# Ryobi Table Saw Failure



## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Hello all,

I hope that everyone has been doing well given the current challenges that the world is facing.

Approximately a year ago, I purchased a used Ryobi RTS21G table saw. I have not used it extensively but it has served me well. Up until a few days ago that is!

I hit the power switch switch, the blade began to spin then it sounded like some type of braking system kicked in and the blade came to an abrupt halt. I have attached a short video what I experienced. As always, your thoughts, comments, and guidance will be greatly appreciated! Peter


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

switch cutting out and engaging the brake...
brushes...


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Peter...videos will not appear in your post...you will need to upload "somewhere" and then provide a link...for example, upload it to Youtube and then give the link...

Valid file extensions: bmp doc gif jpe jpeg jpg pdf png psd skp txt zip

Did the saw stop like when you turn it off or was it more abrupt and catastrophic...? If so, the switch may have catastrophically turned itself off. If it stopped more abruptly and with more noise than usual, maybe a bearing bit the dust...? Or brushes...?

Open the case and check the condition of the brushes...they may have hit the commutator at the end of their life...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

freehand turn the arbor...
does it grind/crunch or squeak??? look to the bearing(s)...


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## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Nickp said:


> Peter...videos will not appear in your post...you will need to upload "somewhere" and then provide a link...for example, upload it to Youtube and then give the link...
> 
> Valid file extensions: bmp doc gif jpe jpeg jpg pdf png psd skp txt zip
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for the prompt reply @Nickp

Abrupt and catastrophic. Couldn't have said it better myself. See below. Please remember to un-mute the audio

https://imgur.com/g1m5mGp


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## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Stick486 said:


> freehand turn the arbor...
> does it grind/crunch or squeak??? look to the bearing(s)...


Hello @Stick486. Thanks for chiming in. Much appreciated. Just went over to the the table saw. Tried turning the blade by hand. Almost impossible to so do.

See below. Please remember to un-mute the audio

https://imgur.com/g1m5mGp


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Is that a direct drive saw?
Herb


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I wouldn't think that a saw like that would have a clamping type brake like sawstop and an electronic brake would not do anything once the saw stopped so my best guess would be a catastrophic bearing failure, especially if it is hard to turn when stopped.


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## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Herb Stoops said:


> Is that a direct drive saw?
> Herb


Hello Herb. This is all that I was able to gather from the Ryobi site. I'm no expert but I do not recall having seen a belt or chain. It appears that the blade is mounted directly to a shaft that protrudes from the motor.

https://www.ryobitools.ca/products/details/10-portable-table-saw-with-quickstand



Motor: 120V, 60 Hz, 15 Amps
Blade Diameter: 10"
Arbor Size: 5/8"
Depth of Cut at 90°: 3-1/4" Depth of Cut at 45°: 2-1/2"
Rip Capacity: 27" Right of Blade, 12" Left of Blade
RPM: 5,000 (no-load speed)


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Voting for bearing...it probably fell apart and allowed the motor to hit the inside of the case...


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## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I wouldn't think that a saw like that would have a clamping type brake like sawstop and an electronic brake would not do anything once the saw stopped so my best guess would be a catastrophic bearing failure, especially if it is hard to turn when stopped.


Thank you @Cherryville Chuck I am not sure exactly what is involved in a bearing replacement. But, I am not certain that it is worth the expense.


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## peterbata (Nov 29, 2018)

Nickp said:


> Voting for bearing...it probably fell apart and allowed the motor to hit the inside of the case...


Guess I'll be rolling up my sleeves tonight


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I say check the brushes before you tear it down. Remove the brushes and see if you can rotat the blade by hand, then go from there.
HErb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I wouldn't think that a saw like that would have a clamping type brake like sawstop and an electronic brake would not do anything once the saw stopped so my best guess would be a catastrophic bearing failure, especially if it is hard to turn when stopped.


agreed...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

peterbata said:


> Hello Herb. This is all that I was able to gather from the Ryobi site. I'm no expert but I do not recall having seen a belt or chain. It appears that the blade is mounted directly to a shaft that protrudes from the motor.


direct drive...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> I say check the brushes before you tear it down. Remove the brushes and see if you can rotat the blade by hand, then go from there.
> HErb


excellent idea....


