go without the riving knife, but I think using one of those micro jig grr-rippers would help alleviate the dangers associated. I was planning to upgrade to a zero clearance insert too, so if I do that, I can add a kreg splitter to it to replace the riving knife. I think I'll try your solution first and grind down the original riving knife. Hopefully I can get it to a uniform thickness. Thanks again!
Thank you for this video! My saw and stand came with NO manual or instructions. There's not one, that I could find, on the Rigid website. And customer service is closed for the day. Thank you!!!
You can add washers (and/or tape for a more precise adjustment) where the table top mounts to the saw frame to help level the top. Some of it won't come out due to machining, but big gaps, corner to corner, side to side and front to rear can be minimized.
I genuinely hope they send you free stuff. I never owned a table saw before & I made the mistake of trusting the factory setup.... Then I tried jointed 2 piece together & I had the biggest WTF is this garbage moment after I put the square to it. Being a Christmas gift from the wife I didn't want to return it but that would've been the result if I bought it. Thank you
Just bought this saw and I watched this before attempting to assemble it. Thanks for the guide, I feel like I know what to watch for now. And it's good to know I'll need a digital angle finder. But I'm wondering if the riving knife is guaranteed to throw off all cuts or if it's just that way for certain saws -- I don't have any way to grind down metal at the moment.
Aloha Ghritke, I don't know about all saws but my riving knife was thicker than the saw blade and was difficult to center in relation to the blade. So I just used a handheld grinder and removed material from the riving knife until it was the same thickness of the saw blade. I never did get a digital angle finder but I have been using my speed square which is meeting my needs for now. Thanks for the great comments, Mike
I have owned the previous version of this Ridgid contractor saw for about 8 years. It is nearly impossible to make repeat cuts with it or anything close to accurate. Table isn't flat, the throat plates are far to flimsy. I waste tons of time trying to make it work, but they only thing saving it from the dump is I build a cross cut sled that helps a lot. This saw will make you feel stupid that you can't build a square cabinet carcass or drawer boxes. I really want a proper cabinet saw, but don't have the space or budget for it yet.
Aloha Nick, You are 100 percent accurate. I am in the same boat as you, I really wanted precision but could not afford that for just a hobby. But this saw did have some great features that other saws did not have within the same price range like the ability to cut 4X4 material and will accept a dado stack. I guess we get what we are willing to pay for.
First off, great review, seriously! When I first saw how long your vid was, I almost passed on it. But, the reason I DID watch it is because I felt, if you took almost an hour of video, it likely paralleled the FIVE hours it took me to set mine up. Good LORD was this table saw a PITA!! I too paid only $400.00 but for the life of me, I never expected to take 5 hours to true up this saw - out of the box. Really disappointed in this saw because if a $550.00 'saw' takes this much work to true up, what does that say about QC for RIDGID? Overall, mine came with everything and I mean everything misaligned, just like yours. Couldn't believe it... However, you raised a couple of points that helped me true a couple of additional areas so I thank you for putting this together. I too decided to keep the saw, but my first impression with RIDGID is not very impressed at this price point.
Aloha AXNJXN1, Thanks for the kind words. In my nightmares I am still editing that video forever and ever and... If that saw was not able to cut 4X materials I would have returned it. But at that price point with the lifetime service agreement I was willing to put up with some issues..(It had lots of issues but...) RIDIGID must up the quality especially now that they seem to be phasing the lifetime service agreement out or their name will end up where they don't want it to go. Mahalo, Mike.
@@maverickmikekauai3515 Mike, didn’t even know they were considering phasing that out?? Being a first time (RIDGID) customer, I was certainly dissatisfied with how many out of the box adjustments I had to do, as previously stated. Mine came with a crushed tape measure in two areas and the end cap over it was also crushed. Spent two days attempting online registration all of which failed and eventually got a service Tech on the horn and got the LSA and parts orders. So as for the customer service portion, I give them a thumbs up. I DO love the soft start up and blade braking on this though; super nice!
Same problem here with the blade not going to 90 unless I rotate the cam really hard past 0. Never knew it was the actual motor preventing this. Edit: The one adjustment I was hoping to see was the blade rotation along the z axis. Somehow mine is off and I don’t see the adjustment in the manual.
Was looking for how to adjust bevel and found this. Very nice. However, in my case, I find that to get the blade set to 90 degrees, I have to push it so far that the motor assembly hits the table and actually has to deform it a bit to get to a perfect 90. "That ain't right" . . . I did buy it used, for what I though was a fair price. Not so sure now. Looking for hints before tearing into things too far.
I just picked this saw up for $369 and the 12” sliding miter saw for $299. I wanted the dewalt but ended up paying $20 over the price of the dewalt and got the tablesaw and miter. 🤞😊
Wow this man went all out to provide us with a quality instructional video! Best I've ever seen by far thank you ! God bless you my good sir!
I've owned and used this saw for several years now and it's been thrown in and out of my truck on job sites on and she's still working great, but your adjustments have helped tremendously thank you.
I wouldn't have been able to build this table saw without you because the instructions looks like a science experiment
Aloha Alexander,
I'm delighted that the video was helpful for you.
Thank you for the kind words.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
I must say this is by far the most detailed video on table saw tuning, I just got the exact same model about a week ago and I’ve been having the hardest time tuning it. WELL DONE !!
