# Newbie searching BORGs for TS



## joew (Apr 22, 2008)

welcome to lj. I have a 4512 and like it. it does everything I need it to do.


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

Great review. Everything you said pretty much mirrored myself two years ago when I bought this saw (except I caught it on Black Friday in 2011 with 25% off from ridgid directly making it $375, a no brainier 

EDIT: nm, got the link working now


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Welcome to LJ. You write good, concise information, even if it has been posted before. Keep it up and ask a lot of questions!
After about 100 days, my 4512 lost its C clips that hold on the worm gear to raise and lower the blade, (the chrome one attached to the front handle), and it backed out and jammed into the castings. It was past the 90 days, and my lifetime warranty became "You pack it up and bring it to our store, and we'll send it to Atlanta and have them fix it over the next few weeks." 
I went to Ace Hardware instead, bought the proper metric C clips, and installed the clips and reassembled the saw myself in about two hours.

Other than that, I have had no problems with this saw.
I did also initially note the binding of the fence, and it did revolve around a slight adjustment of the rail system, which of course is in two pieces. Not the finest thing, to be sure, but after it was all said and done, I like the saw, it cuts accurately, and have no regrets. I used a 10% Retired Military discount on mine, no HD locally will touch the HF coupons in my area.


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## Parsimonia (Jan 21, 2013)

Funny. I have to consider the cost of an equivalent purse into the overall purchase price of a power tool.
LOL.


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## Craftsman70 (Jul 31, 2012)

This is probably the best single summary of all the issues revolving around the R4512 that I have seen. I am one of those who tried several R4512 last spring and wasn't able to find one that didn't have the alignment issue. If fact, it is my opinion that this problem is in the design and engineering of both the R4512 and Craftsman. I think they all have the issue and most of the owners, like yourself, have found ways to mitigate it by always setting the final height by lowering the blade a little. Thank you for putting this all together.


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## jacobgerlach (Jul 26, 2013)

Matt - Thanks. Wish I could have gotten a great deal like that, would have made the decision easier. I'm also having trouble following the link by clicking it from LJ (seems to load very slowly), but if I copy it into a new window it loads right away.

Paul - I'll take a look at the height handwheel when I get home - not exactly sure what you're referring to, but I'll be on the lookout.

Craftsman - thanks. I don't think I provided any new info, but I had to read a lot of places to get it all when I was searching, so my goal was to consolidate what was already out there.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

nice review. enjoy your new saw. these are definitely more aimed at the woodworker, and less at the trim/jobsite carpenters that work on slimmer/smaller parts and don't need all that table size (and in-front of blade space)


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

great review,got mine 5months ago and have enjoyed it and was able to use the 20% hf coupon which made it nicer.

welcome to lumberjocks!!!


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## dustyal (Nov 19, 2008)

paralysis by analysis… I do that… went crazy researching and deciding on a 14 inch band saw.

I appreciate your summary as a table saw is high on my list with Rigid near the top. I am also looking for ah jointer and drum sander. I have been using a friend's Ridgid saw that I like but it has the cast iron wings vs stamped steel… he is telling me to get the cast iron for weight to keep vibration down. Don't know the model, but it is an open base vs closed base. He really likes his version of the saw and he has 30+ years woodworking experience.


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## jacobgerlach (Jul 26, 2013)

Al,

I certainly don't have your friends 30 years of experience (I don't even have 30 days experience with this saw), so take my opinions with a grain of salt, but the tabletop is cast iron and the saw weighs about 250 lbs - I have not noticed any vibrations using it.

I had to spend a lot of time tweaking the extensions to get everything flush and clear of the fence. On the one hand, I feel like it would have been harder to do that with heavier wings, but maybe they would be better aligned in the first place since they're more solid.


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## Bullet (Apr 14, 2009)

I just returned my 4512 a couple weeks ago. I had it for about 60 days so I was well within the return window. I thought I was fine with the blade alignment issue - It was repeatable and as long as I knew how it would behave, and it was consistent, I thought I would be fine. Please be careful. I used the saw a lot over that time and for me, the problem got worse and I could no longer keep it consistent. Measure, measure and measure again. If it starts to wander, return it and try another. It's a great saw and I loved it - I really wanted it to work out. Best of luck and keep us posted.


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## jcwalleye (Dec 26, 2009)

Welcome to LJ.

Teriffic review. Thanks for adding to the community in your first posts.


