Help with rigid 4511 setup

It’s important that the stock be flat and straight if you want a straight cut.

The fence to blade alignment should be as close as you can possibly get it, but since there’s no way to guarantee perfect, many manufacturers suggest a very slight “toe out” at the tail of the fence to avoid any chance of “toe in”, which would cause pinching and possibly kickback….~ 0.003” or about the thickness of a folded dollar bill is about right.

Use the miter slot as a reference….use the right miter slot if you primarily cut from the right side of the blade. Align the blade to the miter slot, then align the fence to the miter slot. You can use a combination square that’s adjust to just tick the edge of a teeth at the front….mark that tooth and rotate the same tooth to the back, then check to see if the square is same distance….if the square doesn’t reach, or the touch is much heavier, then the alignment is off and needs more adjusting. You can also make other devices that work well, or you can buy an inexpensive dial guage.

Your saw has cabinet mounted trunnions so adjustment should be pretty simple….loosen the bolts just enough to move the top (do not move the trunnions, and do loosen the trunnion bolts). The bolt that’s the pivot point for the adjustment can be kept just a little snug. Usually a tap on one edge of the table will move it a little, then recheck the alignment.

In addition to the jigs shown below, you can also bid a very simple 3/4” runner for the miter slot with a 90° perpendicular piece that comes ~ 1/2” from the blade, then add a small screw to the end and adjust it to just reach the front teeth….use it the same way you would the combo square.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

Bassmaster, I’m no pro like some on here are with many years of experience with tablesaws, but I do have the same saw and if all is square you should not have that binding, assuming it is not your technique for feeding stock.

Never hurts to go back and start from the beginning and check your left miter to blade alignment, which is the table top being square to the blade, and then check to make sure your blade is at 90 degrees, and then check your fence to blade squareness.

An 1/8” clearance after the blade sounds like a lot to me. I adjust my fence about a 1/32” at most after the blade.
You might want to put a long level on the face of your fence to make sure it is flat and not bowed.

There you go, Knotscott has chimed in and now you have some good details on alignment!!!

Knotscott,
To be sure whether it’s a typo or not, are you recommending loosening the Trunnion bolts when aligning the blade? (the bolts that fix the trunnion to the cabinet).

The user manual says to square the blade to the miter slot, put a block of wood against the side of the blade and push on the blade until it’s aligned, with the bolts to the table loosened. I fail to see how that will help.

Typo for sure! ..and a big one at that! Good catch. To be clear….do NOT unbolt or loosen the trunnions. Instead, loosen the bolts to the top and adjust the top to the blade. Leave the trunnions alone. Sorry…

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

another thing to consider – based on your original post where you mention that the board is 1/8” away from the fence after the blade – make sure your fence is also parallel to the miter slot, and blade, AND that you are pushing the board AGAINST THE FENCE! not just straight through the blade. your pushing direction should be at an angle to the blade – forward and into the fence – and make sure you’re using push blocks if your hands are anywhere near the blade area.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Thanks for the input. I believe that my miter slot to blade is very close. To get this adjustment I made a T out of wood with the long part riding in the miter slot and cut the short piece to size by pushing the T thru the blade. Then shut off and disconnected power to saw and compared front and back of blade using the same tooth on the blade. From what I could see it was pretty dead on. Is eyeballing it going to get it done for this adjustment? As for the fence I have adjusted the “toe” both ways with no inprovement. I think I will take my level and check the fence to see if it is straight. Keep in info coming!

Another thought… could it just be your lumber? If a board is cupped after ripping, maybe tension is being released during the cut, which is causing the board to bind.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I think that the wood tension is causing some of the problems but I am sure that something else is out of wack. Should I be able to stall the blade with 1by pine? It doesn’t happen alot but I would think that it would be almost impossible if everything was adjusted right.

Pine can be a bear if it’s too wet, and depending on the blade. What blade are you using? A good quality, sharp, clean 40T thin kerf (or lower tooth count) should have no trouble with 1” pine that’s dry, flat, and straight.

Not sure if eyeballing is gonna get you close enough….depends on the eyeballs! ;) Cut the crosspiece of your gauge just a tad shorter and put a pan head screw in the end, then adjust the screw until it just ticks the edge of the front tooth….repeat with the same tooth at the rear.

Also, put a straight edge across the face of your fence to make sure it’s straight. While your at it, check the miter slot for straightness too.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I took a straight edge to the fence and on the blade side it bows in the middle slightly 1/64 and is confirmed on opposite side of the fence with the ends sticking out a bit. Would that small of defect cause my troubles? Knotscott I like the idea of using the screw on the guage. Thanks