Ridgid R4513 Slipping Bevel Lock Fixed

Описание: I recently purchased a Ridgid R4513 table saw. Overall I've been very pleased with it, but it had one serious issue. The bevel lock would slip no matter how tight I adjusted the locking lever. Looking online I discovered that a lot of people seem to be having the same issue with this table saw, as well with other Ridgid saws with similar bevel lock designs. I figured out a simple way to fix this troublesome issue.

After setting up and dialing in all of the adjustments on my saw I noticed that the bevel adjustment dial could actually turn and move the blade even with the lever in the locked position. I followed the instructions in the manual to tighten the lever lock, but no matter how tight I adjusted it I could still easily make the bevel adjustment slip. Even worse, the blade would jump a full 1 or 2 degrees out of adjustment each and every time the power was turned on. Not acceptable.

Looking at the lever lock mechanism I saw that it was attempting to pinch the metal faceplate of the saw between two metal washers. The faceplate is painted metal and very slick. The two washers are also painted. I came to the conclusion that no matter how tight you adjusted the lever lock, it would always slip due to the small surface contact of the washer and the very low coefficient of friction it had with the slick metal plate.

I decided to rough up the contact area of the plate with sandpaper to see if that would help. Initially I planned to do the same with the washer. Taking the plastic lever apart I discovered that the gray base piece of the lever was in fact unpainted metal and not plastic like the lever. I decided to just remove the washer altogether and let the larger, rectangular lever base press against the faceplate. This completely solved the problem!

Interestingly, looking at a parts supply exploded diagram for this very table saw model reveals NO washer under the lever base; my fix was the intended assembly for the saw! (Part #30 in the diagram) https://www.ereplacementparts.com/rid...

TL;DR Take your bevel lever apart and get rid of the washer to fix your slipping bevel lock!