Aloha Smokey The Bear,
Thanks for the kind words and I hope that it helped you out. I kept the saw and have been happy with it. The key is setting it up the way you want to have it so that it operates within your needs and expectations. I'm just at the hobby level so I would like precision but am not worried about the high capacity production aspect of the saw. That saw was the best deal I could find that had the capacity to cut through 4X material.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
L’m having an issue with the 90 degree bevel. I loosened the screw too much and the stop mechanism got loose and now l’m worried I messed things up. L’m going to tighten it back up and hopefully everything works out
I bout the same one and having issues getting it square
@@maverickmikekauai3515 Thanks Mike, this was an excellent video covering everything from A to Z. I appreciate the effort you put into this and have only given one thumbs up because that's all they will give me, but you deserve more! Thanks again from Canada.
@@northernlightsrenovations1710
Aloha NLR,
Mahalo for the kind comment, I appreciate it very much.
Mike.
I just bought this saw, for many of the same reasons you did. I'll be setting it up tomorrow. Your video touched on all the adjustment questions I had. An EXCELLENT video. Thanks.
This saw was given to me by my father-in-law. I want to replace all the baseboards and door trim inside my house. I was able to put the kickback guard on, but it doesn’t look as high as yours even with the blade lifted all the way. Hope I did it right😂
Thanks for the video!!!
Mahaloz! Bought this today and when I unboxed at home noticed it didn’t have the manual. Lucky I found this video which saved me an hour at least. 🤙🏼
Aloha Mike,
glad the video was helpful to you!
Mahalo,
Mike
This is by far the best video I’ve seen on this table saw. This was a huge help in tuning mine up! Thank you for taking the time in going through this in such detail!
Aloha Nicholas,
I'm glad you found the video helpful and Mahalo for the kind comment.
Mahalo,
Mike
After working through my saw using this video as my guide, I'm much happier with the results I'm getting. Thank you for your time and effort in putting this together. Cheers!
Aloha Eric,
I'm delighted that the video was helpful to you.
I appreciate that you took the time to write a kind comment.
Mahalo,
Mike.
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to create this detailed video! There not many folks out there that will put this kind of effort to help others. You rock guy!
Aloha Ryan,
I'm glad the video was helpful. Thank you for the kind words.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Just bought this saw to do some projects around the house. Having never used one before is a lot more intricate than I expected, but nothing I can't handle after watching this video.
Wow! Not only were you incredibly detailed but you even made a few suggestions on a better way of the way they said didn’t work! Brilliant!! Thank you for taking the time to explain all steps!!
Aloha Head Change,
I'm glad you found the video helpful.
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike
I bought this over a year ago. I’m watching this video again when I’m at the machine and retune it following your instructions.
I was delayed a few months with 2 bathroom remodels but want to confirm the settings. Then, I’ll be making a couple of jigs.
Thanks very much Mike! You rock
Aloha Marcus,
Glad you liked the video and that it was helpful.
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike
I used this video to set up the R4514. The video made it so much easier than trying to figure out the manual. Thanks so much for showing this.
Hi.. my husband bought me this exact table saw for my birthday yesterday, and i want to thank you for this detailed review and instructions.. this is amazing!!!
Thank you for this video, best one yet. I just purchased this one and it came without a manual so I was lost. I'm so glad your review popped up just in time to save me. Excelent tips and I will be using them tomorrow when I assemble mine thanks again
Aloha Thomas,
Good luck with the new saw.
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike
Same here, no manual
Thanks for the help. I live 2 hours far from the nearest Home Depot. Watching your video saved me alot of trip to return this saw. I fixed the alignment problem by your help. Thanks again
Aloha Letter H,
Glad the video helped you!
Thank you for the encouraging words.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike
You're the God! In the middle of doing my floor, Faithful Dewalt went nuts on me. After extensive research decided to go with the Rigid 4514. Your detailed video sure will help me assemble and fix the errors as I put together the saw. Thank you so much!
Aloha Mayan,
Thank you for the kind words and hope the video is helpful to you. Christ Jesus the Lord is God manifest in the flesh. I am just a small piece of dust that takes God at His Word.
Hope the saw serves you well.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike
@@maverickmikekauai3515 My 4514 arrived two days ago. The stand gave me a little hard time, but from your detailed guidance, I was able to assemble the saw without further hold-ups. Thank you so much, Sir.
Aloha Mayan,
That's great! Have fun with the new saw.
Mahalo,
Mike.
@@maverickmikekauai3515 💖
You do have to spend some time setting the saw up... blade, fence, etc. But once done, the saw is great. Fairly compact which is Nice th-cam.com/users/postUgkxXh-4_3-ZT1fFWP91ZV7iVqzElr0lEb-a I did get an Incra Miter Gauge which takes some setup as well. The stock miter gauge can be adjusted in the miter slot with a little painter's tape... this tightens up the side to side play a lot.
Great video on this table saw. Lots of details, just what I needed. I found answers to the problems I was having. Ridgid should hire you to make instructional videos for them.
I’ll say the only reason I made it through the video is because you made a great educated video. There’s no other video better than yours.
Aloha Free,
Thank you for the very kind words!
I can't even make it through the video!🤣
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Great video, and Aloha to you. Living in Oklahoma but born in Honolulu. Military families move all the time, we just happened to be there when I was born. I had a hard time with my saw, I measured the 90 degree angle at 88.8, nowhere acceptable. I could not turn the cam to the right at all so I ended up using pliers on the back side like you showed and finally got it at 89.9, good enough for me. The riving knife drove me up the wall. I would set it then while tightening it up it would drift to the right and out of alignment with the blade. This was taken care of by moving it to the left out of alignment just a little then tightening it up and it drifted to the right perfectly aligned. All other angles were spot on. I don't understand how everything could be spot on except the 90 degree angle but that was the case. Thank you for making this video, you answered a ton of questions I had and did a much better job then the instruction manual.
