New here, HATE my Ryobi anyone help?

[rekd65]

hey guys

I'm new on the block here abouts so.... but If I may heres my Q

Does ANYONE know how or even IF one can "tune" a Ryobi SC180VS I got it for Xmas last year, and its okaaaay. But. The blade clamping mec sucks, first off they are knobs on the end of the tightener bolts, they are wearing my fingers out, because... The seems to be no way in hell I can get the blades to stay tight in the holders. If I back off on the tension to try and stop the blades from coming loose I have to back so far off the blade wanders badly. I intially place the blade at the exteremity of the jaws in order to get the best clamp but they creep back deeper into the jaws and come loose.

I am going to weld on wing nuts to the clamping bolts tomorrow and see if that helps but the problem seems to be that the design of the clamping mec is such that the jaws are not parallel. I am thinking of filing the jaws in a attempt to line them up but getting the clamps off this machine looks like it would require a BFH..

So. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Kevin
Thunder bay ontario.
rekd65@shaw.ca

[Fremmed]

Hello from one Kevin to another Kevin.
I don't know who designed that blade clamps for the Ryobi, but they are a pain in the...
Demo'd some scrolling with one a few weeks ago and spent more time adjusting the blades than I did cutting. Be careful with those clamps, they will break if you aren't careful with them (wouldn't have any idea how that happens <G>). I really think that using the plain end blades was an afterthought for the designers of that saw.
If it's within your means, you might want to think about returning it and look for something a little nicer. Dremel and Hitachi make pretty good saws without spending a lot of $$.

[CanadianScroller]

I didnt mind the clamps so much, I did find that the upper clamp did not hold thin blades like #2 and smaller. I took a diamond nail file and sanded the inside of the clamps. I did find there was a small burr left over when the clamp was manufactured, The sanding got rid of it and it did help
I also sanded the ends of my blades to roughen them up a little.
Is the blades are still not being held I would contact Ryobi, they may send you new clamps, yours may be defective.
I cant remember how I took the blade clamps off. I was going to substitute a Delta QuickClamp but unfortunately, it wont work. The parts will not match without major grinding.
I did see in a magazine article where somone had taken bigger knobs for the blade clamps and used some epoxy putty to mount them over the exsisting knobs.
My only concern there would be clearnce unde the table and an increase in vibration on the saw due to a larger mass.
There are some aftermarket blade clamps available, you can search on the forum and find a link for the manufacturer.

Good Luck. I do like my Ryobi, but like you I do find the clamps are the weakest link

[thumbs]

Kevin, The Ryobi 18 inch was my first saw but I also disliked the blade clamping sysyem. I replaced the thumb screws with bolts the same size and used a nut driver tighten and loosen the clamp. I just gave the saw to my son and it is still working great. Only problem I ever had was remembering where I set the nutdriver down at. This may help you out. It isn't a bad saw for the money---Richard aka thumbs

[sawdust dave]

I had a few of the less expensive saws, Dremel, Hitachi, Ryobi, etc. and they almost made me quit scrolling. I simply saved and saved and saved until I could afford one of the better ones. After shopping the market and chatting with some really knowledgeable people, I settled on the Ex- 21 and have no regrets. Each saw has it's own little quirks, the Ex included. You learn to live with them and work around them. I'm happy with the decision I made. There are good saws out there, it's just a matter of saving and shopping. It helps to chat with the guys who make a living with them; that's where you'll get the best advice.

"The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog" - Ambrose Bierce

[naveall]

trade up and get the dremel 1800 series, or trade it for a 1800 series if they will let you, you have to be careful in the tension becuase if the blade breaks while you are cutting and that top end that broke hits your hand the blade can break off or embed itself into you bones, i can tell you it can happen, i have done it and still have a piece in my right knuckle on the right hand. when toni worked at depot she said that ryboi had a huge return for failure or the tool just plain out did not work so be careful there to

i know if you cant swing a ex 21 or dewalt, these dremels are a good replacement saw and as i have said many times over the warrently is second to none and to date i have never had a single problem either getting them repaired or having parts sent to me at no cost, and i have had dremels for 5 years now and still running them, ours are used pretty much on a daily basis, i wish they had an hour meter so i could see how much i actaully run the saw

[earlinjax]

One of the better days I have had was when I gave my Ryobi to my son-in-law.

Earl

[clayton717]

I had a ryobi and had the same problems. I sold it cheap to a friend that was just geting into scrolling and bought a dremel 1800. I have been using for the last 4 years with no problem and love it. When it wears out I will more than likely buy another Dremel.

[scroller guy]

I have a Ryobi too, and it is very hard to get the blade to stay in. It works nice with pin blades, but I don't use them much.
I had the blade tension screw break on me, at the bottom of it where it pivots, it just had a smashed head like a nail. That broke, so I threaded the remaining part and put a lock nut on it.

[scroller guy]

I was just on Ryobi's site looking at the owners manual for my saw, and most of the pictures have the blade in upside down!!!
Just to make sure that I wasn't in the wrong I found this:

Replacing the Saw Blade:
Place the new blade through the opening in the saw table
with the teeth to the front of the saw and pointing down
toward the saw table.

Whoever did the illustrations for that didn't know what they were doing!