Has anyone else had issues with the Rigid routers and z-axis kit? Mine has a ton of slop in it and often the tab pops out of the notch completely both of which combine to make the z essentially useless, because I never know if it is going to cut to the desired depth or be off by an 1/8th inch or more.
We’ve experienced this with the base for the Rigid router. An easy way to fix that is to connect a bungee cord to the sled (or the handles of the base) and wrap it over the top of the router. That way it pre-loads the router towards the workpiece and reduces the effect of the backlash in the depth adjustment. The following picture illustrates this with a rather anemic bungee, which I have since changed out for one of the thicker and stronger ones:
That’s frustrating. I have not run into this issue myself. A couple things could be happening. The first (and easiest to fix) is that the tab is not seating very well in the slot. Check to make sure there isn’t dust packed into the slot that’s keeping the tab from locking in place. If that’s not the case, the pre-load spring for the depth lock isn’t doing its job very well. If it’s been weakened somehow, it may need to be replaced. The spring is item number 10 on the following diagram:
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Check that the latch is tight enough. I had the same problem, tightening the latch solved it for me. I’ve used paste wax on the router body and the base to lube it, that helps getting away with a slightly tighter grip in the latch.
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Some of us are trying out other z Axis options just because of the issue you describe. I have made plenty of firewood from the Ridgid popping out of the “latch catch” on the router body. One example is 200mm stroke linear actuator cnc linear motion lead screw slide stage with 42 stepper motor Sale - Banggood.com sold out-arrival notice-arrival notice
We will report when an easy solution is working.
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I’ve been watching the thread, that approach could make a lot of different routers work. Do they have a 50mm version of that?
if the tab is popping out, you have the tension of the base FAR too loose.
are you by any chance trying to run it with the latch open? you should be
running it with the latch closed, but the adjustment under the latch loosened
just enough so that the router can still move
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I have only seen a 100mm
I have the same problem. I noticed that the hand knob was hard to turn even before installing the Z axis motor. I just took the router out of the base to look for wear marks and noticed in the grove that runs the length of the base there are deep wear marks caused by the little metal knob on the router body. I think im going to file down that metal knob a bit as it seems to be the point of most resistance.
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Any recommendations on brand/type?
It’s a 20 year old can of Johnson’s paste wax. Not sure what’s available now, or what improvements might have been made to waxes since then…
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That’s weird. Did the router body bind on the base or something? That little knob should be able to move freely in the groove.
Not sure if this matches the one that @blurfl was talking about, but I use this wax for a lot of different metalworking projects. It also works well to protect patinas! 
I think it’s also available at the Home Despot.
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Yes it did. So I had 2 problems. The first was the metal knob binding on the base, which I solved by filing it down a bit (works now). The second problem is that this router is designed to be raised and lowered in a vertical orientation. With the z axis only pulling in on one side it torques the router sideways causing it to fetch on the base. So I used the bungee cord trick as mentioned in this thread. Now I can get through a whole cut without physically helping the z axis. Although Z movement is still a little jittery.
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Sounds like your base/router was on the wrong side of the QC bell curve. Sorry to hear you got the short end of the stick there.
Yes, I experienced that when I was dialing in the Z-axis. What I found really helped the racking you’re describing is setting the tightness right on the base clamp. It should be loose enough that the router slides in and out easily, but tight enough that it doesn’t twist in the base. That will also affect the accuracy of your cuts because the bit has enough play to shift around in the base.
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If you are using @pillageTHENburn’s linkage kit, and you twisted the z-axis mount out of the way so you can put in one of the pillars and you find the router popping out generally when you are trying to get real close to the bottom, check the clearance between the motor mount and the top of the router. I finally figure out that’s why my router’s tab would pop out of the notch (the top of the router was getting hung up on the mount as the top is slightly larger than the body). I ended up putting the mount back to close to original location and passed the pillar bolt through the base of the mount. This gave me the little bit of clearance I needed.
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I’ve been having the same problem and early on realized that if the latch was closed the z axis would not work because the router was locked in place. I opened the latch, then noticed that the router had too much play. Since then I’ve been fooling with the latch bolt trying to find the right tension. So far it’s been my biggest issue. The bungee may be my best solution and will be attached for my next run. Seems to me we need some documentation on how to best configure the router (or maybe that exists and I’ve not seen it yet).
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Hi there! Found this in the wiki
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Feel your pain. I always make sure the latch and groove is clean and dry, but sometimes it may just suddenly happen, and the router sinks into the board. Sometimes you can catch it, pause, fix, and resume, but requires more monitoring. Post previous to you mentions a twisting or misalignment may cause it as well, I wonder if my hand made sled has some incorrect measurements. I will try tightening the clamp bolt a bit more. I will also try using a digital caliper to measure some distances.
I’ve also found that if I bottom out my routers travel it will pop out then go too deep so that could be something to keep an eye on
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I actually wrote a post awhile back about my z-axis mods. I had a lot of slop in my Ridgid router base screw. I fixed that with some modifications to the base itself.
Also had a similar issue with not getting the right tension on the base and the router coming off the pall and slamming itself into the plywood. I polished the outside of the router and the inside of the base and then used some UHMW tape to make the sliding surfaces much better.
The bungee cord really didn’t do it for me in terms of repeatability and adjustability. I ended up using the S ring that another post mentioned and rubber bands. 3/side is what worked for me.
With all of those modifications, I have had rock solid zaxis performance. I am still ironing out some other kinks but, when I set a depth its right on.
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Would love to see that article if you have a link handy
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