What an absolute pleasure this video is. I want to thank you for taking the time to put in so much detail. I was just getting ready to return my unit but because of your video, I will just make these adjustments and get to work. Thank you Mike!
Your time invested into this video is appreciated and was in part helpful in part in helping me make a decision on purchasing this saw. One point I'd like to make is what I tell most of the youtubers who make videos on table saws. You don't square a rip fence to the blade, you make it parallel. This applies to the miter slots on the table as well. If your miter slots are parallel with the blade then you may adjust your rip fence to be parallel to the miter slots. Conversely, you square a miter gauge to the saw blade/miter slots. Have a nice day
Aloha Charles,
Great point! I'm glad I got the saw BUT it is not great if you are trying to do precision work like furniture making. But it is marketed as a contractors job site table saw and for that job it is mostly ok.
Thanks again for the great comment.
Mike
Mike, thank you SO much for this video. I just bought this saw and the set up went rather quickly (for me). I would NOT haver been able to do all the adjustments without help had it not been for your video.
Glad the video was helpful to you 😊
I just bought this saw today. I went through the adjustments but after watching your video I realize there are some I missed. Most settings I have checked so far had to be corrected like yours. I actually laughed when adjusting the 45 degree setting when it said to move the pointer to align with the 45 mark after setting the6 pointer on the 0 degree mark. They needed to make the scale adjustable too. I found the same issue with the table top as yours, it is not flat. Had to keep saying to myself; its not a cabinet saw. Thanks for the great video!
Aloha Jeff,
Thanks for the great comment about the video.
Enjoy the saw and as long as we understand who this saw is made for then we should be able to deal with it's many issues. Another issue you may find as you use the saw is with the Riving Knife. Mine saw so thick that I noticed it was throwing my cuts off. I have had several conversations with other folks about this issue and what I did to "correct" the problem. Check for the post in an earlier thread.
Mahalo,
Mike
I just bought this saw today. On sale at HD for $397 Canadian dollars. It’s still in the back of my truck. I was wondering why so cheap $200 off regular price. I was going to get the skil but the price was great.
Glad I watched your great video before unpacking.
I should be fine for decks and fences, only ripping with it. I’ve got the dewalt 780 miter saw which is spot on.
Aloha J,
That's a good price.
I'm reasonably happy with the saw but it certainly would not be my first choice for furniture making.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Mahalo,
Mike
Mike, I have had my Rigid for over a year now. I did not do any adjustments out of the box that I remember. I have, over the last year, used it a lot and compensated for the degrees of out alignment. I will be following your video to get mine up to par very soon. Better tuning = higher quality work and saves time. Thanks for this. Mahalo
Aloha Jay,
Sounds like you got a fairly decent saw right out of the box! That's awesome. So many of the issues with this saw would just disappear IF the table top was manufactured straight.
Mahalo for the kind words!
Mike
Great Video. Very detailed, and to the point. I have had this saw for about a week now and started using straight out of the box because I had some stuff that needed to be done. The cut were pretty good, I was surprised at how good with no adjustments. Now I have a couple days to relax I will check every measurement that you have detailed. You are a big part of why I love You Tube.
Aloha James,
Thanks for the kind words. My fence was good right out of the box as well and the saw was sufficient for "standard tolerance" framing work and similar projects. It just needed to be dialed in better for detailed, precision work and I did the best I could but was limited by the table top being out of square/plumb/even. I'm not a contractor but rather just a novice hobby level woodworker having fun with a new hobby.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Thank you for this video. I bought this saw back in 2018. It sat in the box for about a year, we finally set it up and made a few shelves back in 2019 2020 time frame. Well last weekend decided to try my hand at edge miters for a floating box shelf and realized very quickly I needed to adjust the saw. Going to have to further adjust per your video.
Aloha GamerNxUSN,
Hopefully you ended up with a saw that was not as messed up as mine was. Good luck and thank you for the kind words. Hope the video helps you out.
Mahalo,
Mike
I've had this same saw for about 10 years now. It was perfect right out of the box, however, now it needs some TLC. Your video will certainly be a big help. By the way, these things seem to last for a long time if you take care of it. As old as mine is it still works just fine. Nice & portable too. Thanks again for the best video on ytube explaining this saw.
I just used this saw over the weekend. I ripped 5 - 2x10x9 footers into 3/4" slats for a Slat Wall project in the entry. I'd say that's a pretty heavy project for this table saw and it performed very well. Also - it took me a little more than 15 minutes to assemble the stand and mount it. :-). Happy I made this purchase last year. Also thanks for the video, it is a great compliment to the manual.
Aloha David,
Thanks for the good comments.
I also am fairly happy with the saw but I do wish that I could make more accurate cuts with it without having to jump through hoops.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Mahalo,
Mike
This video was incredibly helpful! Even a mechanically challenged Tennessean like myself was able to figure out this setup due to your video. Thank you!
Aloha Jacob,
Glad the video was helpful and thanks for the kind words.
Merry Christmas and happy new year!
