# I did something I said I'd never do again. Buy another Radial Arm Saw



## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

Saw an ad on craigslist for a radial arm saw. He only wanted $100 for it. Shot him an email and turned out he was right next to my office so I go take a look at it today. When I walk into the storage unit I got a close look at the saw and notice it had probably been used 2 times max. 

I ask the guy how many times he used it.

"It scared me to use it so I only used it for one project, maybe 4 or 5 cuts"

"I'll take it"










I think I'm going to install this next to my current classic RAS which I tend to use for buffing and grinding etc.


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## pidaster (Feb 22, 2013)

Is that blade on backwards?


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

Definitely a nice find. What's the model no. ?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*good call!*



pidaster said:


> Is that blade on backwards?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


No wonder the original owner only made 4-5 cuts/burns with it. :laughing:


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## pidaster (Feb 22, 2013)

I bet it was scary! Lol. 


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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

pidaster said:


> Is that blade on backwards?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I thought the same thing when I saw the picture.

Turns out, the blade has carbide on one side, and some sort of thick hard plastic on the other side of the tooth. It actually cut really well when I took it back home and set it up. Not sure why it has that coating but it appears to have no affect on the cut.


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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

gus1962 said:


> definitely a nice find. What's the model no. ?


22010


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## rbk123 (Jan 10, 2013)

Good score - just can never have enough power tools. I have the same RAS as the one you use for buffing (love mine), but it's not as shiny. Looks like I have some work to do...


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

pidaster said:


> Is that blade on backwards?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


i think just a negative tooth angle.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*OK, I'm not normal...*



rbk123 said:


> Good score - just can never have enough power tools. I have the same RAS as the one you use for buffing (love mine), but it's not as shiny. Looks like I have some work to do...


But I have acquired "several" RAS over the years, maybe 5 :blink:.

What I have found really handy is, if you only have shop space for one or two complete saws, you can remove the power head/motor and carriage and just slide it onto a different saw IF they are all the same make and model. I keep a dado head mounted on one power head, a router mounted on a different power head, and a 10" crosscut blade on another. Depending on which operation I wish to do, sawing, routing, dadoing I just swap out the power heads and I'm already set up to go.
Like this:


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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> But I have acquired "several" RAS over the years, maybe 5 :blink:.
> 
> What I have found really handy is, if you only have shop space for one or two complete saws, you can remove the power head/motor and carriage and just slide it onto a different saw IF they are all the same make and model. I keep a dado head mounted on one power head, a router mounted on a different power head, and a 10" crosscut blade on another. Depending on which operation I wish to do, sawing, routing, dadoing I just swap out the power heads and I'm already set up to go.
> Like this:


cool idea


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

You can always hang a router on the side. The flat bottom on the older CM ras, has 2 threaded holes for mounting the router mount.
You can leave the router in place, while using the saw.
The ras router is great for cutting dados.

Another addition to a ras, is a stop collar, to prevent the blade from dropping lower than a preset height. Great when cutting numerous deep, wide, dados, in steps. Make first cut. Drop blade a bit, and make a second cut. Drop blade until it hits stop, and make final cut. Repeat for the rest of the dados. I did this cutting a lot of deep wide dados in a couple of 2xs, for a door drying rack. The stop collar saved a lot of time, and all dados were the same depth.
My stop collar is aluminum, but a hose clamp would even work.


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## pidaster (Feb 22, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> But I have acquired "several" RAS over the years, maybe 5 :blink:.
> 
> What I have found really handy is, if you only have shop space for one or two complete saws, you can remove the power head/motor and carriage and just slide it onto a different saw IF they are all the same make and model. I keep a dado head mounted on one power head, a router mounted on a different power head, and a 10" crosscut blade on another. Depending on which operation I wish to do, sawing, routing, dadoing I just swap out the power heads and I'm already set up to go.
> Like this:


Brilliant.


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## mbira (May 15, 2014)

I don't know why people are so against radial arm saws. I'll admit the one I have is a craftsman that has the clutch safety cable thing, but I have never felt unsafe with it. I find it to be incredibly useful!

But then again, I'd never rip wood with one! ;-)


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## Steve M. (Jun 4, 2013)

TimPa said:


> i think just a negative tooth angle.


