Rigid Table Saw

[greencat]

Anyone have any tips on aligning a rigid table saw? I think it is a 3650. I have a 3100 and my friend was amazed by the accuracy of my saw. I think his rigid has always been out of alignment and he thought the wood burning and uneven cuts were normal. The manual was not much help.

My thought was to align to the miter slot by adjusting the bolts under the table then adjust the rip fence.


Thanks

[Knottscott]

I believe the 3650 has some sort of a cam mechanism to aid with the alignment of the trunnions. Sorry I can't help with the specifics, but your friend should find some friendly help at Ridgid.com.

Make sure your friend also has a decent blade...the stock blade on the 3650 is pretty poor.

[Ken Massingale]

Mike,
Actually, I thought the manual was good as far as alignment.
The 3650 has a mechanism for adjustment, as Dustmight said. You want to loosen the trunnion bolts, leaving one of the front ones snug, to act as a pivot point. Use the cam lever to adjust the blade to the left miter slot.
From the manual:

7. Tighten the tilt lock handle located at
the front of the saw.
8. Loosen the three mounting screws
that hold the front trunnion and the
three mounting screws that hold the
rear trunnion using a 9/16" wrench.
The front center trunnion bolt can be
accessed through the slot for the tilt
lock handle in the front of the saw.
9. Check position of the sawblade in
the table insert slot. There should be
a minimum of 1/8" between the right
edge of the slot and the blade
(viewed from rear of saw). Adjust by
moving the front trunion. Secure by
lightly tightening the front trunion
center bolt.
10. Standing at the rear of the saw,
determine which direction the rear of
the sawblade must move to make it
parallel to the miter slot. To move the
rear of the blade to the right - turn the
micro adjust lever to the left. To move
the rear of the blade to the left - turn
the micro adjust lever to the right.
11. Using the micro adjust lever move
the rear of the blade in the desired
direction. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until
blade is parallel to miter gauge slot.
12. Securely tighten all six screws on the
rear and front trunnion using a 9/16"
wrench.
13. Recheck the marked blade tooth at
the front and rear position to insure
that the adjustment has not moved.
14. If the adjustment moved, loosen the
five bolts (all except front center) and
repeat steps 11-12.
15.When the adjustment is correct
securely tighten all six bolts on the
front and rear trunnion.

Check out the Ridgid Forum, especially this thread, http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7585

If you friend has any problems with the alignment he can contact me, I will try to help. If the initial setup is not done correctly on any tablesaw, the saw will not perform satisfactorily. You want the blade to miter slot alignment to within .003, preferably around .001-.002, which should not be a problem. After this alignment is done, the rip fence has to be aligned per the manual.
ken

[greencat]

Thanks for your help. My friend is very surprised how helpful people are on this board.