How To Align the Blue Ripper Jr Rail Saw Blade

Submitted by ricky on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 1:57pm

When you have checked that your blade edge is square and sharp, and the blade itself is not dished, but your saw still pushes or pulls the rail around while you cut, you might need to check your alignment. Re-aligning the blade on the Blue Ripper Jr™ Rail Saw is not complicated, but does require some accurate instrumentation.

Tools you will need

Procedure Steps: 

Attach indicator to blade and set zero on the edge of the rail.
BRJR Blade Alignment Step 1: Set zero on indicatorBRJR Blade Alignment Step 1: Set zero on indicator

Rotate blade and indicator around until the indicator tip is sitting on the rail. If the measurement is off more than 0.010 inches (0.25 millimeters) proceed to step 3. If your blade alignment is within 0.010 inches you are done.BRJR Blade Alignment Step 2: Rotate and testBRJR Blade Alignment Step 2: Rotate and test
Lightly loosen the bolt on the back side of the Front Hinge Mount block behind Makita Saw. BRJR Blade Alignment Step 3: Loosen right side nutsBRJR Blade Alignment Step 3: Loosen right side nuts
And lightly loosen the front bolts under the handle. BRJR Blade Alignment Step 4: Loosen left front nutBRJR Blade Alignment Step 4: Loosen left front nut
To bring the motor forward, lightly push or pull on the handle of the Makita Saw. BRJR Blade Alignment Step 5: Push or pullBRJR Blade Alignment Step 5: Push or pull
Tighten bolts and repeat all steps until measurement is within 0.010 inches. (0.25 millimeters) BRJR Blade Alignment Step 6: Complete alignmentBRJR Blade Alignment Step 6: Complete alignment
Notes: 

Remember, don't loosen the bolts too much or the saw will be too loose and it will be hard to be accurate.

Also, do not remove the indicator from the blade until the motor is in alignment.

Note that the indicator shown in the pictures is a customized indicator used here at the factory. That said, the indicator linked to above will work fine for the task and was what we used until we made this unit. If you are aligning a lot of saws, feel free to call us, and we can quote you a price on a customized magnetic indicator.

Related Products: 
Blue Ripper Jr Rail Saw