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Radial Arm Saw ????

As for more precision work on an RAS, I got ahold of an old Fine Woodworking video called "Radial-Arm-Saw Joinery with Curtis Erpelding." The guy made some perfectly fitting angled dovetail joints. Perfect right off the RAS! He used really ingenious jigs, he always left it at 90* to the fence, and he did a lot of work with the blade running horizontally. He even had play in his machine and showed how to work with it.

If you can find a copy of this video it's a great one, though his presentation is a little dry. And did I mention he was using a Craftsman? :eek:

Hutch
 
Checkout the Mr Sawdust book too. I think it details the same kind of stuff Hutch talks about. I've got the book, but have been too busy re-organizing to really read it thouroughly yet..
 
I've never been a furniture builder and not likely to ever be one.. I envy you guys that have the talent... but when I was working in the export packing business, we used 4 or 5 types of saws... one primary was the Radial Arm... you could cut linear lumber for the box frames much faster on the RAS than any other saw.... we also used a panel saw and a table saw for the plywood box sides and occasionally a circular saw if we needed to trim a cut... even a chainsaw if we were using huge timbers for a base. We rarely used a chop saw because of the limited width of the cuts... the RAS would do the wider planks much better.
 
Blade?

The previous owner gave me a new 12" steel blade. He normally kept a 10" carbide blade on it that is interchangeable with his table saw. I would like a new carbide 12".
What blade would you guys recommend for general purpose which would normally be cross-cutting and some mitering in both plywood and hardwood.

I dont feel like looking in 100 page catalogs for rake and hook and stuff like that. I like Freud and will settle for a Delta blade since this will not be used that often.

So, is there a particular model of Freud or Delta that I should be looking for? Something that can be found on a shelf?

I am willing to pay $100 to $150.

I have a "tool store" about 15 minutes away and am in driving distance of Rockler and Woodcraft although I don't want to drive an hour each way to get there, so if I had to, I will probably order it.

Thanks in advance.
 
Tony Bilello said:
The previous owner gave me a new 12" steel blade. He normally kept a 10" carbide blade on it that is interchangeable with his table saw. I would like a new carbide 12".
What blade would you guys recommend for general purpose which would normally be cross-cutting and some mitering in both plywood and hardwood.

I dont feel like looking in 100 page catalogs for rake and hook and stuff like that. I like Freud and will settle for a Delta blade since this will not be used that often.

So, is there a particular model of Freud or Delta that I should be looking for? Something that can be found on a shelf?

I am willing to pay $100 to $150.

I have a "tool store" about 15 minutes away and am in driving distance of Rockler and Woodcraft although I don't want to drive an hour each way to get there, so if I had to, I will probably order it.

Thanks in advance.
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For a 12" saw in a small shop a 10" regular carbide blade will do 99% of all you need to do. I have my Dad's 12" saw & that's all I ever used. I still have the 12" steel blades he use on it for construction & I use them for ruff cutting construction type material. If your not used to a RAS I would say buy a neg-hook blade because it will help with keeping it from grabbing onto the material & having the saw come up over the material at you. I have never personally seen this happen but have heard of others with little to no RAS experience having it happen. See my description of how to control your RAS below...learn it & you can use a regular blade.

It's is all in the technique. Hold you arm so you do not bend the elbow & rotate you upper body as you pull the saw through the material only bending your elbow at the last moment to finish the pull through. This stiff elbow technique helps to give you the control needed. Never pull the saw out & the slide the material behind the blade & push the saw through it can grab the material & jerk it up & away & may cause your left hand to end up in the blade.

The reason SCMS's are safe when used properly in this manner is when used properly with the clamp to hold the material down your hand isn't where it can get hurt.

How many of us have not even thought of this let alone use the clamp. We have made hundreds of cuts without the clamp but it only takes once for regret to take place.
 
Bart Leetch said:
It's is all in the technique. Hold you arm so you do not bend the elbow & rotate you upper body as you pull the saw through the material only bending your elbow at the last moment to finish the pull through. This stiff elbow technique helps to give you the control needed. Never pull the saw out & the slide the material behind the blade & push the saw through it can grab the material & jerk it up & away & may cause your left hand to end up in the blade.

The reason SCMS's are safe when used properly in this manner is when used properly with the clamp to hold the material down your hand isn't where it can get hurt.

How many of us have not even thought of this let alone use the clamp. We have made hundreds of cuts without the clamp but it only takes once for regret to take place.
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Bart, why don't we pull the saw through the cut on a SCMS instead of pushing it through?
 