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
"Wheel's next... ugly side in, sexy side out..." ROFL 🤣 - I gotta remember that one! Thank you for this awesome vid!!! It's extremely helpful, am assembling my unit tomorrow and will use your vid as a guide (i DO read manuals... but avoid when I can - esp for the simpler stuff). Many, many thanks! 👏🏽
Aloha Anand, thanks for the feedback and good luck.
Yes I made it all the way threw this video. Thank you for your great instructional video. I just bought this saw and need to put it togather. I am a contractor and need a new portable saw.
So far this is the best video I've seen for setting up correctly my table saw. Thanks!
Mahalo Mike, had mine for about a year here on Oahu and I can't complain. Finished the trim work in our house and many projects to boot
Hit the jackpot with my search for a video on this saw. First pick and perfect. So easy to follow and understand. The hour flew by and you never lost my attention. You have an incredible attention to detail.
Thanks for investing your time and sharing the video.
Rick from Calgary, Alberta.
I just bought a 4514 last night and happy to say everything was correct out of the box other than the table surface was not square slightly on the edges.
I expect stuff to loosen up as it's used but will be using your video to get it back in order. Thanks for the great video
Aloha,
Glad you got a good one. Hopefully efforts are being made to increase the quality of the saw.
Thanks for the kind words.
Mike
You just taught me multiple lessons with your video. Thank you! I just bought this today at home depot n gonna put it together and use it.
This is a good video. I also just got this saw and ran into the same issue, The zero cam was loose. I wasn't paying real good attention to the video though. When I got chance to take a look I saw my cam was loose and I was also expecting to see a lock nut and there wasn't one. I kind of remember seeing a little nut I could find no use for in the box, but it was gone. So I went to the hardware store to pick up a couple nylock nuts and a little longer button head hex socket screws. So I used more blue locktite on the cam and also used the locknut. I was able to hold the cam pretty well with some long nose vise grips. Then I got to thinking that while I mainly use it with the blade in the vertical position, I do change the angle sometimes. I got to thinking that at that time there would be no tension on the cam and just vibration could cause it so move. So I then took it off again, went back to the hardware store and got a couple of thrush washers to one each screw where the bolt came out of the hole on the inside and ahead of the cam. I did that to the 45 adjust too. I think that will also take care of the can't turn it counterclockwise problem as well. So I have just set it up and I don't know how it will work over time, but I thought I'd add this comment.
Awesome problem solving! Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
Wish I would’ve watched this before I bought my saw. But very detailed video. Even on the fence that you didn’t need to adjust you still showed how
Aloha Matthew,
Thanks for the kind words.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Mahalo,
Mike
Just got one of these bad boys as my first table saw.
This video helped a ton on my setup, and especially all the nuggets of wisdom. You definitely put the craft into craftsman.
Thanks for all the great details!
Aloha Ryan,
I'm glad the video was helpful.
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement.
Mahalo,
Mike
Mike. Very much appreciate the time you put into this video. I followed you through step by step. My R4514 seems to have made it out of the factory in better shape than yours did. Although the blade needed both horizontal and vertical adjustment, the zero stop blade adjustment worked fine on mine. The left side of the fence was perfectly perpendicular to the table and the low fence didn’t require any adjustment. My stand wouldn’t close all the way so the lock would catch, so I had to remove one of the rubber stops so the release lever could lock in place. Anyway thanks for the tutorial.
Aloha Ron,
I'm delighted that your saw arrived in better shape than mine did and that the video was helpful to you. In a way it is good that mine needed extensive tuning so that other folks with the same issues could watch the video and reduce the time necessary to tune their saw up.
Mahalo for the response and very kind words.
Maverick Mike.
Mine so far appears to be in better shape too but only checked the 90. My table does seem to have a very slight bump right In front of the throat plate
Aloha Charles,
Glad to hear that your saw is in better shape. Maybe I just got a poor example of the saw or maybe RIDGID has been improving their manufacturing processes.
Mahalo,
Mike
thank you, Sir, for taking the time to make this video it helped me out a lot. My saw came with no instructions in the box.
Aloha,
Glad to be of service.
Mahalo,
Mike
I really appreciate this video just got this saw for Christmas. Used this video to make all the small adjustments. Unfortunately just like you I have all the same issues table top not square or level with itself. My bevel angles were off and I had to adjust like you did. My fence was not square so I had to fix that. Not impressed with the saws build quality at all. But it was a gift and I can make it work. Thanks again
Aloha Simple Man,
Happy to hear that the video was helpful but bummed to hear that you got a saw that was as messed up as mine from the factory.
Hopefully RIDGID will address the manufacturing issues that keep this saw from being a great saw.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Your vid was more helpful than you probably realize. Great stuff! 👍 Thank you!
Aloha Jim,
You are a great encouragement!
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike.
Thanks for posting this. I am Not off to a good start. Got this saw for Christmas. Unboxed it today. No assembly instructions or users manual. Ok. u-tube it is. We ‘ll figure it out. It will take me more than the 15 minutes to assemble that one guy talked about.
I got this saw less than a year ago
I'm happy with it...
The blade height plastic knob cracked and I had to put a hose clamp on it to keep it from slipping where I couldn't change the height.
Now leave it all the way up just in case.
Recently had the thing stop working and figured it was the switch
Took it apart and didn't take a picture of the wires
Before I figured out it was the house wiring
Not the breaker, outlet, or switches...
So I'm going to be stuck awhile trying to get the switch back together
But still, I love the saw
Yes, I was worried about the height adjustment. Oiling the slides helps a lot.
