Ridgid radial arm saw question

**chilidog** · 02-08-2004, 09:19 PM

Hello, I was not quite sure where to post this question. Well after looking for a while I finaly went out and got me a Ridgid RS 1000 radial arm saw, found a home depot close by that had one just one new in the box, well got it home, no damage noticed on the box or on the saw during unpacking or assembly except for the blade that was supplied was slightly bent, I noticed this during the alignment of the arm and the blade, after taking one of my fairly new freud blades that is a good blade from my table saw "no noticeable wobble or vibration from the table saw with this blade" I still had some very very slight wobble from this blade on the arbor of the radial arm, I checked the arbor washers a slight burr on one so I carefully sanded with some 400 grit cloth until flat but im still getting the wobble could the arbor be bent or are my blades not perfectly flat, If its the arbor whats a good way on a radial arm to test for this, the amount of wobble is around 1/32" this is about the most accurate i can measure without a caliper my next investment. Or am i just being a perfectionist i mean it dont seem to effect the saw other than i know its there but i want my tools to last for a good long time and dont want the wobble to damage the motor, I havent called / emailed Ridgid yet i wanted to run this by you all first, Ive ran a few radial arm saws just never owned and set one up before so i really dont know if its something to worry about or not. Any help on this would be great.
thanks and sorry for this getting long.
Don Emerson
Westerville Ohio

**Darrin O** · 02-08-2004, 09:57 PM

I would just go get a dial indicator. You can get a cheapish one at Harbor Freight. Check the runout. You'll have to secure it to your table top somehow, but then you'll know for sure.

If your table saw had no wobble with that blade, then your RAS shouldnt either.

Darrin
"Ever notice how good enough, is usually neither good nor enough?"

**TDHofstetter** · 02-09-2004, 12:34 AM

Don, try swapping the arbor washers - the inner one for the outer one. If you can do it; on my RAS it can be done. See if the problem gets better or worse or stays the same.

Next, loosen the blade and slowly tighten it by holding a wrench on the shaft (got flats there to hang a wrench on?), and turning the blade while you hold the shaft from turning... while you slowly tighten the arbor nut. The point here is to find a spot where the blade seats tightest into the arbor washers. That may make all the difference in the world. Might make no difference, though.

Next, you can set some block of reasonably heavy and hard stuff (steel is good for this) on the table and remove the blade. Slowly lower the saw until the shaft JUST touches the block of steel. JUST touches. Now rotate the shaft with a wrench and see if it bumps the block, then rises above it, then bumps it as it goes 'round. That'll tell you if the shaft is bent. If it's straight, it'll always barely touch the steel block as you rotate it... you'll be able to hear it rubbing.

If you don't happen to have a block of steel lying around the shop, you could use a hand plane turned on its side. If you're worried about marring the cast iron, go grab a feeler guage and keep that between the shaft and the plane. THEN you can FEEL what happens with the shaft as you rotate it.

If the blade was bent when YOU got it, then I've gotta' wonder if maybe it got banged as it was being packed - and that COULD have bent the shaft if it was enough to bend the blade.

It's new - if the shaft is bent, it GOES BACK. If it was used, I'd run it just the way it is... but this is NEW and it should ACT NEW.

If that shaft's gonna' get bent, YOU should be given the opportunity to bend it yourself... :)

-- Tim --

Don't walk in front of me, I will not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I will not lead.
Walk beside me, and be my friend.

**chilidog** · 02-09-2004, 01:42 PM

Thanks for the help on this, Well after doing some checking the arbor is not bent, I took the blade and guard off the saw then lowered the arm until like you said it just about touched a piece of good true steel I use when setting up for welding then using a piece of paper as a feeler gauge rotated the arbor it didnt grab the paper, so it seems to be fine then moved to the arbor washers and the nut, I resanded both sides of the washers and then sanded one side of the arbor nut, carefully tightend the nut on and hand spun the blade with a square proped up against the blade to watch for wobble, Either i was overtightening the arbor nut or the sanding fixed the problem but now with my good blade no wobble, the supplied blade is now in the trash can i suppose i could have used it for a wobble dado blade but decided not to "a joke" it was a good 3/8" bent but like i said i could find no damage to the saw motor anywhere, It seems to be fine, saw assembly wasnt that bad about 4 hours total just alot of adjusting and rechecking and adjusting to get the saw true in all directions, no missing or "extra" parts/hardware now all thats left is to move it into its new home home against the wall and build the storage cabinet in its base, a good woodworker buddy of mine is coming over tomorrow to help with this he has a radial arm saw so im gonna have him give me a lesson on better radial arm saw operation not that i think im dangerous but its always nice to have some experienced instruction if you can get it right, Well thanks again for all the help, this got long to didnt it, Sorry.
Don Emerson
Westerville Ohio

**TDHofstetter** · 02-09-2004, 10:30 PM

"could have used it for a wobble dado blade"

:D
:D
:D

Don, you're OK. :)

Your post - long? Have you read some of MY honkers? :) Everybody knows I've got fingerrhea. :)

-- Tim --

Don't walk in front of me, I will not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I will not lead.
Walk beside me, and be my friend.