Cynthia White said:
Bart, why don't we pull the saw through the cut on a SCMS instead of pushing it through?
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Both a RAS and a miter saw have the blade rotate down in the front, so one of the dangers of a RAS was the climb cut as you pulled the blade forward... if you weren't careful, the saw would rush through the wood at you. Special blades had the teeth at an angle to minimize that problem.

It is considered dangerous to pull a RAS out and then feed the board behind the blade, especially if you were nice to your motor and didn't start and stop it constantly. The miter saws fixed the problem by being designed to cut the other direction.

A Sears RAS was my only saw for about 30 years, used for rip as well as cross cut, regular cuts and dados. Once in position it could be locked/tightened in place securely, but setting it by the angle gauge was a joke. Towards the end, I only used it for 90 degree crosscuts. Many of the Sears saws were recalled, which basically required that you send the motor back and discard the rest, for which they paid $100. I kept mine for quite a few years after the recall was announced, then collected my $100 and recovered the shop space it took. I have an exceptionally good table saw, but if I felt the need for a separate saw for cross cuts, I would get a miter saw good enough to believe the angle settings, to 1/10 degree. I would choose not to get a sliding miter saw, to reduce the complexity and cost - I would do wide cross cuts on the table saw. (I keep a Skil saw around for rough cut-offs, then do the final cuts on my table saw.)

Bart, something to keep in mind, most 10 inch and smaller blades have a 5/8 inch arbor, while most 12 inch and larger blades have a 1 inch arbor. Therefore most (not all) saws that take a 12 inch blade, cannot readily use a 10 inch blade without it being bored out (there are adapter rings to easily use a 1 inch arbor blade on a 5/8 in arbor, but the opposite isn't easy.)
 
Charlie Plesums said:
It is considered dangerous to pull a RAS out and then feed the board behind the blade, especially if you were nice to your motor and didn't start and stop it constantly. The miter saws fixed the problem by being designed to cut the other direction.


Bart, something to keep in mind, most 10 inch and smaller blades have a 5/8 inch arbor, while most 12 inch and larger blades have a 1 inch arbor. Therefore most (not all) saws that take a 12 inch blade, cannot readily use a 10 inch blade without it being bored out (there are adapter rings to easily use a 1 inch arbor blade on a 5/8 in arbor, but the opposite isn't easy.)
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Cynthia Charlie beat me to the punch.

Charlie your right accept some of the old Craftsman RAS's I have my Dad's 12" RAS (1967) that he used for construction & his I think it is a 100 series 10" RAS (early 60's) used in his cabinet shop they are both 5/8" arbors.
 
I did some work at the shop today and finished early. I told wifey that I was going to unload the saw from the P/U truck by myself. I got the usual "you gotts be kidding" look. Anyway, I told her where to stand in case I got in trouble and needed help. Like a 5'-4" 71 year old woman is gonna be a lot of help to a short fat old man. Anyway, 5 minutes later it was unloaded and temporarily put aside and we went to have a late lunch.
I remembered to get the model name "DeWalt 790 12" Contractors Powershop" but forgot to look at the arbor size.

And thanks, Bart, for the safety notes.
 
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Tony Bilello said:
I did some work at the shop today and finished early. I told wifey that I was going to unload the saw from the P/U truck by myself. I got the usual "you gotts be kidding" look. Anyway, I told her where to stand in case I got in trouble and needed help. Like a 5'-4" 71 year old woman is gonna be a lot of help to a short fat old man. Anyway, 5 minutes later it was unloaded and temporarily put aside and we went to have a late lunch.
I remembered to get the model name "DeWalt 790 12" Contractors Powershop" but forgot to look at the arbor size.
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Brings back memories of when Brent moved the gun safe. Different ending :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Charlie Plesums said:
Both a RAS and a miter saw have the blade rotate down in the front, so one of the dangers of a RAS was the climb cut as you pulled the blade forward... if you weren't careful, the saw would rush through the wood at you. Special blades had the teeth at an angle to minimize that problem.

It is considered dangerous to pull a RAS out and then feed the board behind the blade, especially if you were nice to your motor and didn't start and stop it constantly. The miter saws fixed the problem by being designed to cut the other direction.
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Charlie and Bart, that's my question. Since the blades rotate in the same direction, how and why is the RAS designed to cut on the pull stroke and SCMS designed to cut on the push stroke?
 
the Radial arm saw operates in the horizontal plane only. Pulling it all the way out then putting the board behind it then cutting is extremely inefficient and dangerous.

The SCMS is designed so you can put the workpiece on the cutting table, bring the saw out over the top of the workpiece, bring the saw down, then slide it backwards over the workpiece.
 
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