To align the blade on the Ridgid R4512, you remove the back panel and loosen the four bolts that secure the trunions to the table top. That’s a bit easier said than done. Three of the bolts were no big deal, but that fourth bolt was behind the motor, so I had to pull a Plastic Man move to be able to get to it. Once they were all loosened, I was ready to start gently persuading the trunions to move a tiny bit. At one point I had it very close, I’d say about 4/1000ths away, but I just had to go the extra step. Of course, I hit it too hard and knocked everything out of alignment in the other direction. That meant I had to start all over. Also, tightening the bolts was even affecting the alignment. I had many moments of frustration, which my wife can attest to. Then I discovered another way of moving the trunions without having to use a deadblow hammer.
I loosened the screws and applied a clamp between the trunions and the side of the saw. That way, I was able to sort of dial it in. When I was close enough, I tightened the bolts, then removed the clamp. I geeked out a bit more, but I’ll stop there. Suffice it to say the blade is now between 2/1000th and 3/1000th out of parallel with the miter slot – perfectly acceptable.
I used a dial indicator, but I’m not sure if it helped or hurt. It helped in that it was very accurate. But it hurt in that I found myself struggling to achieve a somewhat arbitrary measurement instead of quality saw cuts. Doing some test cuts with a good quality crosscut blade, I was able to make smooth-as-glass cuts with no tear-out at all. That’s the result I was going for all along. I ordered a new blade -- a Forrest Woodworker II combination blade -- and it should be here any day now (I will not comment on how many times per hour I hit refresh on the FedEx tracking number!). I can't wait to try it out.
##
I'm working on my full review of the saw and will have it up soon.