RIDGID TS3612 User manual

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Part No. SP6461 Printed in U.S.A.
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2
Table of Contents
Section Page
Table of Contents .......................................... 2
Safety Instructions For Table Saw ................3
Safety Signal Words .................................. 3
Before Using The Saw ............................... 3
When Installing Or Moving The Saw ............4
Before Each Use ........................................... 4
To Reduce theRisk of Injury From Jams,SlipsOr
Thrown Pieces (Kickbacks Or Throwbacks) ..5
Plan Ahead To Protect Your Eyes, Hands,
Face and Ears ............................................ 6
Whenever Sawblade Is Spinning ................. 7
Additional Safety Instructions For: Ripping ... 8
Additional Safety Instructions For: Crosscut . 9
Additional Safety Instructions For
Herc-U-Lift™ Caster System: ................... 9
Glossary of Terms for Woodworking .............9
Motor Specifications and Electrical
Requirements .........................................11
Power Supply and Motor Specifications ..11
General Electrical Connections ...............11
Changing Motor Voltage ..........................13
Motor Thermal Overload Protector ..........14
Wire Sizes ................................................14
Unpacking and Checking Contents .............15
Tools Needed ...........................................15
Unpacking .................................................15
List of Loose Parts ....................................16
Herc-U-Lift™ Caster Carton .....................17
Loose Parts ...............................................17
Assembly .....................................................17
Installing Handwheels ...............................17
Assembling Leg Stand ..............................18
Mounting Your Saw ..................................19
Assembling Table Extensions ...................20
Checking Table Insert ...............................21
Checking Heeling Adjustment or Parallelism
of Sawblade to Miter Gauge Groove ......22
Checking Blade Tilt, or Squareness of Blade
to Table ..................................................24
Checking Tilt Mechanism ..........................25
Assembling Herc-U-Lift™ Caster System .26
Assembly Tips ..........................................26
Upper Assembly .......................................26
Lower Assembly .......................................27
Assembling Herc-U-Lift™ Caster System to
Saw ........................................................28
Installation Instructions .............................28
Operation of Herc-U-Lift™ Caster System 29
Installing Front Rip Fence Guide Bar ........30
Installing Rear Fence Guide Bar ...............31
Adjusting Rip Fence Guide Bars ...............32
Installing Spacer Bar .................................33
Rip Fence Alignment Adjustment .............34
Rip Fence Lock Lever Adjustment ............34
Adjusting Fence Indicator .........................35
Installing Blade Guard ..............................35
Aligning Blade Guard ................................36
Section Page
Mounting the Motor ...................................37
Installing Belt ............................................38
Installing Belt Guard .................................38
Mounting Switch and End Caps ................39
Securing Electrical Cords .........................40
Installing Guide Bar End Caps ..................40
Getting to Know Your Table Saw ................41
Additional Safety Instructions When Using Zero
Clearance Insert......................................43
Remove the Existing Metal Insert..............43
Installing Zero Clearance Insert/Sawblade 43
Installing Zero Clearance Insert/Dado Blades44
Operation Tips ..........................................45
Safety Instructions for Basic Saw Operations 48
Before Each Use .........................................48
ToReducethe Risk of Injury From Jams, SlipsOr
Thrown Pieces (KickbacksOr Throwbacks) 48
Plan Ahead To Protect Your Eyes, Hands,
Face and Ears ..........................................49
Whenever Sawblade Is Spinning .............50
Work Feed Devices .....................................51
Attaching Wood Face Board .....................51
Push Block ................................................52
Auxiliary Fence .........................................53
Fence Extension........................................54
Basic Saw Operations .................................55
Using the Miter Gauge ..............................55
Additional Safety Instructions for Crosscutting 55
Crosscutting ..............................................55
Repetitive Crosscutting .............................56
Miter Crosscutting .....................................57
Bevel Crosscutting ....................................57
Compound Crosscutting ...........................57
Using the Rip Fence .................................58
Additional Safety Instructions for Rip Cuts 58
Ripping ......................................................59
Bevel Ripping Narrow Work ......................60
Using Featherboards for Thru-Sawing ......61
Using Featherboards for
Non Thru-Sawing ....................................61
Resawing ..................................................62
Using Carbide Tipped Blades ...................63
Dadoing ....................................................63
Rabbeting .................................................64
Ploughing and Molding .............................64
Molding .....................................................65
Adjustments .................................................66
Miter Gauge ..............................................66
Maintaining Your Table Saw .......................67
Maintenance .............................................67
Lubrication ................................................68
RIDGID Recommends the Following
Accessories ............................................68
Troubleshooting ...........................................69
General .....................................................69
Motor .........................................................70
Repair Parts ................................................72