Thanks so much for taking the time to demonstrate all the adjustments for the Ridgid table saw. Very informative video.
Great video. Thanks. My cuts were never square and I thought it was me. Well, I’ve never calibrated, so yes it was me. In my case, I was off by 0.6 degrees. The saw came without manual but, after inspection, I’ve noticed two hex screws by the 0 and 45. By turning these, you can actually go beyond 0 and 45 and reset the needle
Perfect video, got one for Christmas to build the babys room, definitely satisfied adjustment was a little off. The fences was absolutely spot one.
Aloha Sean,
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Mahalo,
Mike.
Man thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Excellent!
Aloha Josh, you are welcome. Thanks for the encouraging feedback.
Thank you for your time and patience.
I have one of these. My table isn't flat as well and I had the same issues adjusting de Blade on 0° and 45°.
A little bit frustrating, but it does a decent job.
Aloha Sandro,
Thank you for the kind words.
The table not being straight/square is a bit frustration but overall the saw is good and once you get it dialed in (as well as possible anyway) is makes good, accurate, repeatable cuts.
Makes me wonder how the table is manufactured for the machining to be so far off?
Thank you for the video. Just picked up one of these yesterday, and have been setting it up today. This was very helpful, as most things needed to be adjusted to get the blade square, riving knife set properly, fence, etc. I also found that the scale for the angle was just wrong. I also had a heck of a lot of trouble getting my 0 adjustment set...there seems to be some folds of some kind of fabric underneath the table that interfere with actually reaching a true 0 degree angle on the blade. I can manage it, but it takes some force on that adjustment wheel to really get it there, and I have to hold tension until the angle is locked... Seems sad, that for an otherwise very nice table saw, the angle adjustment is so problematic.
I also had one thought to offer about adjustments. When you aligned your fence, you chose to measure from the flat part of the blade, rather than the recommended point of the outer edge of a tooth. I just thought I would mention that the "kerf" of the blade is from outer tooth edge to outer tooth edge. If you measure to the flat of the blade, the kerf will cut into the width you desire, which should be set by the fence, and you won't actually get a truly accurate cut. So, I'd recommend (and I know this is two years old, but here goes anyway) that you always calibrate your fence distance to the outer edge of the tooth, not the flat of the blade, for the most accurate cut.
Thank you for the best video I've found on this saw! I just bought one a couple of weeks ago.
Earlier this year I purchased Ridgid's 12" sliding miter saw w/stand and absolutely love using it. I didn't have to touch a single adjustment! It's solid, dead nuts square out of the box and super easy to set up and move around. So I thought surely their table saw will be just as good, right??? ...well...I might have been better off going to Lowe's and getting a Bosch with their gravity rise stand...LOL.
When I assembled my R4514 I too thought about returning it. I ran into all the same issues but I am still very happy with it. In my opinion the fence system is the linchpin of any table saw, and Ridgid did well.The only issue that really bothers me is the tabletop being out of flat on the opposite sides of the miter slots. However, it's 100% better than my first saw, the Hitachi C10RJ. The rack and pinion fence was crap. It drove me nuts and I ended up selling it a couple years later. It drove me nuts. At the time I was new to woodworking and have learned a lot about tuning power tools since. The manual was translated into english and made tuning the saw that much more difficult. Even when I got it close to true it wouldn't hold for very long.
Pardon me for writing a "book" here lol! I really want to thank you for the time and effort you put into this video. IMHO it's definitely worth paying to watch and Ridgid/Home Depot should be first in line! They definitely owe you for helping their customers! God bless you sir!
Hallelujah! Glad it helped and hope that it continues to help others as well.
Hmm, I was thinking about a sliding miter saw...
Sounds good, lived in TX for a few years. The Bosch looks like a really nice saw but it is pricey. I couldn't justify the expense for occasional use at the hobby level. Will just wait for good sales and see what popps up.
My next project will be to make a mobile workshop bench with all the tools (toys!) mounted to it. Been watching videos of many cool benches gathering ideas. There are lots of talented folks out there with good ideas.
Thanks. Great detail. Super helpful. Thanks for putting in the effort. Just bought one of these and have been finding it to be sort of marginal but usable once I do the adjustments you show.
I just bought the same saw and yea making adjustments on it its a challenge but I really like the 4sec stop and the soft start and honestly compare to my old skill saw its night and day this is much quieter than the skill saw thanks for the vid I still have to finish my adjust ments so Ill be watching this video again.
Aloha R.F.
Yes I also appreciate that feature.
Glad you are finding the video helpful.
Hope your saw is less problematic than mine was.
Mahalo,
Mike
It’s been a challenge also the slight dip on the left on mine it got better what I did was loosen the screws on the mounting bracket’s remember it’s aluminum and aluminum gets stressed with so much tork so letting it relax and tapping it from underneath helps.
thank you. using a clients saw.......she said I have a table saw just use it....I have a chopsaw, just use it.......neither was adjusted. couldn't figure the rigid table saw but you showed me how.....thanks
Aloha John,
Glad the video was helpful.
Thank you for the kind words.
Mahalo,
Mike.
Really appreciate this video. Had this saw for several months now. One thing I did think about is the fence.... two issues I've had. When its locked, it moves at the last second. The other is that it's also not square to the table itself....same issue with yours. I thought about building a sacrificial fence out of melamine or something so I can adjust it better.
Aloha Portland,
Check the owners manual, there is an easy adjustment to give the fence more bite when tightened, I think is was a nut on the front or bak of the fence.
