RIDGID R4121 manual

OPERA TOR’S MANUAL 12 in. COMPOUND MITER SA W WITH ADJUST ABLE LASER Double Insulated R4121 Y our miter saw has been engineered and manufactur ed to our high standard for dependability , ease of operation, and operator safety . When properly car ed for , it will give you years of rugged, trouble-free performance. WARNING: T o reduce the risk of i[...]

2 T ABLE OF CONTENTS  Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2 �  General Safety Rules ..................................................................................................................[...]

3 WARNING: Read and understand all instructions. Failure to follow all instructions listed below , could result in electric shock, fire and/or serious personal injury . READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS  KN OW YOU R POWE R TOOL . Read the ope rat or’ s man ual carefully . Learn the applications and limitations as well as the specific potential hazards r e[...]

4 GENERAL SAFETY RULES  NEVER USE IN AN EXPLOSIVE A TMOSPHERE. Normal sparking of the motor could ignite fumes.  INSPECT TOOL CORDS PERIODICALL Y . If damaged, have repair ed by a qualified service technician at an authorized service facility . The conductor with insulation having an outer surface that is green with or without yellow stripes [...]

5 SPECIFIC SAFETY RULES  NEVER hand hold a workpiece that is too small to be clamped. Keep hands clear of the cutting area.  NEVER reach behind, under , or within three inches of the blade and its cutting path with your hands and fingers for any reason.  NEVER reach to pick up a workpiece, a piece of scrap, or anything else that is in or n[...]

6 SYMBOLS Some o f the following symbol s may be us ed on this tool . Plea se st udy th em and lear n their mea ning. Proper interpretation of these symbols will allow you to operate the tool better and safer . Read The Operator’ s Manual Safety Alert No Hands Symbol SYMBOL NAME DESIGNA TION/EXPLANA TION V oltage Current Frequency (cycles per sec[...]

7 SYMBOLS SYMBOL SIGNAL MEANING SERVICE Servicing requires extreme care and knowledge and should be performed only by a qualified service technician. For service we suggest you return the product to your nearest AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER for repair . When servic- ing, use only identical replacement parts. WARNING: SA VE THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAUTION: [...]

8 ELECTRICAL DOUBLE INSULA TION Double insulation is a concept in safety in electric power tools, which eliminates the need for the usual three-wire grounded power cord. All exposed metal parts are isolated from the inter nal metal motor components with protect- ing ins ulation . Double insul ated too ls do n ot need to be grounded. WARNING: The do[...]

9 GLOSSAR Y OF TERMS Non-Through Cuts Any cutting operation where the blade does not extend completely through the thickness of the workpiece. Push Blocks (for jointer planers) Device used to feed the workpiece over the jointer planer cutterhead during any operation. This aid helps keep the operator's hands well away from the cutterhead. Push [...]

10 FEA TURES PRODUCT SPECIFICA TIONS Blade Diameter .......................................................... 12 in. Arbor Hole .................................................................... 1 in. No Load Speed ..................................... 4,000 r/min. (RPM) Input ................................ 120 V , 60 Hz, AC Only , 15 Amps Fig[...]

11 FEA TURES Fig. 2 CARRYING HANDLE SA W ARM LOCKED IN DOWN POSITION LOCK PIN KNOW YOUR COMPOUND MITER SA W See Figure 1. The safe use of this product requir es an understanding of the information on the tool and in this operator’ s manual as wel l as a kn owle dge of th e pr oje ct yo u ar e attem ptin g. Be for e use of this product, familiariz[...]

12 FEA TURES Fig. 5 REPEA T -A-CUT P ADLOCK Fig. 4 SWITCH TRIGGER REPEA T -A-CUT ™ See Figure 5. The Repeat-A-Cut ™ feature on both the left and right side miter fences can be used when making repetitive cuts. Sim- ply mark the fence with a pencil, make the desir ed number of cut(s), then wipe the mark off with a soft cloth. SELF-RETRACTING LOW[...]

13 The following tools (not included) are needed for making adjustments or installing the blade: COMBINA TION SQUARE TOOLS NEEDED Fig. 6 COMBINA TION WRENCH, 12 mm FRAMING SQUARE PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER[...]