3
Safety Instructions For Table Saw
Safety is a combination of common sense, staying alert and knowing how
your table saw works. Read this manual to understand this table saw.
Safety Signal Words
DANGER: means if the safety infor-
mation is not followed someone will
be seriously injured or killed.
WARNING: means if the safety infor-
mation is not followed someone
could be seriously injured or killed.
CAUTION: means if the safety infor-
mation is not followed someone may
be injured.
Before Using The Saw
WARNING: Some dust created by
powersanding, sawing,grinding,
drilling, and other construction
activities contains chemicals
known (to the State of California)
to cause cancer, birth defects or
other reproductive harm. Some
examples of these chemicals are:
Lead from lead-bases paints
• Crystalline silica from bricks
and cement and other masonry
products, and
• Arsenic and chromium from
chemically-treated lumber.
Your risk from these exposures
varies, depending on how often
you do this type of work. To
reduce your exposure to these
chemicals: work in a well venti-
lated area, and work with
approved safety equipment,
such as those dust masks that
are specially designed to filter
out microscopic particles.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of
mistakes that could cause seri-
ous, permanent injury, do not
plug the table saw in until the fol-
lowing steps have been satisfac-
torily completed.
•Completely assemble and align saw
(See “Assembly”section).
•Learn the use and function of the
ON-OFF switch, blade guard,
spreader, anti-kickback device,
miter gauge, rip fence, table insert,
blade elevation and blade tilt con-
trols (See “Getting to Know Your
Table Saw”section).
•Review and understand all safety
instructions and operating proce-
dures in this manual.
•Review the maintenance methods
for this saw (See “Maintaining Your
Table Saw”section)).

4
Safety Instructions For Table Saw (continued)
•Find and read all the warning labels found on the saw (shown below).
When Installing Or Moving The Saw
Reduce the Risk of Dangerous
Environment.
•Use the saw in a dry, indoor place
protected from rain.
•Keep work area well lighted.
•Use recommended accessories.
Consult the owner’s manual for rec-
ommended accessories. The use of
improper accessories may cause
risk of injury to persons.
To reduce the risk of injury from
unexpected saw movement.
•Bolt or clamp the saw to firm level
surface where there is plenty of
room to handle and properly support
the workpiece (See “Assembly-
Mounting Your Saw”section).
•Support the saw so the table is level
and the saw does not rock.
•When using a table extension longer
than 12" attached to any side of the
saw, bolt the saw to a stationary sur-
face or prop up the outer end of the
extension from the floor or bench
top to keep the saw from tipping.
•Put the saw where neither operator
nor bystanders must stand in line
with the sawblade.
•To reduce the risk of injury from
electrical shock, make sure your fin-
gers do not touch the plug’s metal
prongs when plugging in or unplug-
ging the saw.
•Never Stand On Tool. Serious
injury could occur if the tool tips or
you accidentally hit the cutting tool.
Do not store anything above or near
the tool where anyone might stand
on the tool to reach them.
Before Each Use
Inspect your saw.
•To reduce the risk of injury from
accidental starting, turn the switch
off, unplug the saw, and remove the
switch key before raising or remov-
ing the guard, changing the cutting
tool, changing the setup, or adjust-
ing anything. Make sure switch is in

