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I picked up a Ridgid OSS today and have a question about the table. On mine, the front section that tilts sits slightly higher than the stationary section with the sanding parts.


Sorry for the blurry picture. Hopefully you can see what I’m talking about.

As it is, I’m not sure if it will be possible to square the work to the spindle\belt sander. So two questions:

Is this normal?

If so…

Is there any adjustment that can be made to level it out? I don't see any way to pull this off. It’s like the holes for the hinge are sitting just a bit high.

If not, I’ll exchange it for a different one.

I had the same problem and as you didn't see anyway to remedy it. I took mine back and with a straight edge in hand checked out the a new one in the store. It was acceptable. Keep checking until you get a good one.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Link,

Thanks. I was thinking I might have gotten a lemon. They have one other in stock so hopefully that one is fine. I have a table saw that has a similar issue that I didn’t realize until much later. It drives me nuts and I don’t want to go down that road with a new tool again.

Filippo,

I saw your posts on the mods for this back when you did it. I'm definitely going to follow your lead once I'm sure my machine at least works properly. I might start with just the block.

I just made it back from Home Depot to return the sander and exchange it for another one. We pulled the other one out to check it and it had problems too. The joint between the two surfaces was better (not perfect), but there was a bow in the plates. If you set a straight edge across the plate, it sagged in the middle on both surfaces. Definitely not ideal. I took a look at the one that has been there on display since the store opened and that one was much better.

The new sanders have a glossy silver coat painted on. The older ones had more of a steel color. In the short time I had the newer one, the table scratched. I didn’t even sand anything. This was just doing setup and adjustments.

There isn’t another home depot around me, but I think I’m going to start searching the stores I pass for one in an older box. If I remember correctly the old box was just sort of a plain box with a printed picture on it. The new box is all glossy with a photo of the tool.

It feels like Ridgid has spent a bit more on the packaging and a bit less on quality. Hopefully they take care of this. Hopefully these two machines just came from a bad batch.

On a side note. It is rare that I can pull off getting any sort of deal. I had a $5 coupon with a $50 purchase for this one (which I lost during the return). When they were trying to figure out what to do and they decided that these things were just defective, the cahier offered me a “step upgrade.” She said that pretty much meant that I could get the next level of tool no matter the cost. They would just eat it. Unfortunately, they don’t sell another tool like this one so the refund was the only option. Of course, I lost my $5 coupon so this experience actually cost me.

EDIT: I changed the title on this thread to help with future searches.