OT - Anyone Still Using A Radial Arm Saw

I bought my Montgomery Wards radial arm saw in 1968 and still use it. It originally was configured for a 9" blade but it accepted a 10" blade which is what I use. It is capable of cutting a 24" width and a depth of almost 4". I have a 10" hybrid table saw and a 10" compound miter saw but for cutting boards to precise length, the radial arm saw excels. The compound miter saw has too small a platform to be useful for larger pieces and a table saw is virtually useless for cutting longer boards to a precise length. A cut line is clearly visible on a radial arm saw whereas a table saw cuts from the bottom first so precise alignment is more of a challenge.

One thing to remember when making cuts like dados is that a table saw references the front side of the piece while a radial arm saw referneces the front side. This can make a difference when the boards are not uniform in thickness. Of course, a compound miter saw can't make dados at all.

Each of these saw has their own strong points as well as weak points. I bought a compound miter saw because I had two rooms of trim to install and I could bring the saw to the work site rather than running back and forth to the shop. The compound miter also excels in changing cut angles easily. For handling plywood, I prefer my table saw. For framing, my go to saw is the radial arm.

As to safety, I would list my radial arm saw first. As a teenager, I had forty sitches in my right hand from a table saw and I still tense up whenever I have to bring my hand close to the blade. The one I fear the most though is the compound miter. Cutting a 45º miter on a three inch piece of trim brings my hand very uncomfortably close to that blade and because of that, I would rate it as most dangerous.
 
As a rule, I have a number of positive comments regarding Radial Saws. My biggest concern here is what to print and what is actually a lecture. Please forgive me if I wander.

In 1975, when I first bought my house I also bought a Radial Saw as the "most saw" for a given footprint. I let the saw go a few years later when I became a contractor and went overseas. On my return a few years later, I acquired the house next door and had room to expand into a realistic shop. In my youth(?) I followed the "scare" stories and firmly believed that a table saw was much more useful and a lot safer.

Recently, I got into a situation that only a RAS would work, I had to cut a 1/4 inch deep dado in a 2X8 some 1-1/2 inch wide. It was for an "attic stair" in a very tight location. The angle from 90* was a really odd angle, definitely not a standard tread. I used 2X4s doubled for treads, with a 1/4-20 all-thread keeper every 3 ft or so. The length of the 2X8s was 16 feet. I considered the table saw first for a stackable Dado head. That went south the second cut. They didn't line up properly. . .

Handling a 16 ft plank on a table saw, accurately, was a little beyond my capabilities. Even with assistance, I simply didn't have space, some 32 feet, to do a good job. I considered a router; the fixturing would cost me more time, and money, than I had available. The next option was a "Skil Saw", a portable circular saw. That never got built, the concept of a Dado head on a Skil Saw frightened me so bad. . .

That pretty much left a sliding compound saw(mitre saw) or a Radial Saw. Since I already had a couple of good mitre saws, the concept of a new saw didn't really appeal to me. When I tried to borrow a Radial Saw from a friend, he checked several sources and found one well used but in pretty good shape for $100. I had to build a table. . . Eh, a sheet of 5/8 particle board cut into thirds. (32X48~) And a few screws. Being in a wood frame shop, I had to true the saw, the attach the over-sized table, then true the table. Replace the cord, et al. All in all, $150 more or less.

Since my first RAS, the "InterWeb" has come along, and I've traveled around the Pacific a few times, and become much more aware of my dangerous habits. But I still have all 10 fingers. . . I originally had a "direct drive" Craftsman "contractor saw". I had an older Dado head and a "shaper" head that were too small for the 10 inch saw.

I horse traded around and eventually ended up with an older (?50s?) Craftsman 8 inch belt drive saw that actually has a deeper cut capacity than the 10 inch machine. No motor to bounce off the bottom of the table. . . And my Dado head can cut 2 inches deep now, with enough passes. But keeping a 16 foot plank true on the table, what, you been smoking the drapes again?

