"The Great Do-It-Yourself Era"

I finally read that link and found it quite interesting. I was amazed at how many and fast those old saws sold, especially since that must have been a LOT of money back then.

I still have my Craftsman RAS in the shop. Bought it new in the 70's and it still works fine, although it doesn't get much use anymore. My table saw, circular saw and sliding cross cut saw get more use. Mostly the table saw.

I've had kickbacks with the RAS and the table saw. The first time with the RAS was a real wake up call. I was ripping a 2" x 4" and the kicked piece went through the door behind me and just stuck out of it like a spear. After that time I never ripped another board with the kickback paul engaged and set right. That saved me on numerous occassions. The table saw kick back wasn't as severe but I got that one in the gut and that hurt for a few days. I have since learned better / safer ways of using the TS.

I think the whole DIY attitude stems from 2 main things; 1) your upbringing and 2) neccessity. My father didn't have money to spare when we were young and he did everything himself. I still remember him building a plywood boat in out basement because he couldn't afford to buy one and he loved fishing. He taught me a lot and I learned a lot from watching him. HE instilled that DIY, "can do" attitude in me. I have passed that on to my children and now trying to instill it in my grandchildren.
 
My father was the same way, If you can do it yourself (DIY) then you do not have to go without. At the same time Barter system works wonders. I will do this for you if you do that for me, and teach me how to do it. That way you could work at doing it the next time. By the time I was in my teens I was overhauling lawn mowers, Cushman scotters etc some to use others to sell or trade. Managed to get enough done to purchase my first car when I was 14. (and get driven around by older sisters who did not learn the lessons so did not have a car)
 
The RAS is OK for a cross cut but deadly when ripping:eek:. Never owned one, but did use one when making custom picture frames through college. When ripping, that saw would shout out the molding like a spear! The adjacent wall was full of holes from the saw shooting out moldings!

I used a RAS for years, from my age of 17 to 30. I feared it when ripping, but it never bit me. I had to respect it. Never did it shoot out a piece. I lost that saw in storage (at a friends), my friend gave it to someone. Later I picked up a lesser saw. I didn't use it. I could not get it to stay locked accurately enough for my liking.

Today it's a tablesaw, bandsaw, router in a table, jointer, planer, drill press, hand held routers (3), 6x48 belt sander , sliding miter saw... But I made more (younger) with that RAS, than I have with my current lot.
 
I've used a RAS for over 55 years. Dad let an eleven year old use it. I still have it. I can still order ten beer, just can't drink them now. I've even been the sawyer on big construction jobs. some comments:

The DeWalts and Rockwells can be very accurate, more accurate than your SCMS , except maybe the Festool ones, they look like quality.
The Craftsman ones are the ones that gave RAS a bad name for accuracy.
The home shop ones are underpowered and are more dangerous than the big ones, they bog and catch. Blade selection is very important.
They have many adjustments that have to be right. Much more than my Unisaw.

Follow the 12 / 10 rule, keep your fingers 12" away so you can keep ten fingers. You don't stand in front of bullets, why would you stand in front of ripped wood, the effects are the same.
 
Interesting read, thanks Daryl
My high school shop had a radial arm saw, the teacher warned us it was extremely dangerous, more so than the table saw. None the less we were taught how to use it, even ripping, as there was only one table saw and cutting time was a premium. I remember at first being pretty scared using it but eventually the fear turned into respect and I got very good at using it. However, the first saw I purchased (at age 17) was a table saw as I felt (and still do) they are more versatile. Years later, I had a 16" 5 hp DeWalt that was a real beast, I used mainly for cutting hardwood stock to length but also for some plywood casework as it had a 30" cross cut. Eventually got rid of it to make room for 2 Martin sliding table saws with 16" blades and 9 hp motors.
Now I as I set up my "dream shop" I am considering getting a RAS as I only have a regular table saw, no sliding table. I think they still can have a valuable place in the shop.
 
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It was a very interesting read. I love behind the scenes looks but it also pointed out how I've never seen a take over by especially a big Corp improve anything. It's always deteriorated where quality is sacrificed to greed and mass production. It would seem there is a world of difference between the original DeWalt and present day.

I also appreciate the author's enthusiasm for the product and his deep knowledge of the original design. Made me cruise the local CL to see if any were around and sure enough there were at hugely differering prices.

All I've ever been around is modern DeWalt tools and would prefer a Makita over them. Most of my exposure was hand drills and angle grinders as those were what we were issued in the shop. I used my own Makita drill and grinder because just with normal use the DeWalts would die. There were stacks of dead DeWalts that just got tossed because you couldn't access the brushes without disassembly. I think they knew this and did that on purpose. When it was slow I would go through the stack and rescue about 80-90% of them. Sadly Makita has gone this route too.
 
The first DeWalt portable power tools were nothing more than B&D Industrial in yellow cases instead of black. The quality of B&D Industrial was good for home shop use but they didn't last worth a darn in shop use. Milwaukee was the brand the shop preferred, much more cost effective. Now, Milwaukee is Chinese and DeWalt is Mexican.
 
Yea my father had an old Milwaukee gear reduction 1/2 inch drill. drilling into concrete and caught a rebar. Had the trigger lock on. That thing spun and broke the 2x4s and kept going until it unplugged. He said that you turned loose as soon as you felt a snag. That thing was almost unstopable . Prob Is it diapeared before I could get it after he passed.
 
My Craftsman RAS is still doing the job for me. It is about 50 years old, and still in nice condition. Radial arm saws are lots more dangerous than a table saw used correctly, but both are relatively safe used correctly. Table saws are also highly dangerous used incorrectly, just in different ways. And, of course, all saws are dangerous, even a hand saw, if used incorrectly. All the machines in my shop have high levels of danger inherently. Danger can be mitigated by being truly careful when using them -- no shortcuts, always wide awake, and paying full attention to what we are doing. If something seems dicey, then it probably is. Address the issue immediately and make it safer. I am almost always the only one in my shop when working, and no one in the house, either. If I get hurt bad, it could well be the last time. Work carefully with machines like it matters -- it really does!

I still have my Craftsman radial arm saw , bought 40 yrs back. Built our first kitchen cabinets with it, couldn't afford to buy custom made ones . I have used it as a horizontal bore when doweling cabinet frames together, once used it with a molding head to make trim ( an experience I won't repeat), used it as a drum sander ,used it for years in my construction business and still use it to rough cut stock for projects. It does take a lot of floor space, but I have a sentimental attachment to it , so it remains. Is it dangerous? yes as all power operated tools can be if you're careless when operating them. Never be in such a hurry that you ignore safety. Also if tired or not fully concentrating on the task at hand , walkaway from it, there's always tomorrow.
 
Back to the book under discussion, it is well worth the price. It highlights how to use a RAS properly and also the vast number of cuts that you can make.
I was given an old DeWalt that, after bearing replacement and building a proper table, is a joy to use.
It is dead accurate and like all machinery with moving cutting thingies requires some thought and care to avoid injury. Ripping is safe as long as you follow the simple rules. Table saws have scared me more than this thing, esp moving larger pieces of wood through the blade.

The best advice is to pick a proper blade, and pick one that is under size for the saw. E.g. I have an 8" blade on my 9" saw. That mostly eliminates the under powered complaints. I bought a Freud LU83R, the best ones are made specifically by Forrest but of course pricier.

As to quality of the machines, they declined over the years as American manufacturers did exactly what everyone accuses the Chinese of doing, cutting corners. I strongly suspect that the Chinese learned that skill from the Americans :). Thankfully my RAS is from the period before cost and quality cutting set in.
 
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