# Craftsman vise for Radial Arm Saw



## anneb3 (Feb 23, 2014)

!


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## Kudzupatch (Feb 3, 2015)

First time I have seen this but that looks a bit scary to me. To easy to slip and cut the jig along with the wood. Maybe you are supposed to screw it to the table?

But with the Craftman RAS it is probably the best way to make a 45 degree cut!

Not a fan of Craftsman RAS. I love RAS's but most Craftsman are worn out and you can't index to 45 accurately without a lot of fiddling to make it accurate. Then you have the same amount of work to get it straight again.

My DeWalt is spot on both ways and stays that way. Sorry, not really any help.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

I have one of those still in the box… got it with a bunch of stuff that came along when I purchased the RAS a few years ago. I'm not sure where I put it, but I'll try to find it and perhaps scan a copy of whatever documentation it came with - however it is pretty straight forward in it's operation… and yes, I think it did say to screw it down before using. Here is one of the few pictures I have of it:










Cheers,
Brad


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

you could probably mount it to plywood and make a sled out of it ? ? ? :<))))))))))) YES OR NO ?


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Actually, that looks like one of the more functional attachments Craftsman may have offered for their saw. Many of the other things they created worked so poorly you had to wonder what they were thinking.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

*Fred:*
You mean like the molding head with replaceable cutters? Talk about scarey!


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

> *Fred:*
> You mean like the molding head with replaceable cutters? Talk about scarey!
> 
> - Madmark2


I still have one of those. Mine is the 3 cutter set…and I used it once on a RAS. After that it's been sitting in a drawer for probably over 30 years.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Yeah, just looking at it I knew I didn't want to see it in actual use. Those blades spinning with no guard just gives me the shivers.









Oh *hell* no!

A TS can lower the blade to reduce the risk of amputation, but a RAS cannot! The RAS always has *full* blade exposure - by design!

I used a RAS a *lot* when first learning ww'ing as a teen 'lo those 50+ years ago - and have refused to touch one since.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> Those blades *spinning with no guard* just gives me the shivers.


I got one of those with the RAS as well - brand new in the box. And I also have *the appropriate guard* for use with both the molding head and dado blades. I've never used any of them, but have a similar round Delta head that I've used on the table saw a few times. Results were acceptable, but there is a constant fear factor for sure!










Cheers,
Brad


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

I used both of those many years ago. I found the miter device inaccurate and a pain to use so I discontinued using it. I think i threw it out as I don't have it today. I now use a sled of similar design on the table saw.

I still use my 1969 RAS but only as a cross cut saw and it works quite well. I have only replaced the on/of switch and the motor bearings in all that time.

There was a cover/shield for the molding head cutter that protected the back half of the head when used on a RAS.I still have it. Using it with the sliding draw motion on the saw was not how it was designed to work. Quite dangerous. It worked by rotating the motor so the molding head was down and parallel with the table and positioned behind the fence so only the cutter tips protruded out far enough to slide the wood past them just as you would on a router table. Adding a feather board to hold and guide the board against the fence and making shallow passes worked well.

I still use the molding heads occasionally but only on the table saw and with feather board guides and multiple making shallow passes. The noise it makes is more scary than the actual cutting process.

One of the uses I made of the molding head was to cut a ship lap house siding in 3/4" X 12" wide redwood boards for doll houses with the flat cutter bits. On the table saw, I angled the cutter at about 5 degrees and made successive 5/8" wide passes on a the 12" wide boards moving the fence over after each pass. The molding head did a great job.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

And ppl cry about TS's without riving knives being "unsafe"!

Didn't these things attach to the other end of the RAS so you also had the blade whirling at the top when the cutter was at the bottom? I don't recall having to remove the blade & cover to use it.









So the stock is fed L to R in an intentional *trapped cut!*. 
Your hands are on both sides of the exposed head! OMG *NO!*

I think it got used *once* and then it was tossed in the "bad idea" box.

Can you see trying to design a "sawstop" for a RAS with that on it?!


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

> So the stock is fed L to R in an intentional *trapped cut!*.
> Your hands are on both sides of the exposed head! OMG *NO!*
> - Madmark2


 Hopefully you're just blowing your usual smoke and you didn't actually try to use it in that position. That would be friggin insane!
The head is intended to be positioned BEHIND the fence. Thats why there's a cut out in the fence in the background. Running the head in that position and feeding left to right(or any direction for that matter) between the head and the fence could potentially maim/kill you.
If it's set up and used properly, it's no more dangerous than a shaper.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Thats not one of my setups. I googled "molding head cutter for radial arm saw" and thats the image that comes up.

Too many exposed pieces moving too fast and needs complex setup for my taste. But thats a lot of work to not be able to run anything over an inch.

BTW a shaper is designed to be a shaper but a RAS is not! You wouldn't try to put a 10" saw blade on a shaper, why would you try to put a shaper on a RAS? This is a jerry rigged afterthought, not a safe and sure tool setup.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

So…smoke then?
I'll stick to my guns. Set up and used properly, it's no more dangerous than a shaper, or a router table for that matter.
Would it work as well as a shaper? No, but that doesn't make it 'not safe and sure'.
Have you ever used a shaper Mark? Maybe you consider them too dangerous as well?


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

That isn't the type of molding head cutter I have. Mine mounts like a saw blade and fits in the standard blade guard they had. Mayne they didn't call it a "molding head cutter", I've lost the label to the box. In anycase that was only one of the not-so-bright ideas they (Sears) had. There was a "slack belt sander" that had an extremely short market life…somebody must have figured out how dumb it was. But don't overlook the "sabre saw attachment". At some point Dewalt tried to copy it, I have one of theirs….and it's as useless as the Craftsman model. Then there was the "overarm router platform", I have that one as well. It's just a platform that clamps to the arbor end of the motor, and then you sit a (Craftsman) router in it and route away. No wonder the RAS category died.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

I guess my description was not very clear or Madmark misunderstood. The cutter head is located behind the fence; between it and the over arm support post so only the tips of the cutters are exposed on the front side of the fence. It took two or three shallow passes to complete the cut. As Tony said, it works much like a shaper or a router table.
Feather boards were important in making it safer to use.


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