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Here is the schematic: https://www.ereplacementparts.com/ryobi-rts21g-10in-table-saw-parts-c-7931_7954_507786.html It's not very clear but it doesn't show any pulleys or belts so it is a direct drive, meaning the end of the motor shaft is what the blade fits on. So if it's a bearing, the bearing is in the motor, most likely the front bearing as it takes most of the abuse. If you go to have it fixed it might not be worth it but it might not be that bad if you can do it yourself.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

If it is a bearing, see if you can get the # off the bearing and take it to a bearing house and they will be able to match it with a better bearing, It would help too if you can't get the bearing # to take the whats left of it, the hub and the race and they can match the o.d and the i.d. and the width.
Do a search in your area for a bearing house, I have done that many times and got motor bearings that were better than the original. If that fails find a motor shop, they can order you a bearing USA made to match the size.Do both front and back while you are doing it. Bearings arn't that expensive. You can put the old horse back to work.
If you don't want to do the labor ,a motor repair can do it for you.

Herb


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Looking at the schematic, it has 3 bearings, #11,#13,#15. Looks like they will come out easy once the motor is parted.
And also they include the bearing numbers in the parts list Chuck put up. You may be able to order them online.

#11 6001zz https://www.amazon.com/XiKe-6001ZZ-...8315272&sprefix=6001Zz+bearing,aps,222&sr=8-4

#13, 6201 Zlu https://www.amazon.com/NTN-Bearing-...d=1598315032&sprefix=6201+Zlu+,aps,238&sr=8-3

#15 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=420110004+bearing&ref=nb_sb_noss

Check the dimension of your bearings against the numbers above to make sure they are the same.
Just for you information, there are roller blade bearing with similar numbers don' order those.

Hope this helps.
Herb


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## Biagio (Mar 2, 2013)

Hi Peter,
If you look under the Manuals tab of the webpage you reference, you will find the Operator manual, as well as the repair manual (two manuals, depending on model you have).
I notice that the motor drives the arbor assembly through a gear box - no belt or chain. There are two motor bearings, the gearbox itself, and a needle bearing between the gearbox and arbor assembly. Problem could be with any of the above.
Good luck - hope you get up and running again. Looks like a reasonable saw, has taken some of the features of the Bosch XC.


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## gmercer_48083 (Jul 18, 2012)

I think the needle bearing between the motor and the gearbox #15 went bad, and is probably chewing the end of the motor shaft. Poor design.


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## Bstrom (Jan 2, 2020)

Nickp said:


> Voting for bearing...it probably fell apart and allowed the motor to hit the inside of the case...


Yeah but, why does it run as long as it does each time it’s turned on If the bearing has failed? Wouldn’t it behave differently _after_ the failure? Turns on and runs normal - then shuts off. Just sayin’...


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

You can see side to side movement of the blade in the video so I agree it is most likely bearing related. Replace all of them while you are doing the repair because one going out could have caused a lot of stress on the other two and might cause problems later if they are not replaced. Having to break it down again just wastes actual shop time you could be using to build projects.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Bstrom said:


> Yeah but, why does it run as long as it does each time it’s turned on If the bearing has failed? Wouldn’t it behave differently _after_ the failure? Turns on and runs normal - then shuts off. Just sayin’...


In between runs the bearing cools down and clearances increase. As soon as it's running again the bearing gets hot very quickly and seizes again.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Bstrom said:


> Yeah but, why does it run as long as it does each time it’s turned on If the bearing has failed? Wouldn’t it behave differently _after_ the failure? Turns on and runs normal - then shuts off. Just sayin’...



Good point, Brian...could be that phenomena called "FM"...(Freakin' Magic) :smile:

I'm guessing it never really comes up to full speed...although it would be good to know if it does or not.

Realistically, there are not that many moving parts that would create such a shutdown...bearings, keyway, brushes, motor housing, etc... If I remember the video correctly, the blade wobbles a bit when it is turned on...maybe that's the camera but thinking more it's bearing...

I'm sure Peter will report back when he's had it apart...


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## Biagio (Mar 2, 2013)

Not to forget the gearbox itself, or the arbor unit, as potential sources failure.


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