R.A.S or Sliding miter saw?

I could go into a long story. but look at the facts, radial arm saws are available for free on CL. Why? because they are almost worthless for many reasons.
A good compound angle sliding miter saw is Never available for free on CL. Why? because they have many advantages over RAS, the main advantage is that they are much safer to use.
And that reason alone is what made my decision easy.

-- Love thy neighbour as thyself

Thanks for the reply. What are the advantages? I thought a Radial Arm Saw could do everything a sliding miter saw can do with even wider stock.

I borrowed a RAS once, it scared the living daylights outta me. So no, I do not have any real experience using them, only what I see in the real world in how unpopular they are.

-- Love thy neighbour as thyself

Yes I have read they could be dangerous, especially when ripping. I appreciate your input thank you exelectrician. It’s late here I’m going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have more advise. Good night.

A good table saw and a miter saw will serve you better than a ras. I’ve owned a ras since 1978 thought it was great the only saw i’d ever needed, Rip, crosscut, angles, WOW! I’ve been trying to get it to cut square since 1978. Getting under the arm to line up the cut is a pain. I seldom use it maybe 10 min. in 3 years. Just in the way now takeing up space. If a board ever pinches in it have plenty of toilet paper handy.

-- What started as a hobbie is now a full time JOB!

I’m on the other end of the opinions, I’ll take a good RAS over a SCMS any day. But the key word is “good”, and that means none with a Craftsman label (one exception, they sold some Dewalts labeled as Craftsman at one time). In your case, I’d pass on fixing te one you have up, and get the SMCS if that’s your druthers. But having a good RAS is a dream in a shop, and one of the early Dewalts, or Delta/Rockwell turret arms will always return to zero and give you accurate angled cuts. More than anything (IMHO) the Craftsman RAS gave the tools a bad name and brought on it’s demise as a woodshop staple.

-- I long for the days when Coke was a cola, and a joint was a bad place to be (Merle Haggard)

+1 on what Fred said. Love the RAS for cross-cuts, ripping, dado work, etc. It’s a DeWalt MBF.

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

When cross cutting on a RAS the lumber is supported by a fence, but you pull the head towards you and climb cut. So the cutting force is pushing the board into the fence and the head towards you in the direction of motion, so, if you are taking a deep pass (expecially with a dado blade), it can climb up over the board and come towards you suddenly.

With a SCMS, the lumber is also supported by a fence, but you push the head into the board with a stadard cut. So the cutting force pushes the board into the fence. And if you hit difficult grain and the cutting force increases suddenly, the head will push up and back, thuse disengaging the blade from the lumber and removing the force.

Also, the mechanism on economy RASs is prone to go out of whack, resulting in cuts that aren’t square.

A RAS can be set up to do a lot of different things, however, and they were marketed as “do it all” tools, somewhat like the Shop Smith.

After seeing my dad do it several times when I was a kid, I personally would never rip on a RAS.

You can set them up as spindle sanders.

You can also use them as a drill press.

But like most “multi-function tools”, a RAS doesn’t do any of these functions especially well.

Where a RAS does shine, is in an industrial setting…. we have the big DeWalt RASs with 10 HP motors and 16” blades at work. So you can process big timbers. I’ve seen them set up for this in production timber frame shops.

-- Matt, Pine is fine, but Oak's no joke!

Radial Arm Saw…’nuff said…....!!

-- " Don't ever wrestle a pig in a mudhole....he'll be having more fun than you..!!

I love my RAS, but they can be temperamental creatures. If you go with the RAS you may have to do a lot of tweaking and still have problems. My opinion for someone who hasn’t any experience with either, I would suggest going with a SCMS because they are more than sufficient and easy enough for the hobbyist work with.

-- I don't make mistakes, I have great learning lessons, Greg

The radial arm saw is a good tool when properly tuned and adjusted. I can do things the scms cannot do and it will do things the table saw does poorly. The dado cut is a prime example. the table saw comes closer if a sliding table or super sled is used but it is still difficult to align your dado head when looking at the back side of the board. They are different tools and each has its place. BTW the only way to get experience on the rAS is to use it. I have never figured out why it is only for the experienced. How did they get there. Caution is to be used with all tools. No I don’t like to rip on the RAS but it can be done.
Ever run a rotary planer on a table saw or SCMS? No you haven’t because it can’t be done but it can be done on a RAS. The list can go on and on but the only way you will know if you want one is to try it. We can’t answer that for you. Borrow one from some of these guys that haven’t used theirs since 1978 and try it for a year. Then you will know what YOU think of the RAS.

New motor? Why? Have ya taken it to a motor shop for testing?
There are some things the RAS will do well. I bought mine in 1978. Used it for every cut for years. Finally bought other saws and sold the RAS because I lacked the shop space.
Don’t know about the digital stuff ‘cause I have a slim view of tooling with all the laser/digital stuff. I’m a ruler guy. I’m old. Duhhhh!
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

I picked up a Rockwell/B&D RAS a few years ago and refeburished it. It, along with a miter saw and a cabinet saw handles any type of cutting operation I could ever require, but fixing a Crapsman tool; never. It’s never worth it. Sears has gone steadily downhill in the past 50 years. They are now at the bottom of the consumer grade of tools along with Harbor Freight and Northern Tools. The only difference is they look nicer. They introduce “industrial grade” tools , but that’s just a marketing ploy. I’ve fallen into their trap too many times. I should be smarter than to believe them, but the time has come. No more Sears for me. Sorry for the rant. Those who stick up for Sears either don’t use tools much, or are relating their experiences when Sears was a good name. My first bad experience with Sears tools was about 60 years ago and has never been good since. I consider it a public service if I can discourage anyone from shopping at Sears.

I would also have to say Keep it and fix it up.

I used my brother in laws several years ago and Loved it. I would love to have one for myself and the Club I want to start.

Arlin

-- It is always the right time, to do the right thing. Lovinghandsmemoryboxs.com

I had a radial arm for sale(same brand as yours) for $75 and keep dropping the price all the way down to $10 and know one wanted it,The reason for this IMO is that their to big and bulky and take up to much space in your shop. The only thing a ROS can do that a Sliding chop saw can’t is rip(that’s something not very convenient or safe) and the other thing is you can mount a dado blade on a RAS. I think people who are so fond of Their RAS saws like them just because they have used them so long or don’t want to buy a sliding compound chop saw. I would not waste my money on repairing the saw you have,if you decide you must have a RAS buy a old Delta or something similar.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/