Ridgid R4512 Squeel On Startup

Sounds like bearings to me. The squeeling could also be belt, but the belt wouldn’t make the metallic grinding noise. How does it sound when you turn the blade by hand (with the saw unplugged)?

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

Anything fall down into the saw around the blade and rubbing against it?

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

Could be several things, but the squealing/grinding sound ain’t normal (I have this saw and it runs smooth as silk).

Check to a make sure you got the foam packing block out from on top,of the motor when you assembled the saw. It’s hard to see and might have slipped into a moving part.

-- John, BC, Canada

knotscott – When I turn the blade when the saw is off, there is no noticeable grinding or any noise except for some very subtle squeaking. The blade doesn’t seem to wobble and there is clearly nothing rubbing against the blade. I removed the back panel to get a better look at things, but since I don’t know much about table saw motors, everything looked fine. The belt was nice and tight and there also was no noticeable wobble to the belt or pulleys when I manually turned the blade.

Howie – Nothing has fallen into the blade and I made triple sure about that.

nwbusa – I removed the Styrofoam while I was assembling it, so its not that.

I recorded the sound it is making and uploaded it to YouTube, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky6IH0JczDE&feature=youtu.be

Sounds like there is either some debris or play in the 51 080035003016 Arbor Pulley. http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/images/RIDGID_parts_R4512_saw.pdf

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

If you look at the link http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/images/RIDGID_parts_R4512_saw.pdf the problem sounds like it’s between parts number 52 and 63. Most likely an arbor bearing due to a bad bushing or shim letting some dust in there, or just a factory part problem. I’d call them and send the sound link in an email. They will likely send you some parts free.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

I have this saw, so I’m familiar with the sounds it makes. Yours sounds like when the power is turned on, it has a stuck bearing which frees itself of the shaft seconds after you start it. Then it intermittently sticks while the blade is turning. Then when you power it down, the torque is coming from the opposite direction, blade to motor and you dont hear it as much. While it’s idling down, the motor releases the torque and the bearing or bushing starts to make noise again.

I doubt you’ll be able to see anything happening, but if you take the arbor apart you’ll see what’s been happening. I wouldn’t use it until you get that fixed. It’s really a much quieter saw than that.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Sorry about all these comments, but if you call Ridgid and let them listen to the sound, they’ll probably send you 080035003701 Arbor Assembly. Or you could return it, which is a pain. I actually had to remove the motor assembly from my 4512 to get the thing out of the box because I had no help, very heavy unit.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Try running it without the blade and see how it sounds.

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

Well, thanks everyone for the help and input! I contacted RIDGID and they said that the sound was coming from either the belt or the motor, and since I couldn’t figure out how to remove the belt, I contacted Home Depot. Home Depot has been very helpful in this situation and have agreed to swap out the cabinet part of the saw with another one that they have on hand. Thanks again for all your suggestions! What a great and helpful community! :)