Need your help chosing

[Jim Young]

This has been asked before on the Pond but this time I will try with a poll. SCMS or RAS.

I'm torn which to get. On the one hand I would like to have the ability to make dados(RAS) and on the other I "hear" that SCMS's are more accurate.

My intentions for use are that the machine will be stationary and I rarely use non 90deg cuts. If I go with the RAS I will eventually buy a CMS for trim work.

[Steve Clardy]

If you go with a dual 12" compound slider, say a dewalt dw708, you can do anything with it except dadoes that you can do with a radial arm saw. Use your table saw for the dadoes. Steve

[RJ Schuff]

Hands down...SCMS. I have a Makita miter saw that is not a sliding one. I love it. Very accurate. If you need the added depth of cut, go with the sliding version.

RJ

[Bob Boake]

I have a makita cms (not a slider) used a lot for trim work. several years ago I purchased a delta 10" deluxe radial arm saw. Had a decent blade & a mobile base. Purchased it used for $275. I didn't have a reason for buying other than I thought it was a good deal. Three years later I still had not used it and sold it to a buddy who says it is the most usefull tool in his shop.

My take on the situation is that I had developed methods of work with the tools that I had and between the CMS and TS you can accomplish most any cut. My buddy had a lot of experience on the RAS and he treated it like an old friend. He prefers it in many ways to using his table saw.

That said, let me add that the SCMS is a tool innovation success story. Accurate, portable, powerfull and selling like mad. This tool has really cut into the ras market. Just take a look at a recent tool catalog. They barely mention a RAS.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not sure I would do it that way again. Accuracy is not its strong suit. Dadoes are easier cut on a TS. I've though t of selling mine and use the space for something else.

[John Miliunas]

I have both, a RAS and CMS (non-slider). I have the RAS simply because the price was right: Free! I do use it and have used it for, like you mentioned, dado's and half-lap joints. The main caveat being, as others have said, accuracy is not its strong point. By the same token, you will find few high-end WW's using either the RAS or the SCMS for real accurate work, either! Most will use their TS for final cut miters and routers for the dado duty. Also, I think you sort of answered your own question. You indicate that you would probably end up with a CMS somewhere down the road. My take on it would be to get that (or the SCMS) first, outfit yourself to make dado's with your TS and router and then see if you even have a need for a RAS. For the price of a good RAS, you could probably substitute any number of other tools! Just my $00.02. Happy shopping. :cool:

[Stan Smith]

I have never had an ras nor thought that I needed one. I have the makita scms 1013 and wish that I had bought it years ago. I'm not sure what people mean when they say a scms doesn't make accurate cuts. My cuts are right on and I can get more accurate cross cuts on it than my table saw. Make dados with your ts or router. My $0.03.

[robertfsmith]

I got the Bosch 10" SCMS, I love it. I haven't used a RAS since high school shop. The only advantage that I see with the RAS is that you can cut wider boards. As far as dados, I agree with the others....Use a table saw.

I would go with a 10" or 12" SCMS, it is so versitile and makes things go so much easier.

[Jim DeLaney]

I had both for a while... Craftsman RAS (1970's vintage) and Hitachi CF8_ SCMS.

After about a year, I realized that I had not used the RAS (EVER!) since getting the SCMS. The only useful purpose it was serving was as a 'coffee cup holder' (and an extra flat surface for junk collection).

So, I sold the RAS, and I've never missed it. Dados on the table saw are just as easy, and there's always the router, too.

[Jim Izat]

I have a craftsman RAS that's taking up valuble storage space right now. But I use a CMS (Dewalt double bevel 12") for rough dimensioning. That having been said you can buy an accurate RAS if that's what you want. You can get them here:

<b><a href="http://www.originalsaw.com/"> Original Saw Company</a></b>

They're pricy but accurate and built to last forever.

Jim Izat

[Bill MacLachlan]

I inherited an old Sear RAS and hated it. I never felt safe with it and accuracy was always an issue. I gave to family memeber who gutted and repaired it and I bought a Delta 12" CMS. I use it all the time and accuacy is no longer an issue. I wanted the SCMS but could not convince my wife to let me cut a hole in the family wall so I could fit into the shop!!

[Ted Shrader]

Originally posted by Jim Young
. . . . My intentions for use are that the machine will be stationary and I rarely use non 90deg cuts. If I go with the RAS I will eventually buy a CMS for trim work.

