Used TS3650 questions

[Michael Mayo]

First off I want to say hello to the forum members as I am new to the forum here but have been lurking around for a few weeks to get a feel for the group. I found a used Rigid TS3650 which was one street over from me and bought it today. The table had some minor surface rust which i took care of and it now is nicely polished and waxed. The issue I have is this particular saw did not come with the Herculift mobile base and as most of you know this saw weighs a ton. I need to be able to move the saw around my garage to make room for other operations so I am wondering if I should purchase the base from Rigid or look elsewhere for an aftermarket base that might be better?

The other issue is the measuring scale on the fence rail isn't even close to being accurate. Should this be accurate provided it was installed properly? I would love to be able to set my cuts using the scale but as it is now it is unusable. Do any of you who use this saw use the scale on the rail to make your cuts or do you just use the time honored tradition of measuring from the fence to the blade?

I am loving this saw so far. I made some initial test cuts this evening after cleaning it up with a 60T Freud and it cuts like butter and is surprisingly quiet for a tablesaw. I still wore my ear muffs but I was totally blown away with how quiet this saw is. The blade to mitre slot measurements are perfect and when I measured from the fence to the blade front and back they were both dead on. I did not put my dial indicator on it yet but using a good ruler and square all the measurements seemed to be dead on. I will mess with it some more tomorrow and over the weekend. I have to start building a shed we got last year so hoping to get some use this weekend out of my new to me TS3650.......Happy camper!

[Rich Engelhardt]

TS3650/3660 is one of the better bargains out there (IMHO). You get a lot of cast iron surface for the $$.
The downside is that - it is a bargain saw. The fence, while very good - could be better. Ditto the measuring scale.

I don't use my scale at all & rely only on blade to fence measurements.
Admittedly, the main reason is because I switch out between thin and regular kerf blades a lot.

Re: the Herculift. I believe I'd try to find one rather than go third party. The Herculift adds stiffness to the base in addition to the roll around feature.
If you can't find one &/or the price is too high, then you'll want to add some sort of X bracing to the legs.

+1 to the "loving" it & being a "happy camper".
Pick up or make some ZCI's, a good assortment of good blades, an MJ splitter & rig an outfeed & you'll be all set to take on a lot.

Opps - forgot - welcome to SMC.

[Norman Hitt]

I would go with the Herculift, "IF" you can find one. About 2 years or more ago, I bought the last 4 that was available at two HD's on a closeout, (one for $26 and later three for $13 each), and was "Told" by the HD mgr that Rigid would continue making the Herculift, BUT, it would only be available on a new saw and that Rigid would no longer offer them as a stand alone item. (how correct this is, I do not know). I bought the first one as a gift when I saw them on sale, for my WW Buddy for his Rigid Saw, and installed it for him (since he keeps it in my shop and I need to move it occassionally). I liked it so much that I bought the other three to use on other items of mine.

[Bret Johnson]

Michael,

The scale on my saw was off as well but only by a 1/32 so I just enlarged the holes and now it is right on the money.

[David Hawxhurst]

when i set mine up the scale was right on. the manual has a procedure for set the scale. i built a mobile base for mine so the herculift got reporpose for the the time being. i will eventually get rid of the lift.

[Keith Westfall]

I do not use the scale - have a 12 steel rule that I use. Then I always know the measurement I have.

I am extremely happy with mine - such a step up from the Sears/Craftsman 9" stamped everything! For my level as a hobby, it was a great investment. You will be happy with it.

[John Shaffner]

I also have a 3650 and love it. As far as the scale goes, I use it, but recalibrate every 6 mos or so. If it's just the sight glass on the fence, you can adjust that easily. If you're off the scal alot, you can loosen and move the front rail to dial it in. Just be sure if you move the rail, that it's adjusted so that the fence will clear the table surface.

The one problem I've had with my 3650, is that when I want to cut a bevel cut, the motor hits the bottom of my outfeed table, but that just rolls out of the way.

Dial that fence in and enjoy your "new to you" saw.

John

[Jim O'Dell]

If the fence on the 3650 is like my older 3612, John has the right information for you. Should be very easy to adjust. On finding a Herc-U-Lift...I've tried all the HD stores locally, and all I've gone past on trips and no luck. But, you should be able to order one for that saw. The ones that Norman and I, as well as others, bought from the stores on close out sere universal kits. The one that came with that saw was a specific kit. Either will work. When I looked into ordering one a few years ago from HD, they were about $95.00. You should also look at some of the sites that sell Ridgid refurb equipment and see if they might have a better price. I will say this...it is the best mobile base you can put on that saw. Nice heavy casters that all swivel, so you don't have to steer the saw where you want it, just push it there. Good luck with the rest of your set up on your new saw. It will last you a good long time. When I got a new cabinet saw 17 months ago, I couldn't let my 3612 go. It is still in my shop. Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

A quick search shows it is available on Amazon for 121.99 plus 19.99 shipping. One supplier was mowtownusa dot com. I have purchased mower parts from them before, surprised they have Ridgid parts. the other is ereplacementparts dot com. 133.54 plus 5.64 shipping priority mail to my zip. Hope this helps. More expensive than Norman and I got our universal kits for, but no more expensive than quality aftermarket mobility kits that don't work as well. Jim.