5
OFF position before plugging in.
•Check for alignment of moving
parts, binding of moving parts,
breakage of parts, saw stability, and
any other conditions that may affect
the way the saw works.
•If any part is missing, bent or broken
in any way, or any electrical part
does not work properly, turn the saw
off and unplug the saw.
•Replace damaged or missing parts
before using the saw again.
•Use the sawblade guard, spreader
and anti-kickback pawls for any
thru-sawing (whenever the blade
comes through the top of the work-
piece). Make sure the anti-kickback
pawls work properly. Make sure the
spreader is in line with sawblade
(See “Assembly-Aligning Blade
Guard”section).
•Remove adjusting keys and
wrenches. Form a habit of checking
for and removing keys and adjusting
wrenches from table top before turn-
ing saw on.
•Make sure all clamps and locks are
tight and no parts have excessive
play.
To Reduce the Risk of Injury From Jams, Slips Or Thrown Pieces
(Kickbacks Or Throwbacks)
Inspect Your Blade.
•Choose the right blade or cutting
accessory for the material and the
type of cutting you plan to do.
•Use The Right Tool. Don’t force tool
or attachment to do a job it was not
designed for.
•Never use grinding wheels, abrasive
cutoff wheels, friction wheels (metal
cutting blades) wire wheels or buff-
ing wheels. They can fly apart
explosively.
•Cut only wood, wood like or plastic
materials. Do not cut metal.
•Choose and inspect your cutting
tool carefully:
- To reduce the risk of cutting tool
failure and thrown shrapnel (bro-
ken pieces of blade), use only 10”
or smaller blades or other cutting
tools marked for speeds of 5000
rpm or higher.
- Always use unbroken, balanced
blades designed to fit this saw’s 5/8
inch arbor.
- When thru-sawing (making cuts
where the blade comes through
the workpiece top), always use a
10 inch diameter blade. This keeps
the spreader closest to the blade.
- Do not over tighten arbor nut. Use
arbor wrenches to “snug”it
securely.
- Use only sharp blades with prop-
erly set teeth. Consult a profes-
sional blade sharpener when in
doubt.
- Keep blades clean of gum and
resin.
- Never use the saw without the
proper blade insert.
Inspect your work area
•Keep work area clean.
•Cluttered areas and benches invite
accidents. Floor must not be slip-
pery from wax or sawdust.
•To reduce the risk of burns or other
fire damage, never use the saw
near flammable liquids, vapors or
gases.
•To reduce the risk of injury, don’t do
layout, assembly, or setup work on
the table while blade is spinning. It
could cut or throw anything hitting
the blade.

6
Safety Instructions For Table Saws (continued)
Plan your work
•Use the right tool. Don’t force tool or
attachment to do a job it was not
designed for.
Inspect your workpiece.
•Make sure there are no nails or for-
eign objects in the part of the work-
piece to be cut.
•When cutting irregularly shaped
workpieces, plan your work so it will
not slip and pinch the blade:
•A piece of molding for example,
must lie flat or be held by a fixture or
jig that will not let it twist, rock or slip
while being cut. Use jigs or fixtures
where needed to prevent workpiece
from shifting.
•Use a different, better suited type of
tool for work that can’t be made sta-
ble.
Plan your cut
•To reduce the risk of kickbacks and
throwbacks - when a part or all of
the workpiece binds on the blade
and is thrown violently back toward
the front of the saw:
•Never cut Freehand. Always use
either a rip fence, miter gauge or fix-
ture to position and guide the work,
so it won’t twist or bind on the blade
and kick back.
•Make sure there’s no debris
between the workpiece and its sup-
ports.
•Use extra caution with large, very
small or awkward workpieces.
•Use extra supports (tables, saw
horses, blocks, etc.) for any work-
pieces large enough to tip when not
held down to the table top. Never
use another person as a substitute
for a table extension, or as addi-
tional support for a workpiece that is
longer or wider than the basic saw
table, or to help feed, support or pull
the workpiece.
•Never confine the piece being cut
off, that is, the piece not against the
rip fence, miter gauge or fixture.
Never hold it, clamp it, touch it, or
use length stops against it. It must
be free to move. If confined, it could
get wedged against the blade and
cause a kickback or throwback.
•Never cut more than one workpiece
at a time.
•Never turn your table saw “ON”
before clearing everything except
the workpiece and related support
devices off the table.
Plan Ahead To Protect Your Eyes, Hands, Face and Ears
Dress for safety
•Do not wear loose clothing, gloves,
neckties or jewelry (rings, wrist
watches). They can get caught and
draw you into moving parts.
•Wear nonslip footwear.
•Tie back long hair.
•Roll long sleeves above the elbow.
•Noise levels vary widely. To reduce
the risk of possible hearing damage,
wear ear plugs or muffs when using
table saw for hours at a time.
•Any power saw can throw foreign
objects into the eyes. This can result
in permanent eye damage. Always
wear safety goggles, not glasses
complying with ANSI Z87.1 (or in
Canada CSA Z94.3-99) shown on
package. Everyday eyeglasses
have only impact resistant lenses.
They are not safety glasses. Safety
goggles are available at many local

