Radial Arm Saw ????

Tony Bilello

Member
Messages
95
Location
Kemah, Tx. - Houston Suburb
I am thinking of buying an older Radial Arm Saw. I build furniture and am not a carpenter. Other than cut-off work, is there any real value in a RAS for a furniture maker?

By the time I build extension tables for it, it will take up quite a bit of space. Cost is not the question.

My questions to other furniture makers are..........

Is it worth the space it takes up?

Will I wonder how I ever got along without it?

How accurate are the cuts in regards to play in the Arm?

How well does it serve for dados.



I can see where it might eliminate a few jigs.



Thanks in advance
 
My father was a furniture maker, his big Delta RAS was his #1 'go to' tool.
That was long before the popularity of the 'chop' style saws of today. His would rotate 90 degrees for ripping. He used dadoes plenty.
I would say any play in the arms is good reason to take a pass on it.
If solid and price is right go for it. Always saleable later if you decide it isn't for you.
 
I you like spending all your time keeping it square go for it. I grew up using a Dewalt RA saw and totally amazed I still have all my digits. It dose have its place in a shop if you have the room for it but as an only saw not so great.

This is just my opinion and worth what ya pay for it. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
Grew up using one. Cross cut, ripped, dados. Did it all.

Recently inherited a 1946 model multiplex that I'm incorporating into my shop. The thing is built like a tank.

From what I've heard, the old ones are pretty solid and will cut straight all day long. At some point they got a bad name because some manufacturers made some short cuts in the manufacturing of them. Sheet metal supports, yadda yadda yaddas.

If you want one, I'd probably steer away from anything with digital read outs and fancy doodads and go old school.

Here's a link to the cabinet I'm making for mine.

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22202

And the table

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22122

And a couple of pics

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if room isnt a problem i vote to get one its great for breaking down lumber to rough dimension crosscutting.. its not my go to tool for ripping at all and i dont use it to trust for angles either ,, if i had a better one perhaps but mine isnt one of them but i do like the crosscut feature..
 
ive had one for years and i use it to rough cut lumber and when i need ALOT of parts crosscut the same size. with the new things called sliding miter saws they have taken alot of what most did on a radial saw and made it easier. i will use it for cutting door parts as not to kill the trigger on my chop box. thay have a place in the shop but i wouldnt go out of my way to find one or make room for one. as far as dados go i am luck enough to have a sliding table saw and dont have to use the radial for that. just a side note i DONT pull to cut on a radial i use a 0 hook and push i dont like saws jumping back at me.
 
I wouldn't be without one. Next to my table saw it is my most used tool. Mainly I use if for cross cuts but I do not hesitate to do angle cuts with it either.

Condition is EVERYTHING! Get a good one properly set up and you can do a lot with it. Get a bad one and you will become one of those that hate them. Of course some people just don't like using them regardless.

Stay away from the crapsman.... I mean Craftsman. Sears did more to ruin the name of the RAS than all others put together. There are some good ones out there but they are few and far between. If money is not an issue there is a company out there that make new (OK rebuilds) old DeWalts. The name escapes me at the moment but the are not cheap but they come out of there in new condition.

Original Saw company maybe?
 
Radial arm saws are one of the most versitile saws that there is. Rip, crosscut, dado, rabbet, mitre, compound mitre, and the list goes on into areas that I don't go. If I could only have one saw the ras would be it. If all you are doing with it is cutoff you are not utilizing it to it's full capability.
 
I always find the RAS controversy interesting.

When I grew up CMS were not a real common tool.

I grew up seeing & using the RAS cross cutting & Dadoing for cabinet work & framing & truss building.

I have always used the RAS by pulling through the cut & never had a RAS jump back at me not even before negative hook blades. It's is all in the technique. Hold you arm so you do not bend the elbow & rotate you upper body only bending your elbow at the last moment to finish the pull through.
The Craftsman of years gone by that used these saws would laugh you off the job site if they saw you pull the saw out & slide the material behind the saw & them start & push the saw back through the material, you might even lose your job for misusing the tool & wasting time.
 
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I have always used the RAS by pulling through the cut & never had a RAS jump back at me not even before negative hook blades. It's is all in the technique. Hold you arm so you do not bend the elbow & rotate you upper body only bending your elbow at the last moment to finish the pull through.

I was definitely much more ignorant of shop safety when I used one and I don't recall ever having one jump back at me. Even when I used my dads craftsman RAS with a wobble dado blade.. :huh:
 
Well, I bought one

He had several for sale. The 14" was out of price range and the 16" was way out of my price range considering I dont have 3 phase.



The choice was down to an early 1970's (he thinks) Rockwell or an early 1980's DeWalt. They were $300 each. In both models, the arm had no play. I was really impressed. Brand new $300 Miter Saws have some play, these had none. Everything seemed real solid. They both ran good. I was always a Rockwell/Delta fan but I noticed that on a lot of people rave about the Dewalt, so I decided - The DeWalt. Both were the same price - $300 and equal condition. You can tell they were both 12" solid machines. BTW, the seller had just finished making a new table for it. My test run made the first cut in the table. The way this is set up, I cant imagine it getting out of alignment very often. The seller said it don't



Now it sits in the back of my pick-up locked up in the shop. There was no one to help me unload it. Hopefully, I can get it unloaded Monday. Until then my wife will have to take me back and forth to the shop.



Thanks for all your help.
 
They can be heavy suns of guns... I used a chain host on mine to get it up off the ground and on the stand... Heck, if I was closer, I'd give you a hand! :thumb:
 
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