Craftsman RAS Recall... $100 for free!

I’ve done it twice. Once I got the kit and the other time I got the money. The kit comes with a new blade guard, handle, and new wood for the table. A great deal.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

A little of your time will get you some free money! A big reverse from “Either your time or your money.”

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

I just stumbled onto this about the RAS recall. Went to the link provided and low and behold I’ve got a kit ordered. I don’t use the RAS much and have been thinking of selling it. Having this upgrade may help me get rid of it. Thanks to all for this posting and my good luck to stumble onto it.

-- Darell, Norman, Ok.

Thank you Blake!
I think I will just dismantle it. I would hate to think someone could get hurt by it.
One day I was using it and the thing went crazy and damaged a new blade, I always thought it was because I did something wrong.
Wow! now since you showed us this link im sure it wasnt all because of me.
It scared me so I never used it again.
Thanks again,
Jim

-- Can't never could do anything, to try is to advance.

Huh, I’ve been thinking about getting rid of my RAS, but nobody wants to buy it for $50 on craigslist, so maybe this is a better bet. :P

-- Dylan Vanderhoof - General hobbiest and reluctant penmaker. http://llarian.etsy.com

So I can buy a used saw for $50.00 and then give the motor to Sears and get $100.00. That is a win win! Actually, I would buy the old RAS just to use it.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

Really, until I can afford to buy the 12” SCMS I want, I can’t part with the RAS. But it takes up a ton of shop space and while its excellent for precision 90 degree crosscuts, its not any good for anything else and takes up too much room.

I’ll sell ya mine if you come pick it up! :P

-- Dylan Vanderhoof - General hobbiest and reluctant penmaker. http://llarian.etsy.com

Dylan the way I like old tools, I would be afraid I would get rid of it, and I have very little floor space left in my garage.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

Would not connsider getting rid of it. One of the best tool in my shop for the last thirty years.

-- WOOD/DON (...one has the right to ones opinion but not the right to ones own facts...)

I have had mine for 20 years and got the free kit. It works great, I love my RAS. But, as with any power tool you need to know how to use it safely. Even then xv?x happens.

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

you guys are all crazy…. talkin about getting rid of your RAS for money. its a priceless tool. “IF” its tuned properley. i just got my craftsman radial arm saw at a garage sale a few months ago for like 30$ i brought that sucker home and started making a whole station for it. i tuned everything up to within .005” and she cuts like a CHAMPION. the reason so many people get injured with RAS saws is because they dont understand how important it is to make sure that the saw cuts properly. alot of people just buy the saw. bring it home, plug it in, and start cuting. that is not the case. if i would have done that with my saw then i am sure i would have had an accident. the heel and toe of the blade was so far out of wack it was sure to malfunction. and then i would have filed a law suit with sears and told them that there was a problem with theyre saw. then they would have to recall all of there products, lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, and make every radial arm saw owner think that it is an unsafe tool!!!! all becasue Joe Blow didnt know how to properly work his RAS.
so please dont get rid of your RAS…. i mean if you think its unsafe from personal experiences then OK, but dont just believe everyone else because they said it was dangerouse. its unbeleievable how many people i have talked to who have said. “oh my god dont get an RAS” “theyre so unpredictable and unsafe”. and then i come to find out that they have never even owned one or worked one in thiere life…. lol. so if anybody would like to keep theyre saw and have questions on how they can fix the problem they are having with the saw i would be glad to help. just P.M. me

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

Litigation,

The downfall of American Manufacturing.

It’s a wonder there is anything with sharp edges available at all.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

I just ran a model number check on my Craftsman RAS and it states “no such model number”. Maybe it is too new of a saw, as I’ve only had it about 4 or 5 years.

-- Don, San Antonio, TX

Bought my CM RAS in 1978. Still use it, and gonna keep on usin’it. As with most equipment-related probs, it is the operator’s fault. I SAID MOST!!! Don’t freak. Did the hammer get taken off the market after 12000 folks (like me) whacked a thumb?
Gosh! Now I feel better.
Bill

I just got the kit ordered. This is kinda neat. But I’m still selling it.

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

The CM RAS was the first stationary power tool I bought. I have used it extensively for ripping, crosscutting and miter cuts. Never had any problems what-so-ever. I don’t use it as much as I used to because I’ve got a decent table saw. But, I do still use it. Most of the time, like Bill said, it’s the operator’s fault for getting hurt. Carelessness is generally the culprit. Litigation is the get rich quick scheme and it is ruining the American Manufacturers. I order the new kit, put it on and kept on keeping on. Works fine, fails safe and drains to the bilge.

-- There are three signs of old age. The first is loss of memory. I forgot the other two!

I bought mine brand new back in the 70’s and got the recall kit a few years ago and have used it for years without any problems, like all power tools you need to treat them with respect or else they will bite you.
Any tool can be dangerous in the wrong hands!

-- SAEPE EXPERTUS, SEMPER FIDELIS, FRATRES AETERNI - "Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever"

Thanks for the heads up. I just ordered my kit. However, if it had come up no kit available I wouldn’t have give up my saw. I bought it new in the early eighties and haven’t had any trouble. It’s only for crosscutting now that I have a tablesaw.

As for out of control litigation; about twenty years ago I read that 25% of a ladders cost was for insurance. I’ve since responded, on a fire truck, to many falls from ladders. Never saw a ladder that had failed. Always operator error. Usually over reaching instead of climbing down and moving the thing. It was probably the same type thing with the saw law suit and we all pay for it.

-- Father of two sons. Both Eagle Scouts.

The lawyers and greed are causing the downfall of this great country.