7
retail stores. Glasses or goggles not
in compliance with ANSI or CSA
could seriously hurt you when they
break.
•For dusty operations, wear a dust
mask along with safety goggles.
Plan the way you will push the
workpiece through.
•Never pull theworkpiece through.
Start and finish the cut from the front
of the table saw.
•Never put your fingers or hands in
the path of the sawblade or other
cutting tool.
•Never reach in back of the cutting
tool with either hand to hold down
workpiece, support the workpiece,
remove wood scraps, or for any
other reason.
•To reduce the risk of hand positions
where a sudden slip could cause fin-
gers or hand to move into a saw-
blade or other cutting tool.
•Don’t overreach. Always keep good
footing and balance.
•Push the workpiece against the
rotation of the blade, never feed
material into the cutting tool from the
rear of the saw.
•Always push the workpiece all the
way past the sawblade.
•As much as possible, keep your
face and body to one side of the
sawblade, out of line with a possible
kickback or throwback.
•Set the cutting tool as low as possi-
ble for the cut you’re planning.
Reduce the Risk of Accidental
Starting
•Make sure switch is “OFF”before
plugging saw into a power outlet.
Whenever Sawblade Is Spinning
WARNING: Don’t allow familiarity
(gained from frequent use of
your table saw) to cause a care-
less mistake. Always remember
that a careless fraction of a sec-
ond is enough to cause a severe
injury.
•Before actually cutting with the saw,
watch it while it runs for a short
while. If it makes an unfamiliar noise
or vibrates a lot, stop immediately.
Turn the saw off. Unplug the saw.
Do not restart until finding and cor-
recting the problem.
•Make sure the top of the arbor or
cutting tool turns toward the front of
the saw.
Keep Children Away.
•Keep all visitors a safe distance
from the table saw.
•Make sure bystanders are clear of
the table saw and workpiece.
Don’t Force Tool.
•Let the blade reach full speed
before cutting.
•It will do the job better and safer at
its designed rate.
•Feed the workpiece into the saw
only fast enough to let the blade cut
without bogging down or binding.
Before freeing jammed material.
•Turn switch “OFF”.
•Wait for all moving parts to stop.
•Unplug the saw.
•Check blade, spreader and fence
for proper alignment before starting
again.

8
Safety Instructions For Table Saws (continued)
•To reduce the risk of throwback of
cut off pieces.
•Use the guard assembly.
To remove loose pieces beneath or
trapped inside the guard.
•Turn saw “OFF”.
•Remove switch key.
•Wait for blade to stop before lifting
the guard.
Before Leaving The Saw.
•Turn the saw off.
•Wait for blade to stop spinning.
•Unplug the saw.
•Make workshop child-proof. Lock
the shop. Disconnect master
switches. Remove the yellow switch
key. Store it away from children and
others not qualified to use the tool.
Additional Safety Instructions For:
Rip Type Cuts.
•Never use the miter gauge when rip-
ping.
•Use a push stick whenever the
fence is 2 inches or more from the
blade.
•When thru-sawing, use an auxiliary
fence and push block whenever the
fence must be between 1/2 and 2
inches from the blade.
•Never thru-saw rip cuts narrower
than 1/2 inch. (See “Basic Saw
Operations-Ripping and Bevel Rip-
ping”sections.)
•Never rip anything shorter than 10”
long.
•When using a push stick or push
block, the trailing end of the board
must be square. A push stick or
block against an uneven end could
slip off or push the work away from
the fence.
•A Featherboard can help guide the
workpiece. (see ”Basic Saw Opera-
tion-Using Featherboards for Thru-
Sawing.”section)
•Always use featherboards for any
non thru rip type cuts. (See “Basic
Saw Operations - Using Feather-
boards for Non-Thru Sawing”sec-
tion).
Before Starting.
•To reduce the risk of kickbacks and
slips into the blade, make sure the
rip fence is parallel to the sawblade.
•Before thru-sawing, check the anti-
kickback pawls. The pawls must
stop a kickback once it has started.
Replace or sharpen anti-kickback
pawls when points become dull.
(See “Maintaining Your Table Saw -
Anti-Kickback Pawls”section.)
•Plastic and composition (like hard-
board) materials may be cut on your
saw. However, since these are usu-
ally quite hard and slippery, the anti-
kickback pawls may not stop a kick-
back. Therefore, be especially care-
ful in your setup and cutting
procedures.
While Thru-sawing.
•To reduce the risk of kickbacks and
slips into the blade, always push for-
ward on the section of the work-
piece between the sawblade and
the rip fence. Never push forward on
the piece being cut off.
Featherboard
See “Work Feed Devices”section for
Material and Dimensions

