# planer attachment for radial arm saws



## Mossanimal (Nov 30, 2009)

Hi... I just picked up a used (and discontinued) 10" Craftsman radial arm saw and am trying to find a planer attachment for it. Does anybody know where I can get one? Not an easy task....

Thanks!


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## TS3660 (Mar 4, 2008)

I have seen drum sander attachments for a radial saw but not a planer attachment.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I think I have one*

It's a 4" or 5" circular platten, 5/8" arbor hole in the center, with 2 or 3 cutters protruding from the bottom side like a shaper cutter, but designed to be used vertically on top of the workpiece surface, rather than on the periphery, like a saw blade. Dewalt made one as well, I believe, had a large guard around it...wonder why??? My advice, forget it. A RAS is a real good saw to cross cut boards to length and make miters if you can get it set up accurately. I don't advise ripping with it since the blade rotation tends to lift the work off the table as opposed to a table saw which pulls the work downward into the table. It's possible to make rips, but not really that safe, unless you've taken all sorts of precautions. 
Tables saws are for ripping and even have a "rip" fence....:yes: bill


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## Mossanimal (Nov 30, 2009)

Bill... thanks for your reply. I've seen pictures of it... It's just hard to come by. Just out of curiosity.... why do you think I should forget it? Because it might be impossible to find... or it just isn't a good tool?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Not a good or safe accessory.*

The radial saw was promoted as a one tool does it all product, when in fact It was only really good at cross cutting. Ripping was scary and dangerous, note the over 1 million blade guard recalls and replacements for saws that had improper or non-existing guards. ( I have a replacement one ) The over exposed blade is left unguarded in most instances, where on the table saw it's mostly under the table surface except on really deep cuts and then there is a upper guard that's "supposed" to be in place to cover the top of the blade. Riving knives and splitters make kick back more unlikely on the table saw. The planer attachment/accessory just adds to a scary scenerio. A molding cutter attachment/accessory is used from the side, with the motor vertical, but it can be mostly enclosed behind a fence. The planer is a top down operation, with the motor vertical and can grab the workpiece with your hand still holding on to it and launch it. I think the reason they're scarce is they've been drawer bottomed or ditched. JMO, however. No statistics for my opinion.:laughing: 
A stand alone planer even if it's a bench top model is designed from the ground up to do that specific task, uniformly thickness wood. I have in my planer collection a $200.00 Ryobi which works as well as a $200 planer could. Smooth surfaces, steady feed rate, no snipe at the end of a pass. If you want to plane wood, get a planer. Cast iron will last longer and perform better if you can afford it. Grizzly has a 15" planer and even a spiral head cutter for around $1500 a real buy.:yes: 
http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-3-HP-220V-Planer-with-Spiral-Cutterhead/G0453Z
Regards, bill


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Scarey as it sounds,  Bill you and I are in complete agreement about that evil machine.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

*not that I'd recommend it, but ...*

... if you search eBay for "craftsman molding head" you'll find lots of these for sale.

They typically come with a few different profiles for cutting molding, and one set of flat cutters that one might use for jointing/planing.

I have one that I have used a couple of times on my table saw, where it's not much more dangerous than a stacked dado set (meaning it's mostly under the table surface or under a sacrificial fence). It's very important to make multiple passes shaving just a little material on each pass.

I can't imagine using one of these on a radial arm saw though


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## Mossanimal (Nov 30, 2009)

Okie dokie.... I guess you fellas don't like this tool.. and as you say, there must be a reason I can't find one. Well.... back to the belt sander and scraper then. Wish I could afford even a $200 planer right now!


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## Elisel (Dec 31, 2009)

I found a company that still makes molding heads that fit table saws from different makers including craftsman. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, but these are an inexpensive way to make moldings with your existing table saw. I believe some of the simpler shapes can be used to plane the wood down. They also have shaper cutters for routers. check 'em out www.corobcutters.com


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## Bob Wingard (Jul 23, 2007)

The CRAFTSMAN MOLDING HEAD and "SAFETY PLANER" are two different animals. I have both, and can't remember the last time I used either. Sure don't know where they came up with the name "SAFETY PLANER".


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

My ripping experiences with a radial arm ussually ended up with the board shooting through the saw and into the wall out the other side. Dangerous as hell! I couldnt imagine that planer attachment being anywhere close to a good idea. I think you would be best to save up for the Ryobi 13 inch planer.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hey Colt, got any videos of that?*

That would be fun to watch! Your neighborhood sounds a little dangerous. Detroit has flying lead, you have flying wood. :laughing:
Years ago the blades didn't have negative tooth angles and the blade's rotation would tend to lift the board OFF the table surface. Unlike a tablesaw where the blade pulls the work INTO the table surface. 
The radial saw guard's nose had to be pressing down on the workpiece to prevent this. Most people probably didn't check it out before ripping.
I calculated the launch speed of a 10" blade at 3500 RPM to be about 118 MPH, that's faster than most human reflexes. :blink: bill
BTW I ripped plywood pretty successfully on jobsites with a RAS using a 16' long fence/backstop.


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

If I video taped all my wood working misadventures, I would rival Roy Underhill in footage. When I was younger, I didn't give safety a second thought, but even then I didn't think it was safe looking down the closed in space with that big ole blade pulling the wood away from you. I definitely utilized some long push blocks. When those 1" boards would grab and launch into the shop wall they ussualy split like firewood. 

Back then I probably didnt have the correct blade, setup, or anything, but I gave it hell anyway. Now I have a nice tablesaw, so I don't have to attempt using the radial arm saw for anything but cross cutting.


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## jbwcakh (Sep 30, 2010)

*I have one*



Mossanimal said:


> Hi... I just picked up a used (and discontinued) 10" Craftsman radial arm saw and am trying to find a planer attachment for it. Does anybody know where I can get one? Not an easy task....
> 
> Thanks!



My dad passed away and left me a lot of his tools, I got the radial arm saw and in the cabinet I found a planer attachment. I used it recently. It did a decent job, but left circles that I basically had to sand down with a belt sander, so might just be worth it to use the belt sander. Worst part about it is my planer attachement seems to be permanently stuck on the arbor, I can't get the dang thing to unscrew.

Anyone have advice?


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