Wouldn't that help keep it from running across the board on it's own as much? (Assuming you're going the wrong way and pulling instead of pushing the saw)


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Steve M. said:


> Wouldn't that help keep it from running across the board on it's own as much? (Assuming you're going the wrong way and pulling instead of pushing the saw)


Actually the saw won't do that. It may seem like it wants to though. If it is set up with no loose points of attachment, the distance between the table and where the carriage mounts on the arm is a defined dimension. In order for the saw to "run across the board", the arm would have to move upward, or the motor would have to find enough slack to get the blade up on top of the wood being cut. 

What helps minimize that energy is to use a negative hook, sharp, appropriate blade for the stock being cut. Operator input calls for an awareness of those forces and developing a 'feel' for controlling the pulling of the saw through the cut.


















.


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## vinnypatternmaker (Mar 27, 2011)

*Ras*

Hi!
Actually, we love our (circa 70's) Craftsman 12" RAS :thumbsup:
It can be adapted to perform many tasks besides sawing :yes:!
*Note: *We *never rip *with any RAS, *never ever* :no:! That error happened early on...scared us big time and cost us a new blade guard assembly (long before the recall). :furious:! Not to mention that that operation on a RAS can be VERY dangerous, indeed !
Best,
Marena and Vinny


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

It isn't the safest operation with any RAS to perform a rip cut. However when ripping the saw should be throwing sawdust into the operators face (also unsafe) regardless of the height of the blade guard.

Long push sticks and eye protection are the minimum safety equipment.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*never let her rip...*



vinnypatternmaker said:


> Hi!
> Actually, we love our (circa 70's) Craftsman 12" RAS :thumbsup:
> It can be adapted to perform many tasks besides sawing :yes:!
> *Note: *We *never rip *with any RAS, *never ever* :no:! That error happened early on...scared us big time and cost us a new blade guard assembly (long before the recall). :furious:! Not to mention that that operation on a RAS can be VERY dangerous, indeed !
> ...


When you rip on the table saw, there's some physics goin' on. The wood enters the spinning teeth and is immediately pushed downward into the table surface as the teeth chew away at the wood. Then a kerf is made for the blade thickness as you move the wood further into the blade. Then as the kerf becomes longer, depending on the internal stresses in the wood it may open slightly or close on the blade, pinching it. When the wood pinches on the back of the blade as it is rotating upward, it wants to raise the wood up and catapult it back toward you..... a kickback. It will also kickback if at any point you don't keep it registered firmly against the fence.

Now the RAS is different. The saw blade is above the wood and the teeth are first entering from the top trying to lift the wood off the table.  :thumbdown: So, the blade cover/guard must be rotated around such that it holds the wood lightly but securely from lifting upward. This is the step that most novices forget... rotate the blade guard to act as a holddown when ripping. The other mistake novices make is feeding the wood into the blade from the rear, where the teeth are rotating downward. This will grab the wood and either stall the motor or launch the wood into your shop. You should always be able to see the sharp points of the teeth cutting the wood coming around at you, not the backsides of them.

Consider a bandsaw where the teeth are visibly cutting and pressing the wood into the table. This is one reason a bandsaw won't kickback like a table saw where the plane of the blade is 8" wide. The plane of the blade on a bnadsaw is only 1/2" or 3/4" so it can't exert much force if the wood is twisted as you feed it. It just cuts in that direction and makes a curve.

I'm not advocating for ripping on the RAS, it should only be done when you understand all the forces going on and if the job situation requires it. I had some boards "straight line ripped" at the mill. The only problem was that they weren't very straight. :thumbdown: So I carried the RAS outside on the driveway, minus the motor to make it lighter, and set it up on a low table. I needed 28 ft of straight fence to work my 14 ft long boards. The longer your fence when ripping, the straighter your opposing edge will be! I leveled out some support planks, lowered the blade guard and proceeded like this: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/evil-machine-28461/


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I'll be the first to admit that I've performed cutting procedures on both the table saw and the RAS, that I would never advise someone else on how to do it. If I want to take chances, that's my problem. I consider myself an experienced saw operator well aware of the dangers. When you do this work to earn a living, there comes times that will test the need and safety parameters.

I could post pictures and videos all day long on how to do something, but going out there and doing it is another story. My concern is safety, not to tell how well I performed a dangerous procedure. It's unique and helpful when tools can perform various functions, but, there are always caveats worth paying attention to. I've read a lot of threads with the "I still have all ten", or, "I've been lucky", or "Never had a problem". Problems can be very unexpected and happen in a hurry.



















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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

I've never ripped anything on any of my RAS's...Ever...I never intend to either! First of all, the table would require me to use my left hand which isn't my favored hand. Second reason is that I have a really good table saw :laughing:


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