#2: I discovered that the riving knife on my saw was much thicker than the kerf of the saw blade so that was throwing off my cuts.
Run some straight lines and I think you will find that may be the problem for you as well.
I covered that fix with another person who was having the same problem so check out that explanation in the comments. It was within the last 2-3 months that I made the post.
Mahalo and good luck,
Mike
Minutest details are explained nicely .Thanks for the video
Aloha,
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Mahalo,
Mike
Ridgid may have seen your bungee. Mine came with the preconnected leg parts wrapped in shrink plastic to hold them in place. I left the shrink wrap on until all parts were connected by number. Then once the wheels were on I cut the plastic wrap off. Simple and easy now.
Wow! Thanks Mike! Very Comprehensive, and let me get to know my saw at a much deeper level 😅 Thank you for putting this together! 🤙
Aloha Jason,
Thank you for the great feedback.
Glad you found the video helpful.
Mahalo,
Mike
Going to be playing this shortly with my r4514, I haven't checked or used it yet
Well Mike, I ended up taking the saw back. For the first couple of cuts the on/off switch worked perfectly, but the third time I turned it on to make a cut, the motor stopped as soon as I took my finger off the green button. From that point on the motor wouldn’t stay on whenever I pushed and released the on button. I called Ridgid’s customer service and the told me it was probably a defective switch, so I took the saw back to Home Depot and exchanged it for another R4514. The exact same thing happened with the second saw. Customer service told me they could send me a switch, but the problem might not be the switch. I just don’t have the patience to have to be repairing a brand new saw so I took my refund and guess I’ll be waiting for the DeWalt or Bosch to go on sale.
Aloha Ron,
Wow, that's bad news. They must have gotten a bad batch of switches from their supplier. The switch on my saw has been working just fine up until this point and I used the saw again today.
The main reason I purchased this saw was it's ability to cut 4X material at a great price.
I just wish the table was flat/square.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
fantastic job on the video. Your alt. procedure for the 45 bevel stop worked great. I need to spend more time on the extension bolts slots if I want to get better results on larger work pieces.
Aloha Mark,
Hallelujah, so glad the video was helpful to you.
Thank you for the kind words and hope everything works out well for you.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Thank you. I needed to make every adjustment you showed. Now all cuts are very good. Now to make a proper crosscut sled for it. Thanks again
Thank you very much, used all your tips and techniques to dial in my table saw. Thank you
Glad I could help!
The effort you put in to this video earned a subscriber!
Aloha spoilerwarning28,
Thank you for the encouraging words.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
I feel like I had to join VEA (Video Editors Anonymous) after that one. I just like detailed videos.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
Thank you very much! Best video i've came across going through the breakdown.
Aloha John,
Glad you found the video helpful!
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike
Thank you, Thank you and Thank you, I got the same saw few months ago and I had issues with the blade and the raving knife. Thank to you it was easy to solved. Not as many issues as you, Thank you again.
Aloha Michael,
Glad to have been of assistance!
Mahalo,
Mike
JUST BOUGHT THIS SAW TODAY,,,,AFTER WATCHING YOUR VIDEO, I AM DISAPOINTED IN THE QUALITY OF THIS SAW. I HAD AN R 4512 WHICH WAS TOPKNOTCH AND JUST $500.00 NEW SEVERAL YRS. AGO. DOWNSIZED AND HAD TO GO SMALLER. I PRAY MY TABLE IS FLATTER OR I WILL RETURN THE SAW,,,,THANKS THOUGH, WAS A GREAT VIDEO !!!!
Aloha Harry,
If RIDGID could just get the table top flat and square in the manufacturing process then it would be a great saw. As it it is ok for contractor/jobsite use but i'm just a hobby guy that is getting into woodworking and am more interested in precision than production. But for the price point and the ability to cut 4X material it was a good balance for me. Just wish the table top was flat on my saw.
Thanks for the kind words and hope the video was helpful to you.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
@@maverickmikekauai3515 HELLO MAVERICK MIKE,,,,I GOT ANXIOUS AND UNBOXED MY SAW TODAY AND SET IT UP. THE TABLE TOP WAS NOT FLAT BUT WAS FLATTER THAN YOURS. THE ON/OFF SWITCH ACTED UP AND DIDN'T LET THE SAW START, BUT I WAS PERSISTANT AND IT FINALLY STARTED WORKING. I CUT A SAMPLE AND CHECKED FOR SQUARE AND IT WAS GOOD SO I THINK THIS SAW WILL BE GOOD FOR ME ALSO.
Great video, I own this saw and this video explains a lot of the problems that I have been having. Definitely time for me to upgrade
Aloha JJJ,
Delighted that you found the video useful.
Thanks for the kind words.
Mahalo,
Mike
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This video is very informative and exactly what I needed. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Aloha Redleg Firefighter,
Hallelujah! Glad the video was helpful to you.
Thanks for the kind words.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike
I just got one today and my directions give a completely different spot to adjust the blade. There are two nuts to loosen for horizontal adjustment, and two screws for vertical adjustment.
From Quebec, Canada thanks for doing this. Very helpful
Aloha Yvan,
Delighted that you found it helpful.
Mahalo,
Mike.
Thanks for this great review! The non flatness of the table literally had me put this back in the box. I'm torn as to whether I should take it back or keep. The fact that you can adjust the table helps. I would assume most cast iron table tops have the same issue. Honestly, it's a great deal for the price, so I might be keeping it. I may swap it out and test at the store to see if there is less variance. Anyway, this was a great video and will be referencing it often as I setup. Thank you.
