vintage Dewalt 925 radial arm saw

[Bill Keehn]

This restored 1961 radial arm saw is on craigslist for $350. Anyone familiar with this model? It looks much nicer than the old craftsman saws I've seen there, so maybe I should snatch it up.

Do I need one of these? :) I already have a Sawstop and a sliding compound miter saw. How can I justify this to LOML?

[Bob Slater]

You can justify it because:
!) It is very Pretty
2) It is very well made
3) iT could be very usefull
4) It is made in the USA
5 )They don't...won't make em like that again.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Yes you do need it. I have a Craftsman at home in the shop and love it. I would love to have a DW as they are much better saws. Justification is another trick, but if you really want something and it doesn't hurt the budget, then she will no doubt be fine with you improving your shop.

I couldn't live without my RAS...I use it almost everytime I am in the shop. I never do anything but crosscut on it, so I am never in any danger using it. I do all 45's and dados on teh TS or SCMS.

I say snag it....it is priced very nicely. I sold a DW that had not been restored for $450 in 2004.

[John Ricci]

I have a 925H, all original no restoration and it is a nice enough saw although a bit underpowered...and it was free:cool: The pic shows it before a cleanup and the addition of a Forrest WW1 blade and a dedicated shopvac on the dust chute. The cuts are still quite accurate although it could use a bit of attention in the arm bearings soon. The resto on the one you are considering is nice but the $350 seems a bit steep for what it is. I have seen them going for $100~$200 depending on condition. My .02Cdn.

J.R.

[Bill Keehn]

is that $100-$200 Cdn too? :)

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Bill,

I have a RAS and like it a lot. They're most useful for crosscuts and dadoing. It will have significantly greater crosscut capacity than your SMS, and properly set up can be very accurate. I set mine for a 90 cut and leave it there.

They're great for cutting dados as the blade is not buried in the stock and you can see exactly where you're cutting.

It's one of my favorite tools but do you need one, no.

[John Ricci]

is that $100-$200 Cdn too? :)

Bill, it has been a while since I have looked but IIRC it was a mix of Cdn/US offerings. Some appeared to be really rough and others were pretty sweet from the pics. I would have to correct my earlier estimate on the prices because I think that I saw a couple as high as $250 not too long ago. As I said, the resto looks nice but like any hobby, you never get your money back:( Make the seller an offer you feel comfortable with and see what the response is. The worst he can say is no. It sounds like you have already covered all the ground that the Dewalt would with what you have as have I and in my case it is one of those "nice for the havin'" tools but to be honest it sees little use compared to other machines that I have. It is a handy saw for crosscuts but for dado use I go to my TS (General 650R) and the mitre saw covers everything else that the RAS would. My biggest beef with the 925 is the power which I feel is lacking ( I have had it bog down in 3/4 oak) even with a premium blade and the saw is wired for 240v. Like Bob said, they don't/won't make them like the old ones again so if you are as hardcore a tool junkie as I am then get yourself one and enjoy.:D

J.R.

[Chip Lindley]

*Underpowered* sucks! My old '77 10" Craftsman was set up nicely, but with only 3/4hp it *complained* in 4/4 oak. That is why I kept looking til I found a 1.5hp 12" Rockwell/Delta.....and a 7-1/2hp 18" Rockwell !! Then I stopped Looking!

If you have to ASK if you NEED that DeWalt, you probably Don't!

[Jim Kountz]

Personally I can live without a RAS. That being said the one you're looking at is a pretty nice one and of course made way better than todays offerings. If you feel you need one this would be a good one to have imho.

[Fred Hargis]

That saw is considered one of the desirable models....the other stuff is more a personal choice. I know I'm not real well cued on pricing, but that strikes me as the upper limit of what I would consider, but that's just me.

[Bill Keehn]

It seems like every time I go to a hardwood lumber distributor there is always some great big ancient RAS that clearly still gets a lot of use. If I ask them to cut a board in half, I know it's the saw they'll use.

Clearly the width of the cut is greater than my SMS and the depth of cut is better than my 10" cabinet saw. It seems like dealing with wide thick boards is the best reason to own one, but not if it's underpowered.

I think I'm going to let this one pass. At least until I move out of my 2 car garage shop and into something bigger.