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## Tim_H (Sep 30, 2012)

I to have the 4590. I purchased it last December and absolutely LOVED it after figuring out all the little quirks and such. The biggest problem that I have is that after 6 months of using it the entire motor shaft became warped (how this happens I have NO idea) casing the gear that holds the belt to spin off balance, it honestly did not effect the way the blade itself cut because the rubber belt kind of made up for it but it was noisy and caused a bit of vibration. I figured since the saw is under warranty that I would send it back and they would get it all fixed up. So that is what I did, how is the repair you ask? I don't know its been over 2 months and it still has not been sent back to me! Everytime I call HD repair center it is like pulling teeth to get any real info from them…for the longest time they where telling me that they where waiting on parts from the manufacture….now they say it is "on the repair mans bench", they have been saying that for a week and a half. I am sure if/when I get it back it will be fine but JEEZ a quarter year with out my table saw makes for a grumpy lumberjock! I will try to remember to update when I get my saw back.


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## danoaz (Jun 16, 2012)

Jacob - I just ordered my Ridgid R4512 TS and it will get here next week. Didn't know about the caster axles so thanks for that heads up. I guess I better look into any other issues. All I know is that it was getting good reviews and it was in my price range too. I will call you if I run into any problems - HA!


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## ATG (Sep 6, 2013)

Hello all, first post on LJ's after reading so many helpful posts and reviews. Can't wait to start tinkering around and honing my skills.

Like many others I recently purchased this saw from The Depot (in NH so no tax!) and used a HF coupon which happened to be for 25% off this month! Have started assembling and am at the point where I have just flipped the saw over, installed a nice new combo blade, and am ready to start the more involved assembly process. However, I simply had to test out a quick cross cut using the included sled to scratch my woodworking itch and make sure that the riving knife did not interfere with the Freud fusion TK blade that I had recently purchased.

So heres my question: I set the riving knife to the highest position first, ran a quick 1×4 piece across and it cut like butter and did not snag the knife. Second I moved the knife down to the lowest position (for non through cuts I assume), ran the same but shorter piece through and unfortunately felt a "thud" when the piece jammed against the outer side of the knife. My only attempt to troubleshoot thus far has been to put varying amounts of lateral pressure while locking the knife in place. This did not work, which leads me to believe that there must be a slight deviation towards the part of the knife farthest from the clamping mechanism (which doesn't seem to be adjustable).

The riving knife is supposedly .90" thick (still waiting for a pair of calipers to fall off of a truck) and the Freud blade has .071" plate and .091" kerf thicknesses. By all rights I should probably thin the knife out or purchase a replacement but wanted to see first if anyone on LJ's has run into this issue before and had a work around. Out of principal, before I purchase anything new for the brand saw I would like to work with what I have first.

If anyone has run into this before I would be interested to hear your experience.

Thanks!


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## jacobgerlach (Jul 26, 2013)

Aaron,

I haven't had a problem, but I'm still using the stock blade. .01" seems like pretty tight clearance, so maybe TK blades aren't appropriate for this riving knife, but I'm not experienced enough to speak to that.

You mentioned that you skipped ahead during assembly and did a cut. Have you checked the alignment of the riving knife to the blade yet? The instructions have a couple different adjustments for the riving knife and I know that I had to spend a while adjusting it when I assembled my saw, so that might solve your problem if it's not a blade/knife compatibility issue.


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## ATG (Sep 6, 2013)

Jacob,

You are absolutely correct, and in the light of day I did see the alignment bolts which were disguised by my lack of shop lighting. This goes to show that one should always follow the instructions…

After some alignment the issue seems to be fixed, and while tight, the TK fusion seems to work great on the table. I will probably end up sanding the riving knife down at some point if it ever becomes an issue.

A


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## Cooter_76 (Jan 3, 2014)

Hey guys,

I'd just finished assembling my new R5412 the other day and was looking online for tips & tricks when I stumbled upon this review. I thought I'd done my due diligence when researching which saw to buy, but completely missed the alignment issue. Since reading this review I checked my saw and the blade does have some movement as the height is adjusted. I haven't yet measured how much movement there is, but to my untrained eye, it's pretty slight. In fact, I doubt I would have noticed it if I hadn't been made aware of it.
My question is this: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst) how bad would you rank this issue? I'm a novice woodworker, but was hoping to increase my skill level over the next year with the help of this saw. Also, is this something that's to be expected from a saw in this price range?


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## lumbermeister (Dec 24, 2012)

Cooter_76,

Does the blade return after lowering some small fraction of a turn (as described in the review), or does it remain skewed? If it returns to alignment after lowering (as is the case of my own R4512), the an the condition is manageable. If not, then you have an increased risk of burning/binding, a serious issue that, I think, warrants returning the saw.


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## Cooter_76 (Jan 3, 2014)

It does shift back to the left a bit when lowering, and I plan to take that into account when setting-up for a cut. Will hang on to the original packaging and receipt in case the condition changes. I still have some fine-tuning to do as the fence is binding when slid to the edge of the steel wing on the right.


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