Jim -

My Delta RAS (bought before the days of MS, CMS or even SCMS) now sits pretty much unused in the corner. I use it only for 90° cuts that are rough anyway. I use the CMS (not even a slider) for most all of the cuts that are not 90°. I use a cut off sled on the TS for 90° cuts.

Dados ..... sometimes the TS, sometimes with a router and an edge guide - depends. Hardly ever with the RAS.

Good luck in your decision,
Ted

[Phil Phelps]

...Put your money in the SCMS and pick up a ras from someone that is upgrading. I personally like many things of the ras, but the speed and accuracy of the SCMS is a real plus.

[Keith Hall]

You may also want to consider the "portability" of the SCMS. Some may question the real portibility of a 12" saw, but to be able to transport the saw to another location for trim work or other uses makes a SCMS a better choice. Keith

[Ron Taylor]

Now from the other camp...

I've used my 10" Craftsman RAS for over 20 years. Never owned a TS and just recently acquired a 12" DeWalt CMS.

For the person that said you could do anything with a SCMS that you can do with a RAS, I don't think so. I do long rips on boards and sheet stock, long or short dados and rabbets, compound miter cuts... pretty much anything imaginable. Raised panel doors are petty common for me, and I do make quite a bit of my own trim, all on the trusty RAS. Yes, I mill the raised panels on the RAS. Mitered Spline joints, T'nG, saddle joints, double lap, and butt joints are possible with the RAS.

Having said that, I have to admit that the RAS, especially my old Craftsman is not infinitely accurate. Therefore, I've never been able to do what most here would consider extremely high quality work, but with a little care in setup, and a good sharp blade, I can come close.

I did make a Classic Rocking Horse out of Oak with Pocobolo inlay bridle. It won first place at a craft show and sold for $500. That was in 1988.

The biggest volume of my work has been in Face-Frame cabinets. I rip all of the sheet stock and the rails and stiles for the face frames. I have ripped full sheets of 3/4" ply, but usually rough it with a cs, then true it up on the RAS. I do all of the dados and rabbets for the boxes, and I've never had a door configuration that I wanted to do that I couldn't.

If all I wanted to do was cabinet grade work, I'd probably never own a TS or a CSMS. But I aspire to put some pics on the forum for all to "OOOH" and "Ahhhh" about, so I'm in the market for a good TS and a shaper.

I wouldn't begin to advise someone on buying a RAS instead of a TS, but if I didn't have a TS and was choosing between a RAS and a CSMS, I'd buy the RAS in a heartbeat.

Once my shop is finished, the RAS will have a permanent home in a saddle box, built into a long bench for ripping.

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Well, I don't have a sliding compound miter saw- just a simple Makita 10" chop saw.

But I do have a MASSIVE Walker Turner 12" ras that I restored. I really like it, but I have a particular penchant for old woodworking machinery.

I use it as my main crosscut tool. I often work with pretty large timbers. I rarely move it off of 90 degrees, but this one actually does have accurate detents, especially if you always use one side of the slop in the detent.

Get a SCMS, and don't worry about it. If you want a RAS, I'd say hold out for an industrial model OR an OLD one. Forget most of the craftsman RAS unless they are from the 50's or older.

[Von Bickley]

Jim,

No contest, I would get the SCMS and cut my dados with the table saw or router.
I personaly know of some job sites where the RAS is not allowed due to safety concerns.

[Steve Clardy]

that a SCMS will do anything that a RAS will do except Dadoes. When I said that, keep in mind that I have a RAS, and all it does is rough cutoffs. So, in my thinking I do not rip with it, [as I think it is unsafe,] I do not use it for raised panels, I use my shaper, and I do not put a flex shaft on the adaptor to run whiz ma gigs on the end of it. I do not use it for angle cuts, as it hasn't been turned in so long that the miter lock is froze.So, I guess what I stated is not true. But, hands down, I will use my 12" slider before I will use the RAS. One of these days, it will be used as a boat anchor. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: My 2 cents. Steve

[jack duren]

i guess im in the ras boat. just moved up from a 10" delta to the 12". other than dadoes, cutting drawer stock is a plus. the 10" didnt give the accuracy that the 12" can for angles,etc. considering raised panels its great for cutting stock to length for glue ups, even rough sawn lumber, cabinet upper shelving,etc. in my opinion a slider wont hold up in the long run in a production setting.

now considering if you have a sufficient miter box. a RAS i could see in the picture. but if you have neither and production is not an issue, a slider will give you years of service. which ever suits your needs get a "good" one....jack