9
Additional Safety Instructions For:
Crosscut Type Cuts.
•Never use the rip fence when cross-
cutting.
•An auxiliary wood facing attached to
the miter gauge can help prevent
workpiece twisting and throwbacks.
Attach it to the slots provided. Make
the facing long enough and big
enough to support your work. Make
sure, however, it will not interfere
with the sawblade guard.
Before Starting
•Use jigs or fixtures to help hold any
piece too small to extend across the
full length of the miter gauge face
during the cut. This lets you properly
hold the miter gauge and workpiece
and helps keep your hands away
from the blade.
While Cutting
•To reduce the risk of blade contact,
always hold the miter gauge as
shown in “Basic Saw Operations -
Using The Miter Gauge”.
Additional Safety Instructions For Herc-U-Lift™Caster System:
Before Using the Caster System
Read the following warning located on the plate assembly:
To reduce the risk of injury from
unexpected tool movement.
•Check to make sure tool does not
move prior to use. If tool moves,
adjust all four leveler feet to support
the tool.
•Put the tool on a firm level surface
where there is plenty of room to
handle and properly support the
workpiece.
Glossary of Terms for Woodworking
Anti-Kickback Pawls
Device which, when properly maintained,
is designed to stop the workpiece from
being thrown towards the front of the saw
at the operator during ripping operation.
Arbor
The shaft on which a cutting tool is
mounted.
Bevel Cut
An angle cutting operation made through
the face of the workpiece.
Compound Cut
A simultaneous bevel and miter crosscut-
ting operation.
Crosscut
A cutting operation made across the width
of the workpiece.
Dado
A non thru cut which produces a square
sided notch or trough in the workpiece.

10
Glossary of Terms for Woodworking (continued)
Featherboard
A device which can help guide work-
pieces during rip type operation.
Freehand
Performing a cut without the use of fence
(guide), miter gauge, fixture, hold down or
other proper device to prevent the work-
piece from twisting during the cutting
operation. Twisting of the workpiece can
cause it to be thrown.
Gum
A sticky, sap based residue from wood
products.
Heel
Misalignment of the sawblade such that
the blade is not parallelto the miter gauge
groove.
Kerf
The amount of material removed by the
blade in a through cut or the slot produced
by the blade in a nonthrough or partial cut.
Kickback
An uncontrolled grabbing and throwing of
the workpiece back toward the front of the
saw.
Leading End
The end of the workpiece which, during a
rip type operation, is pushed into the cut-
ting tool first.
Miter Cut
An angle cutting operation made across
the width of the workpiece.
Molding
A non through cut which produces a spe-
cial shape in the workpiece used for join-
ing or decoration.
Ploughing
Grooving with the grain the length of the
workpiece, using the fence. (A type of
non-through cut.)
Push Stick
A device used to feed the workpiece
through the saw during narrow ripping
type operations which helps keep the
operator’s hands well away from the
blade.
Push Block
A device used for ripping type operations
too narrow to allow use of a push stick.
Rabbet
A notch in the edge of a workpiece. (A
type of non-through cut)
Resin
A sticky, sap based substance that has
hardened.
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM)
The number of turns completed by a spin-
ning object in one minute.
Rip Cut
A cutting operation along the length of the
workpiece.
Sawblade Path
The area of the workpiece or table top
directly in line with either the travel of the
blade or the part of the workpiece which
will be, or has been, cut by the blade.
Set
The distance that the tip of the sawblade
tooth is bent (or set) outward from the
face of the blade.
Molding Kerf
Cross Cut
Miter Cut
Compound
Bevel Cut
Rip Cut Dado or
Rabbet
Ploughing
Cut