Very promising news indeed. I'd be curious to hear if there is in fact a resolution to the issues that will be rolling out for future purchases.

 

I called RIDGID to ask them if the new trunnion would be put on new saws from the factory. The guy I talked to said that if there is a revision in the casting then it should be on the new saws from the get go. He did not, however, have any kind of official word from RIDGID that there was in fact a redesign. He recommended trying to get a saw manufactured after June/July of 2013; I don't know if that was a hint as to when a change may have made or if that's his guess as to what the newest stock out there on the shelves would be.

 

Thanks for the post. What sort of a "12 ton press" was required to remove a bolt?

 

That little tidbit that RIDGID told AaronKoch regarding post June/July 2013 manufacturing dates can be confirmed.

BeeFarmer - When was your saw manufacturered? If it was after June/July 2013, then it would cast doubt on a date-based check.

 

Hopefully there will be the same fix for the 21833… well actually I won't need it if I pick up this saw!

 

My saw was made March of 2013, I should have taken pictures of the differences. I was checking thicknesses with digital calipers and it was evident that it was thicker. In an email to Ridgid (replied to by a Tim Beasly of One World Technologies) he said he asked their technician what part would be replaced concerning my issue and the tech replied only the trunnion. My press is just a 12 ton shop press, you'll need steel blocks to support it or short piece of 2" pipe. It doesn't take a lot of force but you won't do it with a hammer. Did a lot of work on it yesterday and still good.

 

Here is a summary of what I did, You use this info at your own risk, I assume no liability if you do this swap.

Flip the saw over and remove the 4 bolts holding the base, remove the base.

Have the arbor all the way down (blade removed, riving knife should have been removed before flip).

Adjust angle to access big nut on motor pivot, first remove belt tension bolt, Remove big nut now raise the arbor some and the belt will loosen, slip belt off arbor pulley, the motor will now slide off the pivot bolt but you may have to turn the height wheel as it comes off.

Adjust back to 90 remove angle wheel and 2 bolts holding the plate, unscrew shaft.

Remove height wheel and pointer.

Remove rear trunnion cap.

Remove main trunnion, tipping and turning to get height shaft thru slot.

Remove parts from trunnion, once bare press big bolt out. The arbor does not come off till the bolt is out. I did it with the nut on but down past flush so if I messed up threads I could clean them up with the nut. Probably didn't need it. If you put nut on take it off after bolt starts to move.

Arbor pivot hole must be lined up when you put the bolt in new trunnion. Press bolt in. The metal plate that guides the arbor must be on before the arbor is installed. That plate guides the riving knife leave the bolts loose. The arbor will not move up and down that slot till reassembled.

Do not forget the part on the old trunnion that the angle shaft threaded in, easy on the retainer.

Put all parts on the new trunnion, reinstall trunnion and trunnion cap, snug bolts.

Install angle shaft and tilt to put motor on.

Have the height wheel on, place motor on bolt, get belt on as motor is installed, turning wheel to mesh gears, install big nut and tension bolt, if you get big nut too tight it will be hard to raise / lower blade. Crank motor down to tighten belt, might have to pry as in manual, double check belt alignment on both pulleys. Tighten tension bolt.

Reinstall base, flip saw upright, install blade and riving knife.

Everything needs to be adjusted;

Riving knife - adjust the slotted plate to keep knife away from blade when raising / lowering

Recessed screws on table top back out till blade is aligned.

Trunnion - I won't detail, we all know this but remember the angle shaft holds the trunnion from moving side to side, if you need to move the front cap, I had to 90 the blade, measure, turn the angle wheel in the direction I needed slack, tap cap, re-90 the blade then measure. I did have all 4 bolts loose.

Table top screws - facing the saw, right is 45 and left is 90

Adjust angle pointer.

I did turn mine on with the blade removed, just to be safe, but all was fine.

 

I'm in the market for a new saw.. Is there a date of manufacture on the box? If so, where?