14 m n The following items are included with your miter saw:  Dust Bag  Dust Guide  W ork Clamp  Blade W asher  Blade Bolt  Blade Wr ench  Laser Guide (installed on tool)  Hex Bolt (installed on tool)  Hex Key , 4 mm  Hex Key , 5 mm  Hex Key , 1/16 in.  Blade  Operator’ s Manual (not shown) Fig. 7 WARNING: T[...]

15 ASSEMBL Y UNP ACKING This product r equires assembly .  Carefully lift saw from the carton by the carrying handle and the saw base, and place it on a level work surface. NOTE: This tool is heavy . T o avoid back injury , lift with your legs, not your back, and get help when needed.  This saw has been shipped with the saw arm secured in the[...]

16 ASSEMBL Y NOTE: Many of the illustrations in this manual show only portions of the compound miter saw . This is intentional so that we can clearly show points being made in the illustrations. Never operate the saw without all guards securely in place and in good operating condition. DUST GUIDE See Figure 9. Insert the dust guide inside the exhau[...]

17 WARNING: Make sure the spindle lock button is not engaged before reconnecting saw to power sour ce. Never engage spindle lock button when blade is r otating. INST ALLING THE BLADE See Figure 12. WARNING: A 12 in. blade is the maximum blade capacity of the saw . Never use a blad e that is too thick to allow outer blade washer to engage with the f[...]

18 18 ASSEMBL Y CUTTING A SLOT IN THE ZERO CLEARANCE THROA T PLA TE In order to use your compound miter saw , you must cut a slot through the zero clearance throat plate to allow for blade clearance. T o cut the slot, set your saw at 0 ° miter , turn saw on and allow the blade to reach full speed, then carefully make a straight cut as far as it wi[...]

19 ADJUSTING THE MITER LOCK LEVER See Figures 14 - 15. Prior to squaring the saw blade to the fence, check the miter lock lever for proper adjustment. The blade must be set at an “unindexed” miter position other than 0˚, 15˚, 22.5˚, 31.6˚, and 45˚ to test. In the “locked” position, the action of push- ing the miter lock lever down shou[...]

20 INDICA TOR SCREW SCALE INDICA TOR MITER SCALE ASSEMBL Y VIEW OF BLADE NOT SQUARE WITH FENCE, ADJUSTMENTS ARE REQUIRED Fig. 20 SLIDING MITER FENCE FRAMING SQUARE MITER T ABLE BLADE VIEW OF BLADE NOT SQUARE WITH FENCE, ADJUSTMENTS ARE REQUIRED SLIDING MITER FENCE MITER T ABLE FRAMING SQUARE BLADE Fig. 18 Fig. 17 VIEW OF BLADE SQUARE WITH FENCE SLI[...]

21 ASSEMBL Y ADJUSTING THE BEVEL LOCK LEVER See Figures 21 - 23. Prior to squaring the saw blade to the miter table, check the bevel lock lever for proper adjustment. The blade must be set at an “unindexed” bevel position other than 0 ° , 22.5 ° , 33.9 ° , and 45 ° to test. In the “locked” position, the action of pushing the bevel lock [...]

22 SCALE INDICA TOR INDICA TOR SCREW SQUARING THE BLADE TO THE MITER T ABLE See Figures 24 - 27.  Unplug the saw .  Pull the saw arm all the way down and lock in transport position.  Lift the miter lock lever to unlock. Rotate the miter table and set the saw at 0 ° miter . NOTE: The miter table will seat itself in the index point.  Loc[...]

23 OPERA TION WARNING: Do not allow familiarity with tools to make you careless. Remember that a careless fraction of a second is sufficient to inflict sever e injury . WARNING: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses with side shields when operating tools. Failur e to do so could result in objects being thrown into your eyes resulting in poss[...]

24 Fig. 28 OPERA TION WORK CLAMP CROSS CUT MITER THUMBWHEEL The miter thumbwheel, when used with the miter lock lever lifted (unlocked), can release the miter table from pre-set index points. T o align with miter scale:  Lift the miter lock lever to unlock.  Rotate and hold thumbwheel so that the yellow dot on the thumbwheel aligns with indic[...]

25 TO BEVEL CUT See Figures 30 - 32. A bev el c u t is mad e by cu tt in g acro ss t he gra in o f th e workp iece with the blade angled to the workpiec e. A stra ight bevel cut is made with the miter table set at the zero degree position and the blade set at an angle. NOTE: It may be necessary to adjust or r emove the sliding miter fence to insure[...]

