# Radial arm/ router



## Michaelnewbee (Jan 10, 2013)

I have an old radial arm saw that has a section on the back for a router it's about a threaded half inch bolt. Do I need a certain type of adapter to put on a router bit. Thanks


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It ain't a good idea*

A router bit with a 1/4" shank will spin at 15,000 rpm to 20,000 rpm, not 3450 rpm of the table saw, which is just way too slow.


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## Michaelnewbee (Jan 10, 2013)

Okay I was just looking on the back where it says routing carving sanding drilling and thought maybe I could put a router bit on there. Thanks for the info


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*You fell for the sales pitch too!*

The RAS is/was the most over promoted tool I know of. A "one tool shop" ...it did everything except make coffee. It does crosscut well and when set up properly it can make miters, but most folks here just set them at 90 degrees and leave 'em there. A miter jig can be used for 45 's and that's easy to make. I'm a big fan of them and within their limitations they are great. :yes:


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think the threaded shaft was put there for a drill chuck for the purpose of horizontal drilling.


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## Michaelnewbee (Jan 10, 2013)

It does say accessory power shaft with routing, carving ,sanding ,drilling. But it does make sense at the RPM's would not be fast enough for routing.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Before I had the sanding options that I do now I used my RAS for disc and drum sanding.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

And,


















Using these,










that have a 1/4" shank. The disks come with a 1/4" spindle but not the collet. The collet would have come with your machine.

I wouldn't use the RAS output for routing for the previously mentioned reasons.

You can dedicate your RAS to routing by doing something like this:


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## Michaelnewbee (Jan 10, 2013)

That's awesome thanks. Was thinking if the rpms are around 3400 for a 10'' blade wouldn't dropping it down to 1/4 speed the rpms up?


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Oooph! Not sure Bud. Others here would be able to answer that question much better than I.

If you convert your RAS to a dedicated router then it doesn't matter 'cause in order to do so you'll remove the saw motor.

If you keep it as an RAS and use the auxiliary power output for disc and spindle sanding the RPMs are good just as they are.

If I were you I'd keep your saw as it is. It will do crosscuts on longer material much more accurately and safely than can be done on a table saw.

Although RASs are capable of doing rip cuts on long material it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and even the pro's here don't do it.

A bad day in the shop is one where you drop a tool or screw up a cut.

A good day in the shop is any day you leave the shop with all your limbs and digits, intact eyes etc.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Michael,

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...s=1357802247555&q=radial+arm+saw+safety+rules


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Nope*



Michaelnewbee said:


> That's awesome thanks. Was thinking if the rpms are around 3400 for a 10'' blade wouldn't dropping it down to 1/4 speed the rpms up?



RPMs stay the same...direct drive off the motor... :yes:

 










It's about the peripheral tip speed. For a 10" dia saw blade with a 5" radius going 3450 rpm, the tip is traveling at C= 2 (3.14) (5) X 3450. 10,833 inches per minute

For a 1/4" D bit the radius is .125 . C = 2 (3.14) (.125) X 3450. 2,708 inches per minute, about 4 X slower. :thumbdown:
Check my math, but I used a calculator..... :boat:


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

At one point Sears sold a "shelf" that clamped around the motor (where the blade guard clamps) and you put a Craftsman router on it, making the saw a pin router. Yep, I had one...and it may have been a worse idea than some of the other stuff that they made for the RAS. I had a sanding drum that screwed onto that accessory shaft, and found it turned too fast for that use. Best to just leave that end of the motor alone. There was a chuck available for it, but again your limited by the motor speed as to what you can do with it.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Here is a mount I made for my CM ras. There are some interesting things you can do with it. The flat underside of the CM ras motor, even comes with 2 tapped holes to bolt the mount to.


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