 

Sorry What I meant was

"Hopefully there will be the same fix for the 21833… well actually even better, I hope I won't need the fix if I pick up this saw!

Yeah it's confusing b/c scanning the parts manual there are more than one part w/ Trunnion in the name.

 

Just got an email back from ridged - me swapping out the trunnion will NOT affect my LSA warranty. I have used this saw for the last two days building beehive equipment, checked the blade tonight and still within 0.001.5. When looking up the part it's the "main trunnion". All I can say is.. I would not buy this saw or the 21833 without opening the box and seeing II in the casting. Both saws are made by Dayton I would assume they use the same parts supplier.

 

BeFarmer you had better luck than me. I just spoke to Ridgid on the phone about my R4512 saw with the blade shift. I purchased it on 10/11/13. It has the blade shift issue. The tech that I spoke to said that I would have to return it to HD and have them send it to a service center, or bring it to a service center myself. The nearest service center (an electrical service company) is 60 miles away, and the person I spoke to said they hadn't worked on one, but his guys could figure it out. For me to get this saw to a service center is extremely difficult, as it weighs 250 lbs and won't fit in my vehicle. I would have to rent a truck or trailer which is costly. When I explained that I had been a machinist for 50 years and was capable of doing the repair, he said they could not send me the part as it was a liability problem. When I explained that I knew others that have received the part under warranty he said it was not possible. By the internet chatter and U-Tube videos out there Ridgid has to know about the blade shift problem and should have done a recall or at least pulled the ones that were made before the design change off the store shelves. I've seen where others on the internet have attempted to make repairs to correct the blade shift. It a darn shame that a buyer has to "repair" a brand new item. It should be okay right out of the box. I am dead in the water as I need to build 18 kitchen cabinets next week. I will try my best to get the job done using this saw. I will then put an ad on Craigslist and sell it for what I can get and buy a better saw. As I've said before, other than the blade shift issue I like the saw, and I'm upset that I have to dump it. No more Ridgid products for me.

 

Carver1942 I feel for ya, and I agree with you….you shouldn't have to fix a new saw. I'd hate for you to sell the problem to someone else unless they're ok with it. Considering how long Ridgid/HD has had to remedy this issue and that they're obviously still dumping these things in consumer's laps, I'd be tempted to buy a new R4512, and return it with the current defective trunnion (assuming the new one is good). Being sure to explain that it has the alignment problem, so they won't restock it and sell it to someone else…..it's a dose of hardball for sure, but it puts the issue back where it belongs. Not everyone will think highly of this idea, and it isn't my typical "M.O.", but it's fair to you, and IMO it's the lesser of a couple of other potential evils here…

 

I second that. Ridgid has to have known about the issues for years as it has been so well documented on the web and so many people have called their customer service number regarding the issue. Despite that, they have sold thousands of defective saws. Given that, I think buying a new one and returning the defective one is what you should do.

 

Where are the pics? Inquiring minds want to see.

 

Any option will be a pain as that sucker is heavy!

 

Ed - Do you suppose you could contact the service center (tell them you're a machinist), and have them contact Ridgid for the replacement trunnion, and either get it sent to you or pay some extra shipping to have the service center send you the part? Heck, it could work out so that they get paid for the repair that you perform!

 

First off, don't call Ridgid. Send an email saying you have the R4512 and it has the defective trunnion and you want to know if they will send you a new main trunnion. You may want to say your mechanical ability is adequate for the repair. See if you get an email back from a Tim Beasely from One World Technologies (Ridgid's parent Co.) You will more than likely get your trunnion. If he agrees to send you the part, he will warn that if you fail the warranty does not cover a service center fixing it. Good Luck.

 

OWT is not ridgid's parent. OWT is the company that manufactures the ridgid hand held and stationary power tools for HD under a license agreement that I believe HD has with the ridge tool company for the use of the ridgid name on HH and stationary power tools.