26 TO COMPOUND MITER CUT See Figure 33. A compound miter cut is a cut made using a miter angle and a bevel angle at the same time. This type of cut is used to make picture frames, cut molding, make boxes with sloping sides, and for certain roof framing cuts. T o make this type of cut the control arm on the miter table must be rotated to the correct[...]

27 SUPPORTING LONG WORKPIECES See Figures 34 - 35. Long workpieces need extra supports. Supports should be placed along the workpiece so it does not sag. The support should let the workpiece lay flat on the base of the saw and miter table during the cutting operation. Use the work clamp or a C-clamp to secure the workpiece. NOTE: When making a comp[...]

28 OPERA TION MAKING AN AUXILIAR Y FENCE See Figure 37. Certain unusual cuts may benefit from a thicker miter fence (au xil iary fe nce) due to the siz e an d po siti on of the wor kpie ce. The holes provided in the miter fence are ther e for just this pu rp os e. T he mit er f en c e hol es a re use d to se cu re the auxiliary fence which requir e[...]

29 CUTTING COMPOUND MITERS T o aid in making the correct settings, the compound angle setting chart below has been provided. Since compound cuts are the most difficult to accurately obtain, trial cuts should be made in scrap material, and much thought and planning made, prior to making your requir ed cut. 4 PITCH OF SIDE NUMBER OF SIDES 0° 6 M- 45[...]

30 OPERA TION CUTTING CROWN MOLDING The following chart illustrates the miter and bevel angle settings of the miter saw for both 52˚/38˚ and 45˚/45˚ crown molding, when the angle between the walls run from 67˚ to 146˚. With the cr own molding laying flat, cut at the following angles: 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86[...]

31 When cutting cro wn mold ing by this method, the bev el angle should be set at 33.85 ° . The miter angle should be set at 31.6 ° either right or left, depending on the desired cut for the application. See the chart below for correct angle settings and correct positioning of cr own molding on miter table. The settings in the chart below can be [...]

32 OPERA TION MAKING A CROWN MOLDING JIG See Figure 39. A crown molding jig will need to be made when cutting crown molding with no required bevel setting. The jig holds the crown molding in place during the cutting operation. When using this method, the saw can be quickly adjusted for corners that are not 90 ° square. NOTE: A separate jig must be[...]

33 CUTTING WARPED MA TERIAL See Figures 40 - 41. When cutting warped material, always make sure it is positioned on the miter table with the convex side against the fence as shown in figure 40. If the warped materia l is positione d the wro ng way as shown in figure 40, it will pinch the blade near the completion of the cut. Fig. 40 RIGHT WRONG WAR[...]

34 WARNING: When servicing, use only identical replacement parts. Use of any other part may create a hazard or cause product damage. WARNING: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses with side shields during power tool operation or when blowing dust. If operation is dusty , also wear a dust mask. GENERAL MAINTENANCE Avoid using solvents when cl[...]

35 BRUSH REPLACEMENT See Figure 43. The saw has exter nally accessible brush assemblies that should be periodically checked for wear . Proceed as follows when r eplacement is requir ed:  Unplug the saw . WARNING: Failure to unplug the saw could resul t in accidental starting causing serious injury .  Remove brush cap with a screwdriver . Brus[...]

36 ACCESSORIES Look for these accessories at The Home Depot.  AC9944 .................................... Miter Saw Utility V ehicle WARNING: Current attachments and accessories available for use with this tool ar e listed above. Do not use any attachments or accessories not recommended by the manufacturer of this tool. The use of attachments or[...]

37 W ARRANTY Proof of purchase must be presented when requesting war - ranty service. Limited to RIDGID ® hand held and stationary power tools purchased 2/1/04 and after . This product is manufactur ed by One W orld T echnologies, Inc. The trademark is licensed from RIDGID ® , Inc. All warranty communications should be directed to One W orld T ec[...]

38 CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMA TION For parts or service, contact your nearest RIDGID authorized service center . Be sur e to provide all relevant information when you call or visit. For the location of the authorized service center nearest you, please call 1-866-539-1710 or visit us online at www .ridgid.com. The model number of this tool is found on[...]