radial arm saw

I am looking for a radial arm saw. There are lots on Craigslist. But since it is a long way to see one, I have a question before I proceed.

Is the arbor on the usual 10" Craftsman long enough for a dado blade set to 3/4"? Occasionally there is a Delta or DeWalt available. If that makes a difference.

I did have a radial arm saw many years ago. I sold it after my first SCMS arrived in the shop. (There is only so much floor space!)

I am very aware of the kickback problem and do understand the multiplied forces when using the dado blade.

And goodness knows I've milled a couple of miles of dadoes with the router.

That said, I have a special application for a dedicated machine with vacuum hold-downs which is based on a radial arm motor and carriage, though the arbor must be long enough to accept thick cutters, like a dado set.

It will be a quicker turn around of pieces. And the darn things are very inexpensive these days.

My question is addressed to those who still have one and can easily check if their model has the desired long arbor.

I just got another order for another 12 feet of floor to ceiling bookshelves. I won't be working on them until next spring, so I have time to make a machine to help me out with these things. The winter is for turning projects.

Thanks for your concern.

While I no longer have my Radial Arm Saw, I did use it many times with a ¾" dado setup. It was a Craftsman 10" saw.

I will tread on peoples toes when I say this I am sure, but you know what debate RAS can stir up! I will not say don't buy a craftsman because there are a few good ones out there. But I will say most(many) of them were not well built and didn't hold up. Craftsman produced thousands of them and many were value engineered to the point they were junk in a few years.

To your question as far as I remember, yes you can use a Dado set on them. And there isn't a kick back problem, they will run at you which if you have your hands where they should be doesn't endanger you. Just make you soil you pants. But a proper blade will stop that.

I had two in my shop at one time. And older one my dad bought in the 60's I think. A new one my FIL bought in the 80's. The 60's model was better built but it just could not be aligned and make it stay. Plus there was sloop in the arm. Maybe it could have repaired but I just was not impressed by it at all.

The new one was junk. Couldn't cut a straight line if you held a gun to it's turret! Adjustments were near impossible to get too and then it wouldn't stay set. I forget what else but it had 2 or 3 problems. I refused to use it for anything other than very rough cuts.

After that I said no more Craftsman. Neither of them was up to anything better than rough carpentry work.

I am a DeWalt fan and have a large 12" that I love. BUT there are worn out DeWalts out there too. So you have to be careful but IF IT WERE ME, I would hold out for DeWalt or Delta or if you can find one and old Red Star, that name doesn't sound right but they were bought by Delta and became the a Delta. These are typical better built and worth repairing if they need some TLC.

I think as long as it's not the 7 1/2" blade model (what an odd sized blade), it should have an arbor long enough.

My father had a Delta RAS in his shop. He was a professional cabinet/furniture maker. I believe that saw was the most used tool in his shop. But it scared me just watching him use it. The potential for serious injury is, I believe, much greater than with a table saw. Can't deny the versatility. But that just increases the opportunity for injury, IMHO.

Thanks for the info. Jeff's reply was most helpful. Many of them out there seem to be in good shape, at least from the looks department. I don't but wonder if they have been sitting around for years and almost never used, Craftsman especially. Like Pop bought one because it was the thing to have and then Sonny inherited it and it has been collecting junk on top of it since.

Some are literally in pieces. That could be interesting. My intention is to make it very non-adjustable.

It also seems to me that a negative rake tooth blade would work better, just like a SCMS. I know that a regular table saw blade in my SCMS can make its operation a little squirrely. And having said that, realize dado sets don't have a negative rake. Hmmmm....

Maybe Norm just had a strong arm.

I inherited an old 'red star' saw. Red Star Radial Arm Saw

The thing has plenty of swing and is built like a tank. Weighs about as much as one too. From what I can tell I think it was manufactured in the 40's.

Not much in the way of detents or anything to set the angles, so when changing angles it will have to be checked against a square or angle gauge.

