Table saw power switch

[collinb]

My saw wasn’t starting up well and I noticed that it would only start if I jiggled the power switch. It is the rigid R4511 model, for which the switch is out of production. Took me a while to find one, and it’s from a Ryobi bandsaw. it seems a lot of Richard and Ryobi parts are interchangeable, once you find the part number. And the only difference is the switches mounted in a different bezel. obviously I’ll just remove the switch and move it over.

Obviously I’ll just remove the switch and move it over.

But that’s not the real point. I’m still waiting for the new switches to come. In the meantime, I took the old switch apart to see if there was anything I could do. There was. After removing the rubber seal and then the black cover over the contact points, I could see the problem. The contact points were covered in melted material. It appears that, instead of using old-fashioned metal points for the switch they’re using some sort of carbon impregnated material to carry the current. Sort of like the way keyboards are built these days. A lot of devices avoid wire contact and use a carbon conductor. 

So my course was to just scrape off melted material from the visible points and from the bottom of the black carbon impregnated cover. Then reassembled the switch. Works like a champ. But I will still exchange it for a new switch since the life of this one is surely limited. 
 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

Glad to hear it! I had an identical situation with a Delta jointer. With the machine running, the power switch wouldn't shut the machine down. I took the switch apart, and same story. 

Anyway, with that machine, the same thing would happen about once a year or so. So installing the new switch is still a good move. 

But it sure is nice to win one once in a while! Good job!