Table saw or radial arm saw

[MikeInOr]

I completely disagree that a radial arm saw can't be accurate and return to an accurate 90 without fuss. BUT it has been my experience that cheap radial arm saws like those made by Craftsman have inherent alignment issues in their design and choice of materials that can make it considerably more difficult. It has also been my experience that it is easier to cajole a cheap table saw into making accurate cuts than a cheap radial arm saw.

Or both and live with the congestion. The table saw is on wheels. I hate to sell a tool.

You are 110% correct! You should never ever EVER sell a tool!!! This is why I have 3 table saws and 3 radial arm saws!

My 14" 10hp Italian Casidia sliding table saw that I picked up for $100 about 4 years ago:




It was hanging around my shop for a while until I had the time to make the mobile base:


My 10" Powrmatic cabinet table saw which I have owned for about 30 years:


My 16" 1947 Redstar 7.5hp Radial arm saw which I have owned for about 35 years. I don't think I have ever completed a single woodworking project that hasn't been through this RAS:


MY 12" Walker Turner Radial arm saw:





Walker Turner when it was a $50 rust bucket that I picked up about 10 years ago:



My 16" Long Arm Rockwell radial arm saw that I picked up 2 years ago:


I gave $80 for the long arm Rockwell RAS because the column elevation was frozen:


New bearings in the elevation gear box helped but it was soaking the elevation screw in Evaporust that freed everything up.






Where it sits now. Almost back together with new bearings and a coat of paint:


I grew up learning woodwork from my dad on his 10" Delta turret arm (double arm, one long and one short like shown above) radial arm saw which we used for both ripping and cutting. So I am very partial to radial arm saws. That said I haven't used a RAS for ripping since I got my Powermatic 10" cabinet saw 30 years ago. I would not want to go back to using a RAS for ripping.

The Walker Turner was like a sad dyeing puppy sitting under a car port that I passed every day on the way to work. I had already had my 16" Red Star for a couple of decades but my heart went out to the sickly Walker Turner.

The Walker Turner 12" Ras has to go. It is going to kill me to part with my 16" Red Star RAS when I am finished with the long arm Rockwell RAS. I have a 12" Powermatic cabinet saw that I completely rebuilt and just finished before the sliding table saw came along. Unfortunately the 12" Powermatic table saw is going to have to go but I will keep the 10" Powermatic saw.

 

[Firstram]

Sort of off topic but, I was working at Universal Studios in the late 80’s and they had trailer mounted RAS’s and table saws to use in the back lot. The RAS’s had enough travel to cross cut a 48” sheet of plywood! They all burnt in the 1990 backlot fire.

 

[BGHansen]

Not speaking from personal experience, just "feelings" from my dad who was a high school shop teacher. He was not a fan of radial arm saws; though his perspective was from a shop teacher's point of view. A good day was all of his students going home unhurt. He was always concerned about a kid running the blade through their hand on the RAS.

His shop had a Powermatic table saw and had a guard over the blade. He supervised cuts with new users and demo'd kickback on thick rip cuts.

He used both himself, I recall him saying "sometimes it's easier to move the work, sometimes it's easier to move the tool".

I have a 10" Craftsman table saw with a 52" Biesenmyer rip fence. I have ripped to the center of a 4 x 8 sheet (have a roller conveyor side feed table for support) though I typically do that cut with a little extra and come back on it to final size. I use a Delta 12" miter saw for 99.9% of my cross cuts.
You get what you pay for, if you want a 10" Craftsman RAS, there are dozens of them on Facebook Marketplace. If you Google "radial arm saw", you'll have a tough time finding one for under $4000.

Bruce

 

[MikeInOr]

Sort of off topic but, I was working at Universal Studios in the late 80’s and they had trailer mounted RAS’s and table saws to use in the back lot. The RAS’s had enough travel to cross cut a 48” sheet of plywood! They all burnt in the 1990 backlot fire.

My 1947 Red Star RAS came on a custom trailer (which I still have). It has about 18" cross cut capacity. The "Long Arm" Rockwell RAS has a 24" cross cut capacity.

 

[MikeInOr]

Not speaking from personal experience, just "feelings" from my dad who was a high school shop teacher. He was not a fan of radial arm saws; though his perspective was from a shop teacher's point of view. A good day was all of his students going home unhurt. He was always concerned about a kid running the blade through their hand on the RAS.

