Ridgid 12" Sliding Mitre Saw not square

[Glen A Peterson]

Hi all. I have a 12" Ridgid sliding mitre saw and until now we have not used it much. I was purchased on sale and kept as a backup saw. Now I need it and find out it seems to be off square. I took the fence off as it was not straight and made it perfectly straight. When I get the fence to a true 90 on the left side of the blade the right side is off. Also it seems when cutting on the left side of the blade and true to that side it is making a cup (crown) inward into the material...very weird. I have spent all day trying to get this thing right and the only way it will cut true 90 on each side of the blade is to actually put a crown or bend in on the fence. I attached a plywood strip to the fence to find this out. My think the saw motor and blade assembly is off on a slight angle on the slide bars. I would make sence to the cupping inward on the left side and why it is off square on the right. It was bought at Home Depot and is out of warranty so i am stuck with it. Has anyone had similar issue or any suggestions? :confused::confused:

[Don Jarvie]

I don't have one so, but try to follow the manual regarding the setup. You may have already done this but its worth doing it over.

[Jeff Bartley]

Glen,
I'd read the manual; it could be that the bushings in the slide assembly are loose and need to be tightened. Make sure you also check your 90 degree bevel stop. Both miter saws I've owned needed to be tuned in order to really do precise work. And you should see many of the miter saws on jobsites--they're rarely square.
If everything looks square check the blade bearings for play; wobble could case some weird cuts.
Hope this helps,
Jeff

[Steve Ryan]

Is the blade sharp? Did it hit anything nasty on one side that would make it pull?

[Mark David]

I also have the ridgid 12" slider and am experiencing a similar problem which I believe is not unique to this particular saw. In my case, the blade can be squared to the fence; however, when sliding outward it tends to track to the right (when looking towards the saw.) The solution, in my case, is to lock the sliding mechanism and square the blade to the fence (now I just have a gigantic, obnoxious, 12" slider that is good for basically nothing.) Like you, I am way past any warrenty period (two years). I have taken this saw to the local service center and they suggested that I ask for a refund from the BORG. More information about this problem may be found on the Ridgid discussion forum.