Aloha Rocky,
I had the same struggle you did as to keep or return the saw. I ended up keeping mine because like you said it was a good deal for the capacity of the saw. I have made various sleds that help negate some of the table top flatness issues and am happy with the saw so far.
Thanks for the great comments!
Mahalo,
Mike.
The only thing I can add is that Mike turns the box upside down to extract the saw. I left mine in the upright box until I'd finished the stand assembly. Once finished I turned the assembly upside down and attached it that way to the upside down saw. Then it was easy for me to pull up the saw into the upright position with a little leaning. And I did it all by myself!!
Mike, Well done! Like you, I was amazed that almost everything was off a degree or two. Sad when mass manufacturing can't get standards/precision correct. Makes you wonder where Quality Control went.
It went to the $1000+ and very heavy cast stationary table saws. I think ridge actually has one that's a little bit under $1,000 that looks really well made. The problem is it's a few hundred pounds. Unless someone has a shop where it can be permanently set up it's not going to work for a lot of us
Great video! Thanks for going so in depth. I am about to zero mine in and this is an amazing reference.
Aloha Ryan,
Thanks for the kind words. Good luck dialing the saw in and I hope the saw top is more "square" for you than mine was.
Mahalo,
Maverick Mike.
much for this video you don’t know it but I’ve been hanging out with you for about 3 hours now lol. Had i not found this video I wouldn’t have been able to adjust this saw blade because i had the exact same issue i still can not even set my dial for zero but the blade is perfect and that’s all that matter I don’t want to return it because i got it at Home Depot for $340 i also got signed up for the credit card ha ha. Thank you so much and god bless
You did an excellent job setting up your saw. Regardless of the model saw this is an excellent tutorial for anyone adjusting any table saw.
It is interesting that there seems to be little choice today between the portable job site saw with cast aluminum top and a full blown cast iron cabinet grade. The ground cast iron topped contractors saw with full thickness blade seems to have disappeared except for one or two models. On the other side an aluminum table does not rust.
You have probably adjusted your saw beyond the tolerance of the material available at a big box store and I say good on you for that!
If you add a table saw sled you will no doubt get good service from this saw. The mitre gauge on all portable saws suck these days. The Ridgid however looks better than my Dewalt. The Dewalt has an odd sized mitre gauge slot so even an aftermarket mitre gauge is problematic. I bet most people would pay a bit more for a well milled mitre slot (3/4x3/8) or a good mitre gauge of decent size and quality.
I own a Dewalt and Delta Unisaw. I miss our old Delta contractors saw with the 1 1/2 hp motor sticking out the back!
What great video you made to set it up I just bought one and you will make it easier for me to set up
Aloha Michael,
Happy that you found the video helpful.
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike
Ridgid should send you a check for the detailed instructions on your video. Much appreciated.
Aloha Craig,
Thank you for those kind words. Glad you found the video helpful.
Mahalo,
Mike
@@maverickmikekauai3515 do you know why they recommend only 6” dados for this saw? I only have 8” and was wondering how this would be bad for it. Thanks again
Wow this was a very impressive video! I bought my saw last year from DTO as a factory blemished for $329 and thought I got a deal but now that I have some experience under my belt, it was way too much! I have every issue you had, except the few things I haven’t checked yet, like overall table flatness, and fence flatness.
My biggest problem is that my riving knife is out of alignment with the blade, and there’s not enough adjustment available to fix it. Its probably about 1/32” past the blade.
I found out today the riving knife is also vertically out of alignment, meaning it’s bent. I’m considering removing the riving knife altogether and switching to a 7 1/4” blade. Otherwise I’ll probably need to take it to a repair shop or spend more money to get one of those kreg splitters. I wish I had just bought it from Home Depot so I could take it back there.
Aloha SoCal Kevin,
I also ended up having the same problems with my riving knife. For your safety DO NOT operate the saw without a riving knife.
To fix my riving knife issue I shifted gears into beast mode. I removed the knife from the saw and took my hand held grinder to it. I removed steel from the riving knife attempting keep the blade flat and the material thickness even throughout the length of the knife. I removed enough material so that the riving knife was just a little thinner than the kerf of the saw blade. Then I chamfered the leading edge. Using a rattle can I repainted the riving knife black and reinstalled the riving knife.
I was then able to properly adjust the riving knife and it would no longer "catch" on the wood being passed through the saw. It works much better now. Although, I'm sure that riving wont be warrantied now!!😆
It is a shame that a saw that has so much potential is so messed up by a continuous string of quality and execution issues.
Oh well, It was a good price but you get what you pay for..
Thanks for the great comment!
Mahalo,
Mike
@@maverickmikekauai3515 thanks for your response and the detailed info on your solution to the riving knife problem! My cuts currently end up drifting away from the fence causing them to come up too short.
I'm going to spend all of today trying to get my table saw in alignment. All the adjustments I made 6 months ago are off again. I love the easy fold up design of this table saw, but you're right, the quality issues really kill it.
I've heard trying to warranty it takes 4-8 weeks and I just don't have that time right now. A replacement riving knife is about $50 and it might only tell me the base plate is bent too. I was considering switching to the 7 1/4" blade after seeing it work well for several people here on TH-cam. I know it's not a good idea to go without the riving knife, but I think using one of those micro jig grr-rippers would help alleviate the dangers associated. I was planning to upgrade to a zero clearance insert too, so if I do that, I can add a kreg splitter to it to replace the riving knife. I think I'll try your solution first and grind down the original riving knife. Hopefully I can get it to a uniform thickness. Thanks again!