His shop had a Powermatic table saw and had a guard over the blade. He supervised cuts with new users and demo'd kickback on thick rip cuts.

Did he teach in Oregon? My high school shop teacher (Mr. Derousi sp?) described the radial arm saw as a "useless death trap". Having used one since I was about 10 years old I knew differently. No student ever touched the RAS... that I know of. To be fair the school's RAS was a Craftsman. My first RAS was a Craftsman and I found that it did have a tendency to "self feed" and I had to restrain the carriage as much as pull the carriage no matter how well I aligned the saw. My big RAS's have so much mass in their motors / carriages that I have never felt one close to wanting to self feed (regardless of the rake of the blade being used).

I do think that radial arm saws are more dangerous than table saws for those people that have never been taught to use one properly. Especially ripping on a RAS, which I had done many times with my father when I was young. I pushed the sheet stock / board, he pulled. The kickback leaf guard was always set at the proper height. I don't think I have ever seen another RAS with the kickback guard for ripping still with the saw. None of my Ras's have the kickback guard for ripping.

 

[Winegrower]

Well...my opinion was formed many years ago by a comment from an incredibly skilled professional woodworker, think Greene and Greene and beyond: He said, "I have no use for a radial arm saw because I don't have a wood stove".


Get it?

 

[BGHansen]

Did he teach in Oregon? My high school shop teacher (Mr. Derousi sp?) described the radial arm saw as a "useless death trap". Having used one since I was about 10 years old I knew differently. No student ever touched the RAS... that I know of. To be fair the school's RAS was a Craftsman. My first RAS was a Craftsman and I found that it did have a tendency to "self feed" and I had to restrain the carriage as much as pull the carriage no matter how well I aligned the saw. My big RAS's have so much mass in their motors / carriages that I have never felt one close to wanting to self feed (regardless of the rake of the blade being used).

I do think that radial arm saws are more dangerous than table saws for those people that have never been taught to use one properly. Especially ripping on a RAS, which I had done many times with my father when I was young. I pushed the sheet stock / board, he pulled. The kickback leaf guard was always set at the proper height. I don't think I have ever seen another RAS with the kickback guard for ripping still with the saw. None of my Ras's have the kickback guard for ripping.

Dad was Dale Hansen, he taught at Waverly High School in Lansing, MI. You had the advantage of a caring father who showed you how to properly use the ras. Pretty much everything in my shop can cause injury if not used properly.

 

[Firstram]

My 1947 Red Star RAS came on a custom trailer (which I still have). It has about 18" cross cut capacity. The "Long Arm" Rockwell RAS has a 24" cross cut capacity.

I don’t remember the brand, these saws had a 24” table with a 24“ extended tongue about 6” wide to support sheet goods. They were huge!

 

[mickri]

My big issue is lack of space. RAS is set up so that any stock can be pushed out the door of the shed. I could take the RAS off its base and mount it closer to the wall. But then I wouldn't be able to feed stock through the door. Doing this would only gain me a couple of inches. The trade off of not being able to push long stock through the door is a no go for me. I envy you guys with big shops. I will never have that luxury.

The table of the table saw is slightly lower than the bottom of the table on the RAS. If I only have an upper cabinet in place of a full cabinet I might be able to slide the table saw under the end of the RAS. I don't know how much this would help because the table saw motor hangs off the back of the table. Don't know if I could mount the motor under the table saw.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[7milesup]

We just sold my Father-in-Law's RAS from his estate. It went to auction. It sold for $23. That tells you what a RAS is worth. When I was working with my FIL, he bought a Hitachi compound radial arm saw. We never used the RAS after that. Yeah, some guys love RASs, but there are significantly better options out there now.
I have a 12" CMS on a Bosch moveable stand. It is an awesome setup that can be moved around easily and folded for storage. I love it.
I cut plywood on my tablesaw, and also do intricate work on it.

Personally, I would get rid of that RAS, buy a circular saw for cutting down larger sheet goods if you don't want to do it on the tablesaw. If you are doing trim in a house, get a CMS.

T4B Miter Saw Stands | Bosch Professional

T4B

www.boschtools.com

EDIT: That first picture is from my other shop before I built a larger one, but it is the only picture I can find at the moment.