10" miter saw adjustment nightmare.

[kix]

Hiyall, On my 10" Ridgid compund miter saw I have adjusted the fence so the the blade rests square when it is a 0 degrees, but when I tilt it over to 45 it doesnt cut cut a straight bevel. I have dealt with this for over a year now, and am really frustrated with not being able to get good joints on my base boards, crown molding and chair rails. I have adjusted the fence and whatnot per the instructions, but if I get the 45 straight then the 0 is out of alignment.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[BHD]

are your stops set and adjusted properly and if they are and your doing everthing correctly by the book is it possible that it was improperly machined when it was made, and some how got through quality control,

[jmhobbs]

Ok, I thought it was just me, but my 10" Ridgid CMS does the same thing. I don't do a lot of miter cuts, so I've just lived with it (mostly). Mine has the laser, so I just adjust the angle of the stock I'm cutting by eye-balling the laser and the edge of the stock. Not very accurate.

[Velosapien]

If you're refering to the saw not cutting at exactly 45 degress its the stop screw that needs adjustment. However, if you mean the saw doesnt cut the bevel at exactly 90 degrees to the fence then yes, I have the same problem with mine. I noticed part of the problem is blade deflection. Changing to a full kerf blade or a high quality industrial level thin kerf blade helped a lot. It brought the innacuracy down to about less than a half degree. I just end up turning the turn table slightly about a half degree of to compensate until I got them straight. I also stopped adjusting the blade and fence by eyeballing it with a square. I got a straight piece of 2X6 which is the saws max capacity and kept tweaking until i could measure perfect angles on the board with a good combination square. Sometimes when you think the saw is already perfectly aligned its not because its off by too small a margin to see. Anyway, the saws do seem to have some issues pivoting perfectly straight on the bevel side and they don't stay perfectly straight throughout the tilt radius. You can either align it to start on a perfect bevel, or a perfect square cut, but not both. I had the exact same problem in a really bad way with a Ryobi unit. Took it back, the replacement had exactly the same problem, but a little less pronounced. Took that back and got the Ridgid. Much less pronounced but still there. Finally got fed up and invested in the Makita slider I had been eyeing from the beginning. Problem solved. I still kept the Ridgid because it works well enough but for stuff I need perfect precision I use the Makita.

[VASandy]

My old Delta mitre saw has the same problems. Most of it's in blade deflection. Although I've noticed when doing a bevel at 45deg in wide stock, the angle deflection gets more noticeable as it goes further into the cut. I've just learned to live with it, and use a finish sanding to bring the cut to a perfect 45 if the project requires it.

[johnlicitra]

I have the EXACT problem. My saw is brand new. When I cut a 45 degree bevel the finished cut is no longer at 90 degrees. For the time being I wedged my stock up so it wasn't laying flat on the table, but we shouldn't have to do that.

Also, I'm using an aftermarket finishing blade, so I doubt that blade deflection is the culprit. Have you been successful or have you brought the saw in for repair?

[CAsawSTUD]

I have the same problem new right out of the box.

At first I couldn't get the miter square to the fence and learned from another post on this forum about adjusting 2 additional bolts (part #16). Now I notice the bevel flares a bit. This is before I have made a single cut and was just assembling the saw enough to cut the kerf plate.

I am wonder if this is typical or if I should take it back and try another. I also bought a DeWalt and am trying to decide between the two. The DeWalt was square out of the box.

[Woussko]

I think I would take it back. There are just too many posts on this forum about that type of problem with Ridgid miter saws. It could be several things causing the problem, but it sure looks like they have some defects in the design and/or manufacturing. This is for everyone: Were the boxes bashed up or were they in good condition? A hard drop or kick of the box may well have damaged the saw.

[Newman]

I too have the 10" Makita slider- hate the ****in' thing. The fence is non-existent, the sideways reading miter scale is a PITA, the retarded side mounted motor is in the way, and it has no detents for bevel stops when doing crown etc. Other than that a great saw:mad:
It's being replaced with a Bosch 4410 as we speak...

[Velosapien]

I too have the 10" Makita slider- hate the ****in' thing. The fence is non-existent, the sideways reading miter scale is a PITA, the retarded side mounted motor is in the way, and it has no detents for bevel stops when doing crown etc. Other than that a great saw:mad:
It's being replaced with a Bosch 4410 as we speak...

Actually the Makita has a taller fence but for some strange reason they choose to offer it as a seperate upgrade on the 10" model. I suppose it depends on what you need. For my use all those problems you describe are so minor its hardly worthwhile to worry about them. I like it because the saw is flawlessly accurate once set up right and thats really all I care about. I actually strongly considered the bosh but most of the reviews seem to indicate the Makita was an overall better saw and has a much better sliding system than any other slider. The laser is also fully adjustable and once set up I've found it to be dead on accurate and more precise than eyeballing the blade. I hate arbor mounted lasers like the Bosch and Ridgid.

[Newman]

Actually the Makita has a taller fence but for some strange reason they choose to offer it as a seperate upgrade on the 10" model. I suppose it depends on what you need. For my use all those problems you describe are so minor its hardly worthwhile to worry about them. I like it because the saw is flawlessly accurate once set up right and thats really all I care about. I actually strongly considered the bosh but most of the reviews seem to indicate the Makita was an overall better saw and has a much better sliding system than any other slider. The laser is also fully adjustable and once set up I've found it to be dead on accurate and more precise than eyeballing the blade. I hate arbor mounted lasers like the Bosch and Ridgid.


For a $500 saw I shouldn't have to pay an additional $100 for a add on fence that should be included in the first place. Those problems I described aren't minor. I find it has a lot of play in the miter stops and you can't get an accurate 90, or any other miter for that matter, consistently. I find the sliding system gets stuck when it's all the way in. I don't care what the reviews say - I've used the saw and I say it's a POS. The sideways miter scale is the stupidest thing I've seen - the material you're trying to cut covers the scale and you can't read it, so once you put the wood to the saw, you have to remove it to make any adjustment to the miter setting. How lame is that? As for lasers,they are pretty much useless gimmicks to me, so it's not important. I've used the Bosch 4410 and it's a much better saw. For that matter, even Dewalt has a better saw than the Makita.

[CAsawSTUD]

Were the boxes bashed up or were they in good condition? A hard drop or kick of the box may well have damaged the saw.

...I think I would take it back. There are just too many posts on this forum about that type of problem with Ridgid miter saws. It could be several things causing the problem, but it sure looks like they have some defects in the design and/or manufacturing.

From all apperances, the box was perfect.

I'm sure disappointed. The Ridgid lifetime service (with the extra clamp and laser) made it a good choice; but not if it is out of alignment. I appreciate the feedback from the guyz on this forum.