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02-26-2015 05:25 PM
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Topic tags/keywords:
craftsman radial arm saw
control cut
I bought the RAS (model 315.220100) from a guy off the internet and brought it home. Played with it for a few days and the control cut (carriage auto-retract) unit quit working. I could not make the carriage move without disconnecting the cable; so i did. I put the saw aside and worked on other things for about a year. I would like to restore the functionality to the RAS but don’t know how the unit is supposed to work. Inside the control cut head, the motor turns the shaft and turns the pulley that has the cable attached. The motor turns the shaft to the left, so when looking down on the RAS from above, the direction of rotation is clockwise. This is counterintuitive because when the wheel turns in this fashion, the rotation of the wheel pulls the cable away from it’s normal alignment, which goes thru an eyelet and parallels the rail. I have disassembled the control cut motor/gearbox assembly and there does not appear to be any malfunctions in the components – i.e., nothing appears to be broken. When reassembled, all parts still work – at least the motor turns, the shaft and the pulley then turns.
I think perhaps the clutch assembly (the pulley that has the cable attached to it) has failed and does not allow slip in the correct direction of rotation.
That’s the summary of the issue. I’ve been in contact with sears parts direct several times and every time the answer is the same – the part (clutch assembly) is no longer offered and there’s no substitute part. I have contacted Sears Repair and was told about the prices for coming to my home to fix the saw – i don’t understand how this can be possible when so many of the parts are obsolete and no longer available.
What i truly need is to talk to someone TECHNICAL about the way the control Cut unit actually works – and this discussion would lead me towards a decision on the repair issue.
-- -Ryan
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8 replies so far
#1 posted 02-26-2015 06:02 PM
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Did you make sure it’s getting power.. it has it’s own electrical connection, so verify with a meter it’s getting juice. If you can’t get parts and can’t figure out a way to get it working, I would just remove the whole control cut assembly since it’s a separate unit and has it’s own power connection separate from the RAS. The manual for that saw has instructions on how to install it after the machine has been assembled and aligned, so just do the reverse to remove it. These saws have been made for decades without that thing, and it will work just fine without it.
Cheers, Brad
-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable
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#2 posted 02-26-2015 06:04 PM
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Brad, Thanks for the reply! The control cut unit is getting power, so that’s not the issue. I think removing it is probably the best solution – although I do like the safety feature offered by the device of attempting to control the saw carriage “jumping” out at me. Thanks,
Ryan
-- -Ryan
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#3 posted 02-26-2015 06:25 PM
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You’ll reduce that “jumping” considerably if you put a proper blade on it, one with a negative hook angle on the teeth.
-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.
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#4 posted 02-26-2015 06:27 PM
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You ll reduce that “jumping” considerably if you put a proper blade on it, one with a negative hook angle on the teeth.
- Fred Hargis
Hi Fred, Can you suggest a replacement blade? Thanks, Ryan
-- -Ryan
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#5 posted 02-26-2015 07:01 PM
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Freud LU91, and you can get it without that absolutely hideous red coating. This is not the blade if you plan on doing rip cuts on your saw.
-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.
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#6 posted 02-26-2015 07:06 PM
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Freud LU91, and you can get it without that absolutely hideous red coating. This is not the blade if you plan on doing rip cuts on your saw.
- Fred Hargis
Thanks Fred – i do not plan on using the RAS to do rip cuts.
I may have bought the wrong blade, but i recently purchased this item:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BIE0SHW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you look at that URL closely, there’s a non-PC word (kinda funny though).
Anyways, when i got the item, it says for miter and table saws – nothing about RAS, however, the Amazon page says RAS are OK.
Easy enough to return if it is the wrong thing so let me know.
-Ryan
-- -Ryan
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#7 posted 02-26-2015 07:29 PM
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Well, I looked at the dimension drawing and could not read the hook angle. It looks aggressive, and I think the description “cutting angle 15º ” is the hook angle (the angle of the forward surface of the tooth relative to the centerline of the blade). That’s much too aggressive (IMHO). It will really try to pull the blade into the wood, the secret of the negative hook angle is that it doesn’t have that same aggressive force. I would try to get something that had no more than a 0º to maybe +2º degree hook, and the -5º is the cat’s pajamas.
-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.
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#8 posted 02-26-2015 07:51 PM
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Thanks Fred. It’s on the way back to that big shopping center in the sky.
-- -Ryan
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