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Radial Arm Saw...Yay or Nay

6K views 106 replies 53 participants last post by  TheDane 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Been designing my shop layout for cabinets to build in the spring. I have a RAS and Compound Sliding MS. I get great use from the MS but I hardly ever use the RAS. I made a sled for my table saw to do all my wide crosscutting on the Table Saw which in essence replaces the need for a RAS. What is everyone's take on the question…..?

Drew
 
#2 ·
My shop will never be without an RAS again. But then, I'm a little weird and put my miter saw in the shed for home improvement projects. I think you answered your own question: if you hardly ever use it, then why have it taking up room? Mine is one of the most used tools in the shop, but like I said, I'm a little weird. The RAS seems to be a love/hate tool, you're either on one side or the other.
 
#3 ·
I have both. If my shop was bigger I would have both setups. A radial saw has a longer cross cut capability that a miter saw. But a poor radial can allow the arm to flex. At least mine does. Cut a dado and the depth will be less in the front end of the board. Now that I know of this problem, the solution is simply to cut the dado twice.
If I could only have one it would be the miter saw.
 
#4 ·
If you have the floor space and the tool, why not set it up? Since you have two other ways to crosscut, it may not be used much. You could put a dedicated crosscut blade in it for finish cuts. Some people set them up with a dado set for bookcases and the like.
If floor space is at a premium, it may be overkill.
My miter saw doesn't even slide, and I don't have a RAS. They were once commonplace, but have gone by the wayside now.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
I had a Craftsman RAS back in the early 90's. I sold it when I moved out of state due to a job transfer. I miss that saw A LOT!! I had a nice 30'x27' shop back then and now I don't have the room for one.
That saw did a number of things I liked. On one side of the motor I had a blade and the other side I had a 1/2" chuch. Whenever I needed to boar a hole in somthing very long it didn't mater how long my stock was. Also I could swing the balde on the yoke to make shallow bowls or cover cuts. As long as you keep all the adjustments dead on the saw was a grate tool in the shop! I miss my RAS. I also love my CMS…. I just want it all but I need more room first!
 
#8 ·
I bought one in 1976 from the Black and Decker factory in Lancaster, PA. I would have bought a table saw, but they didn't make them there.
I used it for years because I could not afford a table saw for a long time. In 1999, I bought my first table saw, a Ryobi BT2000 with all the little goodies. Never looked back and the radial saw became basically a chop saw. When I found a 12" sliding cutoff saw from HF for $79 back in 2002, I think I might have turned on the RAS maybe one-two times a year.
I sold it last summer when I rearranged my shop, and realized I had this big crappy bench with a big arm over the top. The guy who bought it was a contractor, so it is on a jobsite somewhere, cutting 2X4's and bigger, as it should.
OK if you use them right, but for most they just take up a lot room and have too many possible danger areas, IMHO. The only time I ever, in 42 years, put a piece of wood into a wall was a kickback off that RAS, trying to do a slide cut along the fence with the blade 90' to the arm. Board took off the kickback arm like it wasn't even there. Luckily, I was out of the line of fire, but that baby was movin'!
 
#10 ·
I'm an old fogey who still remembers the old days when RAS were used. I have one and use it daily.

Question for you. Why not install both? A RAS and a miter saw can cohabit a single bench. They can live side-by-side and work in harmony. If I had room, that's what I'd do.
 
#13 ·
Another old fogey who grew up with a RAS and will always have one (actually 2 !). They see pretty infrequent use nowadays, especially after adding a good slider to one of TS's. Still, when it comes to chopping big, long, heavy timbers to rough length, nothing beats a RAS. If you have a lot of chopping to do, you can just leave it running c/w a MS that is always started and stopped. Also much better than a MS for depth of cut adjustment.

I used to do other stuff with a RAS but they are notoriously hard to keep in square. Rip on them at your own risk !
 
