# Help Wiring Craftsman 12" RAS



## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

Hi, I just rescued this from an old guys basement for $50. Claimed it'd been sitting there in pieces since '89. I got the jist of it together, just want to see what I might be missing or overlooking and I wanted to ask for some tips wiring it up for 120. Thanks for any help!

Here's a pic of the random hardware that didn't have a home right out of the gate:










Here's the motor cover...











And here's the wires. The diagram on the cover leaves me hanging a bit and I want to double check with you guys before I do something stupid. One free end of a white, a black, and a brown from the cover, and a free orange, black, and white on the motor side plus the small gauge black and blue wires from the coil on the right side. I want to wire it up for 120V










Thanks,

Roger


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

If you can find the model number (probably at the back of the table) you can look here for parts views and maybe an owner's manual.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/index.action?sid=PSHx20080114x00001

Wood 'n things has one of these beasties. He may be able to help you, too.

Also, there is a recall on a lot of the older Sears RAS's. Depending on the model, you may be able to get a new guard and table for free. Do a web search on Craftsman radial arm saw recalls to find out.

Oh, and when it's together, don't rip with it - just crosscut. Good luck!

Bill


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Roger looks like U need help with the pics...*

Here's the way I do it:
Click on the box "manage attachments"
Browse your computer to find the photos.
Click on the image you want and it will show as: number/jpeg etc
Repeat this for each image to a maximum of 4, you must click on "upload images" on the far right side of that window and wait until they upload. You can upload a 5th one in the top window,wait for it to load, then "close the window" 
I do have two 12" Craftsman RAS saws in my RAS collection. I have a manual for an older one I think. My models are 11329501 and 11329510
11329510 is on 220 v the other 120 v. Maybe I can help?:thumbsup: bill


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## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

Thanks for the quick replies guys:thumbsup:

dodgeboy77, those parts diagrams got me sorted on the brake coil stuff on the right side. Just wiped that junk from my first post. Looked into the recall and they don't go bigger than the 10 inchers, but I'll be careful anyway. Sounds like it's mostly for safety with rip cuts anyway, which you warned against and I don't have much need for This is burried in their FAQ on www.radialarmsawrecall.com

"Once activated in the crosscut mode, the new guard provides essentially the same level of protection as the older-style guard. The primary benefit the new guard provides is when the radial arm saw is used for ripping."

woodnthings, looks like a slightly different motor than the one I've got, well the cap on top of it anyway. The reset switch and relay is built into the cap and there is a monster of a capacitor where yours shows that other stuff mounted. I just have the images embedded from a free google site, guess it's not working though. I'll try attaching them your way. It's model #11329520 and you can see the motor numbers in the pic. edit: looking at the parts diagram might get me sorted on the extra wires from the coil and what not, I'll get back to you on that in a few.

Edit: Switch on the front checks out as per your pics, woodnthings. Does this sound right then? All three blacks(brake coil, on switch, and reset switch) plus the brown from the reset switch and the orange from the motor in one wire nut. Then the two whites, from the on switch and the relay, plus the yellow from the monster capacitor and the blue from the brake coil in another wire nut. Diagram here, like the cap, only shows a set of 3 wires and a set of 4 wires coming together at the wire nuts... somehow I've got some extra loose ends.

Edit #??: Wait, think i got it! Looks like the black from the on switch cord should go straight to the reset switch, so that's where my extra ends are coming from. With a but connector between those two thicker gauge black wires that leaves the right amount of the right colors floating around. Yay?:thumbsup: Nay?:thumbdown:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*This was on Sears Parts Direct.com*

Your model number 11329520:


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## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

Yeah, I was looking at that trying to figure it out. Check out my last edit on the post above and let me know what you think.