As I've aged, my propensity to dispose of tools has all but disappeared. Nothing gets sold or traded out of my shop. Hence the Dado head and shaper head. These two (relatively) small cutters came from my early years. And having seen both sides of the InterWeb videos on Radial vs Table saws, I find the table saw to actually be much less useful, in my usage, than a radial saw. This keeping in mind that I cut sheet goods(4X8) with a Skil Saw. The table saw still gets used, but almost every angle gets cut on the radial saw.

If you can find or make what you need to rebuild a good saw, I would say go for it. I have found several Craftsman specific parts on mine, both the Radial Saw and the Table Saw. But, waiting and looking has usually turned up something usable and often better than the original. That is often the case, where a part is manufactured for a vendor with the "house" part number instead of the generic part.

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Watch craigslist for a used sliding panel saw. I have seen a few here for $1000.
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Cheers
Martin
 
After a little more research I've found there are still several companies in the US that make quality radial arm saws. Among them are Delta, Original, and Omga. Almost all these days are geared toward commercial or industrial applications. the "Original" company makes them up to 22" in diameter capable of running 2 to 3 shifts per day in an industrial application. While that may be slightly more than I need it appears they make high quality machines that can work day in and day out.

The "Original" company saws are reminiscent of the Dewalt I currently have only far more robust. Reading the history of the company I found they purchased the rights and prints from Dewalt when that company decided to get out of the radial arm saw business. The biggest shock is what the machines cost today compared to when I got mine. Back then my saw listed for slightly under $1,000.00. A comparable saw today lists for around $5,000.00. If you want to get fancy you can spend north of $22,000.00.

When we get back home I'll continue the disassembly and inspection process. Hopefully the current saw can be repaired and will last another 20 years or so. If not at least it's nice to know new ones are still available
 
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Radial Arm Saws are high on the accident will happen list. So much so that the maker of Sears/Craftsman (at one time) would refund $100 to return it.

The only thing I use mine for is scoring metal to bend.
 
One of the coworkers had 3 RAS. When he down sized basically gave them away. I have a large table saw and no room for RAS, otherwise I would of got one. He was asking 50-100 depending on which one. They were all heavy units, no throw over the shoulder to lug it home!
Pierre
 
A friend was a very skilled and artistic woodworker. I asked him years ago why he did not have a radial arm saw. He said “I don’t have a wood stove”. His point was that it would only be good for cutting up kindling.

i don’t have one, never will.
 
I am by no means a master woodworker, but I have the basic machines and use them as needed. My radial arm saw is an old Craftsman unit, in good condition and versatile for many uses. I keep the woodworking equipment near the shop roll up door so I can move them outside to the driveway, weather permitting, to do any needed woodworking, grinding, or sanding. Same with the surface grinder and other grinders and sanders. Keeps the grit out of the fussier machines. In my new shop, which is currently in the design stage, I will also make sure to have floor to ceiling curtains and an exhaust fan for working with the gritty equipment in any weather without leaving a mess and damaging equipment, not to mention having to clean up the entire shop if the grit is not isolated from it.
 
The first stationary power tool ever I purchased was a Craftsman RAS new around 1987. It was truthfully a horrible piece of junk. The base and arm weren't rigid enough to hold adjustment and even bumping the arm with your shoulder would knock it a few degrees out of alignment. I have used some older Craftsman RAS that were much better built than that one. I saw an ad for a used Dewalt 7790 12" in the local paper. I purchased that and sold the Craftsman. It is a much, much better saw. I still have the Dewalt but it doesn't get much use anymore. I also have a Delta Unisaw and a non-sliding miter saw which get lots of use. The RAS excels at cutting dados on long boards and breaking down long stock. It does require significant real estate and now tends to be a horizontal surface that collects other stuff.
 
Over the last decade, I have seen the radial arm saws disappear from the Army and Navy industrial shops that I survey. The few that I know of that are still around the shipyard are tarped in the corner or covered in dust from disuse. Personnel prefer to use compound miter saws for typical size materials and heavy work is all done by band saw. Radial saws are obviously being phased out, and it's the tradesmen that made the choice to stop using them. Just food for thought.
 
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