Thank you for this video! My saw and stand came with NO manual or instructions. There's not one, that I could find, on the Rigid website. And customer service is closed for the day. Thank you!!!
Wow, they need to up the quality game.
best of the best, value and quality here !!
I now have a broken part on the saw. Repair video in the works.
Maybe I missed it. Did you mention the registration and lifetime warranty. Very informative vitio thanks.
You can add washers (and/or tape for a more precise adjustment) where the table top mounts to the saw frame to help level the top. Some of it won't come out due to machining, but big gaps, corner to corner, side to side and front to rear can be minimized.
Great idea!
Thanks for sharing that.
Mahalo,
Mike
I genuinely hope they send you free stuff.
I never owned a table saw before & I made the mistake of trusting the factory setup....
Then I tried jointed 2 piece together & I had the biggest WTF is this garbage moment after I put the square to it.
Being a Christmas gift from the wife I didn't want to return it but that would've been the result if I bought it.
Thank you
Just bought this saw and I watched this before attempting to assemble it. Thanks for the guide, I feel like I know what to watch for now. And it's good to know I'll need a digital angle finder. But I'm wondering if the riving knife is guaranteed to throw off all cuts or if it's just that way for certain saws -- I don't have any way to grind down metal at the moment.
Aloha Ghritke,
I don't know about all saws but my riving knife was thicker than the saw blade and was difficult to center in relation to the blade. So I just used a handheld grinder and removed material from the riving knife until it was the same thickness of the saw blade. I never did get a digital angle finder but I have been using my speed square which is meeting my needs for now.
Thanks for the great comments,
Mike
I have owned the previous version of this Ridgid contractor saw for about 8 years. It is nearly impossible to make repeat cuts with it or anything close to accurate. Table isn't flat, the throat plates are far to flimsy. I waste tons of time trying to make it work, but they only thing saving it from the dump is I build a cross cut sled that helps a lot. This saw will make you feel stupid that you can't build a square cabinet carcass or drawer boxes. I really want a proper cabinet saw, but don't have the space or budget for it yet.
Aloha Nick,
You are 100 percent accurate.
I am in the same boat as you, I really wanted precision but could not afford that for just a hobby. But this saw did have some great features that other saws did not have within the same price range like the ability to cut 4X4 material and will accept a dado stack. I guess we get what we are willing to pay for.
First off, great review, seriously! When I first saw how long your vid was, I almost passed on it. But, the reason I DID watch it is because I felt, if you took almost an hour of video, it likely paralleled the FIVE hours it took me to set mine up. Good LORD was this table saw a PITA!! I too paid only $400.00 but for the life of me, I never expected to take 5 hours to true up this saw - out of the box. Really disappointed in this saw because if a $550.00 'saw' takes this much work to true up, what does that say about QC for RIDGID? Overall, mine came with everything and I mean everything misaligned, just like yours. Couldn't believe it... However, you raised a couple of points that helped me true a couple of additional areas so I thank you for putting this together. I too decided to keep the saw, but my first impression with RIDGID is not very impressed at this price point.
Aloha AXNJXN1,
Thanks for the kind words. In my nightmares I am still editing that video forever and ever and...
If that saw was not able to cut 4X materials I would have returned it. But at that price point with the lifetime service agreement I was willing to put up with some issues..(It had lots of issues but...)
RIDIGID must up the quality especially now that they seem to be phasing the lifetime service agreement out or their name will end up where they don't want it to go.
Mahalo,
Mike.
@@maverickmikekauai3515 Mike, didn’t even know they were considering phasing that out?? Being a first time (RIDGID) customer, I was certainly dissatisfied with how many out of the box adjustments I had to do, as previously stated. Mine came with a crushed tape measure in two areas and the end cap over it was also crushed. Spent two days attempting online registration all of which failed and eventually got a service Tech on the horn and got the LSA and parts orders. So as for the customer service portion, I give them a thumbs up. I DO love the soft start up and blade braking on this though; super nice!
@@AXNJXN1 Yes there are some real positives about this saw. They just have to keep working on quality control,
Mahalo,
Mike
THANK YOU!! I was having a serious ADD fit when I opened the box
Same problem here with the blade not going to 90 unless I rotate the cam really hard past 0. Never knew it was the actual motor preventing this.
Edit: The one adjustment I was hoping to see was the blade rotation along the z axis. Somehow mine is off and I don’t see the adjustment in the manual.
Aloha BenignComrade,
I think RIDGID needs to work on the design, tolerances and manufacturing quality of this saw.
Mahalo,
Mike
Thank you! Best video on this saw - I learned so much!
Thank you so much. I have this exact saw and you done a great job.
Aloha Greg,
Mahalo for the kind words.
Mike.
Was looking for how to adjust bevel and found this. Very nice. However, in my case, I find that to get the blade set to 90 degrees, I have to push it so far that the motor assembly hits the table and actually has to deform it a bit to get to a perfect 90. "That ain't right" . . .
I did buy it used, for what I though was a fair price. Not so sure now.
Looking for hints before tearing into things too far.
I just picked this saw up for $369 and the 12” sliding miter saw for $299. I wanted the dewalt but ended up paying $20 over the price of the dewalt and got the tablesaw and miter. 🤞😊
2 years later a still helpful!