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## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

wajoe said:


> Edit #??: Wait, think i got it! Looks like the black from the on switch cord should go straight to the reset switch, so that's where my extra ends are coming from. With a but connector between those two thicker gauge black wires that leaves the right amount of the right colors floating around. Yay?:thumbsup: Nay?:thumbdown:


:thumbsup: Just got back from picking up a plug end at Home Depot and finishing off that end of the wires. The beast is alive!:devil:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Great!*

Now just so you know I use a 10 blade on my 12" saw for crosscutting ONLY. It works fine with a Freud 40T x 10" Diablo, but for crosscutting a negative or zero hook hook tooth blade is best. A 60T or 80T Diablo will work best. Finding a 12" blade with a 5/8ths arbor may be a challenge.
Remember to pull the saw from behind the back fence into the work.
There are reasons involving the physics and the forces on the blade that make this the safest way. I would not recommend ripping on the RAS...unless you have no other choice and ...you really know what the hell you are doing! DAMHIKT That's a whole 'nuther thread and has been discussed here a lot. :thumbsup: bill


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

Bill,

Not to hijack the thread, but (do you notice that everyone says that just before they hijack!) when you refer to only crosscutting with the RAS do you mean 90 degree crosscuts only? I sometimes do an angle cut or a beveled crosscut with my saw and haven't had any problems.

Bill


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## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

Thanks Bill, I was wondering about price and availability of the blades, but wasn't going to think about it until after the whole "got it running" part. The 10's are a lot easier to find(and to afford). I did find this 12 on Amazon where the manufacturer almost claims it will walk on water:blink:

Amazon.com: KwikTool USA BB1200 C7 Bad Blade 12-Inch 72 Tooth With 5/8-Inch Arbor: Home Improvement


First task for this saw will be a new work bench, but I am more of a metal guy and dare I mutter here that I will eventually try my luck on some aluminum with this thing. I'm slightly familiar with table sawing aluminum and was shopping with that in the back of my mind. This wasn't quite what I wanted, but I'm a sucker for a mechanics special so I hauled it home. Worst case, I can build my bench and a few other things then turn around and sell the saw in favor of something else.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*That's a Bad Blade!*

This site has the info:
http://www.kwiktoolusa.com/
http://www.kwiktoolusa.com/bad_blade_C7.aspx
While it makes some pretty good claims, I've never heard of the name.
it might be fine but do YOU need a 12" blade....cutting any 4x4s.... and are you willing to take a $50,00 risk?....:blink:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*90 degrees only*



dodgeboy77 said:


> Bill,
> Not to hijack the thread, but (do you notice that everyone says that just before they hijack!) when you refer to only crosscutting with the RAS do you mean 90 degree crosscuts only? I sometimes do an angle cut or a beveled crosscut with my saw and haven't had any problems.
> Bill


I rarely have occasion to cut miters or compound miters, but I would probaly use my sliding compound miter saw, a 12 Dewalt 708. I like to leave the RAS set once I get a good 90 on it. I also have an Incra miter gauge for the table saw which is very accurate, so there are other ways..... bill


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

<<_ Finding a 12" blade with a 5/8ths arbor may be a challenge._>>

How about a 5/8" to 1" arbor bushing?

Bill


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## wajoe (May 29, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> While it makes some pretty good claims, I've never heard of the name.
> it might be fine but do YOU need a 12" blade....cutting any 4x4s.... and are you willing to take a $50,00 risk?


That's kind of my train of thought. I've got the old blade that came with it too, which will work for the 4x4s if the need arises. I'll pick up a much cheaper 10" blade for general use. I might try one of these guys 4 1/2" angle grinder blades out of curiosity and if I like it go for their 12 inch blade. I go through cut off wheels on my angle grinder like a fat chick goes through margaritas and flatas at Chevys Happy Hour... oh sorry, you might not get the exact reference, but it left me traumatized:blink:


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## Poolcrusher (Sep 3, 2020)

*Wiring help*

Hello all, I recently purchased a Craftsman 12 inch radial arm saw 11329510. It is currently wired for 220 volt. I want to run the saw on 110 volt. I have opened the motor plate to look at the wires. The diagram on the case makes some sense, but when I look at the wires inside, I get lost. I am not seeing all the wires that I need according to the diagram. The manual that I looked up seems close, but still not seeing the wires I'm looking for. I saw on a previous post from 2010 the stated that woodnthings has/had the same model that I have. Looking for help. Thanks, Kevin


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## NoThankyou (Mar 21, 2018)

Another 10 year old zombie thread.