#14 ·
Fred Hargis said in the begining that you either loved them or hated them. I think you will see that throughout the responses you have received.hy don't you use the radial arm saw? If you just don't need it then sell it. I plan to set one up and use it. I have a sliding compound miter (12") but still think I would use the radial arm. I have plenty of room for it so why not. If I find I don't use it then it can find a new home. There are things you can do on it you can't do on a CMS. There are some things that are easier to do on a RAS than a table saw. They can be difficult to keep tuned up and I really think that is the big complaint and people just don't use them. It can be easier to walk to a CMS and cut your board from both edges than to tune you RAS.
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have always been fascinated by the old Delta turret arm RAS. I found one recently on my local CL, and bought it. The seller loves old Delta iron, and refurbishes the tools and resells them. Mine is a 9", which is a hard size blade to find, but it came with a new Tenryu 40 tooth blade that makes the smoothest crosscuts I have ever seen. Absolute silky smooth. This saw doesn't try to rush at you the way others tend to do (I know C'man has one with an electronic braking mechanism, and Ryobi had a similar setup at one time). I like the RAS for dadoing, as you can see what's happening. My cheap PC 6" dado makes lovely clean cuts on the RAS. But it does want to climb cut too fast with the dado. I can control it, but don't like it. It helps somewhat to tighten the carriage lock part way.

I think one advantage of the RAS for crosscutting is that climb cut, which means you get no splintering on the bottom of the board.

I do also have a TS and a sliding miter saw. I like the miter saw a lot, but it won't do some things the RAS will do-such as those dadoes.
 
#16 ·
I have one. This is my third one over the years. Love it! Never had a tablesaw, so I actually dont know what I'm missing. If I could afford it, I'd get a TS, then maybe I'd decide if I liked one better than the other.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
Radial arm saws can do all sorts of neat stuff like
cut tenons on long boards, overhead routing,
cut folding miters…

I've had a couple… a Craftsman (which didn't
hold settings well) and a Delta turret saw
(which did).

I'd have one if I had the space; I've wanted a UniPoint
for years but passed on one recently because I
really don't have the room.
 
#18 ·
I have an older model Craftsman about 1993 model I think. I have it setting between 2 8 foot work benches, and use it for rough cuts, it's the only cut off tool I have for making like 12 inch cuts. I had thought about getting rid of it, but changed my mind.
This summer I redid the top and added a dust/chip collection box to the rear hooked up to my dust collector. After putting all the time in redo I think it will last me for as long as I can use it. Mine works well for me as I can cut off longer boards to size and then take them to the table saw.
After redoing mine I found a site that has a recall in my model, I think I found it here on LJ's not sure but if someone needs it let me know and I can get the recall info to you.
When the recalled parts arrived I was surprized at what was in the big box. It included a whole new table top with the metal brackets, a new and upgraded blade guard system. If you have an older saw you need to get this upgrade, it's totaly free.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for all athe comments. I had to ask. The reason right now I don't use it is simply b/c I don't have it tuned in and set up properly, and like you all said it is easier to just walk to the SCMS to do the cut. I am afraid that if I get rid of it, I will look back and say "dang, I wish I still had my RAS". I think I will just keep it and make room for it in a cabinet. I am sure if I can keep it tuned and set and dead zero it will be great use.

Thanks everyone for your comments…...Drew
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Is the Radial Arm Saw on its Last Legs?

Fine WoodWorking

"I've noticed that your magazine and all other woodworking magazines virtually ignore the radial arm saw. I would like to protest and ask that you provide more articles to the radial arm. Come on, be a leader, do it. And a test article on radial arm saws would be magnificent."

I understand why people like the radial arm saw. It's a badass tool. It can crosscut and make miters, but it also can be set up to cut other joinery, like dadoes. But some folks think the tool is dangerous because the blade's rotation (toward the user) causes the motor and blade to walk across a board-quickly sometimes. There are other issues, too. It can be finicky to set up and keep square. The machines can also be pricey. Though you can buy a used one on Ebay for about $100 to $300, depending on the size and condition, most new models retail for over $1,000. That's a lot of dough to spend on a tool that has the footprint of a tablesaw but without the tablesaw's versatility

I say YAY….
 
#24 ·
I say YAY!!!

Versatile, robust and a classic shop inhabitant!!!
I will use mine as a designated Dado saw. Unless of course, a project requires one of the other many things it is capable of!!!

Plus, the extra large table is a great horizontal suface for misplaced tools, supplies and dust!!!
 
#25 ·
I often build trusses, many for sheds and once in a while some off the wall design. The CMS doesn't have the angle capacity unless you want to start making cuts with the board being cut at 90 to the fence. Most CMS's don't have the travel either. If I get out of horsing around with remodels and get to concentrate on finer wood work it would probably be sold.
 
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