I'm looking forward to rearranging my shop in a while and incorporating this into the layout. I've used them before and understand the risks, but I like the versatility of what you can do with them.

Cool, Brent. Now that is a beast!

Haven't seen one of those yet. But now that I know what one looks like....

BTW, what were the good years for Craftsman and how can you tell?

Carol, Here a DeWalt that looks good, I'm headed over to Chandler in a little while ya want me to call em ?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/tls/2020274448.html

Carol I had a craftsman around 20 years ago when I tried to get into wood working the original time (failed miserably by the way) and ended up selling it. I never had one before and I got it due to flexibility. I use a wobble head dado blade and a profile knife set and seemed to work fine. the major with that era is that they (or it) had a digital ruler, no manual ruler and it seemed every time I went to use it the darned battery was dead and the replacement was, if I am remembering correctly around $9.00. So if you find one at least be sure is has manual measurement not the digital.

OK it was Red Star. That didn't sound right as I typed it but that is the saw that became the Delta Turret saw. That is one I would consider swapping my DeWalt for.

I don't know any of the Craftsman that stand out as good. Well the old, 50's? at most early 60's Model 100 is supposed to be a good one. Other than that I wouldn't even consider one. I would just hold out of an old cast iron beast of some type. But that is me....

Next week Don is going to look at the saw he posted. What a guy! If he meets my offer, we have a deal.

If not, there is always this one:

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/tls/2006572271.html

I won a craftsman in the mid 70's it was a great tool. I used it as my only real power tool for about 13 years. I had no trouble with fitting a 3/4" dado on it. It's just kind of a bear to get and keep the table parallel to the head. It took me awhile to realize that the reason that my dados were 3/8" on one side of the board and 1/4" on the other was because my table wasn't even.
I never was nervous or had a problem while crosscutting. The first time I tried to rip a board though, the blade grabbed the end, rode over the top of the board and shot it across the garage and into the door. I mean into. 3" of the board actually penetrated the door. I then decided it might be a good idea to read the instructions

If I could find a good deal on a real nice one today I would love to have another in my shop.

If a was going to buy a radial arm saw, Id get either a delta or dewalt and wouldnt go smaller than 12" but Id be using it for rough cuts. but if you wanna put a 8" dado set on go for the 10" with a 5/8" arbor. Make sure when you get the saw that you put a pull back reel on it and adjust it for a stiff pull. This keeps the saw from pulling towards you and helps return the carriage after the cut is complete. With a large(3/4") dado on a radial arm saw if you dont have some sort of weight so its a very stiff pull the carriage will jump forward during cuts.

Ill look around and see if I can find the pull back reel im thinking of

Eric Roberts said:

If a was going to buy a radial arm saw, Id get either a delta or dewalt and wouldnt go smaller than 12" but Id be using it for rough cuts. but if you wanna put a 8" dado set on go for the 10" with a 5/8" arbor. Make sure when you get the saw that you put a pull back reel on it and adjust it for a stiff pull. This keeps the saw from pulling towards you and helps return the carriage after the cut is complete. With a large(3/4") dado on a radial arm saw if you dont have some sort of weight so its a very stiff pull the carriage will jump forward during cuts.

Ill look around and see if I can find the pull back reel im thinking of

Click to expand...

Are you thinking off the one they use for fall protection? It lets the cable out when you pull normallt but if there is a sudden jerk it will instantly lock to stop it. Something like this.http://www.millerfallprotection.com/fall-protection-products/fall-limiters-self-retracting-lifelines/black-rhino-cable-self-retracting-lifelines If I remember correctly we called them yo-yo's.

Hey Carol check out this radial arm saw! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-ip879It1w

that is cool, I want one.

Yeah! I want one too. That will cure kickback. And I know just where to get one of those linear motors.

First, the saw.

Hey Don, did you see the other one in Scottsdale I posted? Tell the other guy I have my eye on another one, if he is reluctant to deal.

Yup saw it (pun intended). I'm gonna use that and the 9" not being standard as negotiating points.