Kevin, 
You would make life easier on all of us trying to help you if you had started a new thread.

By taking a few pictures and asking customer service at Emerson Electric, you may get some answers. The saw is from the early to mid 1970s.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

take a pic of the wires, and the wiring diagram and show us... clean the wires a little so we can be sure of the colors.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I found this in my notes....*

Short of taking the cover off my 12" saw, wired for 220 V, I did find this sketch I made a while back. I hope it's readable and useful. Because there is a motor brake and a reset relay, it's necessary to figure out where those wires goes, not just the motor winding wires as shown on the motor plate.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I took apart the RAS motor!*

Motor shops refuse to open these up as they are factory sealed housings. So what? I ain't gonna throw it away! :|
So,


Here's the entire rebuild thread:
https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/craftsman-12-ras-motor-rebuild-35737/


I Dremeled the case open and split it apart to replace a bad bearing. Here's some photos of the motor:
 




 



 

:vs_cool:


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## JayArr (Sep 18, 2018)

Hey Poolcrusher


What makes you think that motor will run on 110V?

A lot of the 12" Craftsman RASs won't. In order to get enough power in a small enough casing they used Split Phase Capacitor Run motors that require 220V and can't be rewired for 110V.

Can you take a picture of the motor plate with all the info on it?

I couldn't find a manual for your 113-29510 but I found the 113-29511 and it's 220V only.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It may be able to run on 120 volts ......*

According to this link:
https://www.justanswer.com/small-engine/9s1jg-power-tools-craftsman-table-saw-radial-arm-saw.html


Compare the motor number as they may have come equipped with different motors!


Read down to get the answer which is in the specs listed as 120/240 volts:
Radial Arm Saw
Model 113-29510
Mfg # *****
Motor
Part 63234
Mfg # *****
120 / 240 V


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## Poolcrusher (Sep 3, 2020)

JayArr said:


> Hey Poolcrusher
> 
> 
> What makes you think that motor will run on 110V?
> ...


Hello, So I have a different thread, called Wiring, that has pictures of my motor plate. There was an auction for this saw back in 2016 and there are 4 pictures together related to the RAS. To me, this appears to show that my RAS was originally sold to be wired either 110v or 220v. If at sometime in the past 48 years the motor was replaced with a 220v only - who knows? I don't know how to tell what the motor actually is without cracking the case open - I leave that to the professionals. Kevin


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## JayArr (Sep 18, 2018)

Hi Poolcrusher

I've owned a few of these Craftsman saws and I'm an electronics tech so this is interesting to me and I've been following it.

The pictures of the inside of your motor suggest to me that it's the same as mine which is 220/240VAC only. The fact that it has 2 capacitors is a big indicator of the type of motor that was used and that type is not convertible.

It's possible that it's a motor type I'm unfamiliar with, I don't know everything, but my gut tells me someone has swapped the plates on the saw motor.

The fact that you don't have a terminal block or a pair of marrette connectors that facilitate the swapping of wires is at odds with it being convertible. And the wire colors don't match up either.

From a practical, pragmatic viewpoint... you were going to have to run a dedicated circuit to it anyway since at 120V it would draw 14+ amps and nothing else could live on the circuit with it, plus every time you bogged down on a board you're going to have to walk to your fusebox and reset the breaker. So why not just run a 240V line to it and get cutting? A 240V line is a good thing to have in your shop, it allowed me to buy a bigger compressor and run a mig welder and a plasma cutter, not all at the same time of course. 240V tools can be cheaper on Craigslist because not everyone has the wiring so the market is smaller.

Let us know if you find a way to rewire it for 110V

JayArr


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hi Jay .....*

I took some photos from my 12" RAS saw that can be wired for either 120 v or 240 v motor number 63234:


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## Poolcrusher (Sep 3, 2020)

*Let's move over*

So let's move over to my other related thread if ya'll would be so kind. We can let the zombie thread rest again. 

https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/wiring-222481/

Kevin


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