 

Bee, can you take a look at the other thread and tell me if the images I posted are accurate for what you are describing? I know I do not plan on buying a press to fix this, so it might not matter… $529 is cheap for that type of a saw but not cheap enough to make me want to wrench on the thing right off the bat.

 

Well, I decided to find out if they would send me a trunnion. I sent the following email to their customer service.

"I own a rigid r4512 table saw that I bought last fall. It has the blade height alignment problem that a lot of folks are having. I understand that this has a fix now and that you folks will send a new trunnion. Is this correct?"

What I got back was :

"There is not any type of known problem affecting RIDGID table saw model R4512 as a whole, or parts sent out in some type of effort to provide a fix like you are describing. If you are experiencing a problem with your RIDGID R4512 table saw, the saw will need to be checked and properly serviced under saws warranty coverage guidelines through your nearest RIDGID authorized service center."

Tom C.
One World Technologies, Inc.

Appaently they do not even acknowledge the problem even though they have had to have gotten hundreds of email and calls. So therefore I am expected to move a 200 pound saw to their service center which is 56 miles away.

 

knotscott, I don't intend to sell it to anyone without making them aware of the issue.
I have been going round and round now with Ridgid and getting nowhere. Due to illness I was unable to get the saw together till now. If I had seen the problem then I would have returned it to Home Depot for a refund. My illness layup put me past HD's 90 day return policy. Seeing skiler's post tells me that the word has come down from corporate not to acknowledge there is a problem. A lifetime warranty with an item this size should come with onsite service. To expect costumers to bring an assembled machine to a service center many miles away just to replace a part is ridiculous. Then ad to the insult by refusing a customer that is willing to do their own repair the needed part is beyond my understanding. It is like selling someone a large furnace for their home and when it needs a part say to them, yes we will honor the warranty, bring it into our shop. Ridigid should not be issuing lifetime warranties on large items like this if they can not provide onsite repairs. It is good that BeeKeeper was able to get what he needed, but it's pretty sad that a repair of this nature has to be done in the first place, it should have been right from the factory. The purchase of this saw was made in good faith. Ridgid is not responding in good faith. The stress this purchase has caused me is not good for my heart condition and I will no longer post anything about it. I have sent my last email to Ridgid. The ball is in their court.
regards
Ed

 

I received a replacement trunnion this afternoon. I was really looking forward to having this problem fixed with the new trunnion. I opened the box and the trunnion they sent me appears to be identical to the one that is already installed in my machine (and the one prior). I'm not seeing a "II" stamped anywhere on the assembly.

Beefarmer, can you confirm the location?

As far as I can tell they sent me the "old" trunnion.

 

Man that sucks.

I think the LSA is essentially useless on this saw. Unless you've got time and gas to waste hauling 250lbs around trying to get it fixed I think you're better off scouting Craigslist for a nice used saw.

 

knotscott, I don't intend to sell it to anyone without making them aware of the issue.
I have been going round and round now with Ridgid and getting nowhere. Due to illness I was unable to get the saw together till now. If I had seen the problem then I would have returned it to Home Depot for a refund. My illness layup put me past HD's 90 day return policy. Seeing skiler's post tells me that the word has come down from corporate not to acknowledge there is a problem. A lifetime warranty with an item this size should come with onsite service. To expect costumers to bring an assembled machine to a service center many miles away just to replace a part is ridiculous. Then ad to the insult by refusing a customer that is willing to do their own repair the needed part is beyond my understanding. It is like selling someone a large furnace for their home and when it needs a part say to them, yes we will honor the warranty, bring it into our shop. Ridigid should not be issuing lifetime warranties on large items like this if they can not provide onsite repairs. It is good that BeeKeeper was able to get what he needed, but it's pretty sad that a repair of this nature has to be done in the first place, it should have been right from the factory. The purchase of this saw was made in good faith. Ridgid is not responding in good faith. The stress this purchase has caused me is not good for my heart condition and I will no longer post anything about it. I have sent my last email to Ridgid. The ball is in their court.
regards
Ed

 

Here are the roman II full of sawdust.