Sliding chop saw, push or pull?

[Luke Pighetti]

Hey all, the shop I'm renting now happens to have an older 10" sliding chop saw built into the bench. It's left over from the previous owner and the landlord rarely uses it. I've used miter saws and sliding miter saws before, but the ones I've used you can lift the blade up like a regular miter saw. This one has a blade height that is only adjustable by a crank instead of just lifting it by hand.

Do I extend the blade forward and make a push cut or do I leave the blade in and make a pull cut? I'm 99% sure I should be making a push cut but I just wanted to be sure.

Luke

[Jerry Thompson]

Push. That would be into the cutting part of the teeth

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Luke, sounds like radial arm saw actually. You just pull them.

[Luke Pighetti]

Yes, it is a radial arm saw. Forgot the name of it. Here's the exact one.

http://www.incra.com/images/macc_incratracks_pic8_zoom.jpg

[J.R. Rutter]

Pull - The blade rotation will help hold the board down and against the fence.

[Leo Graywacz]

If you are using a radial arm saw then you pull.

If you are using a sliding miter saw they are designed to push. If you pull the blade you will have a clean top and tearout on the bottom of the board. Not so much on solid, but a lot on plywood. If you push the blade then you will have almost no tearout on the top and bottom of the board.

It is also determined by what type of hook you have on the blade you are using. If you have a positive hook, which means the teeth are angled with the rotation of the blade. This makes the blade have a more aggressive cut. If you have a blade with a negative hook, the teeth will be set so they are against the rotation of the blade. It makes for a much smoother cut but it takes more effort and HP to get the same cutting power as you would with a positive rake blade.

Some of the guard systems on the miter saws will make it more difficult to pull the blade also.

[Scott Donley]

And just to add to Leo's post, on a RS you "should" have a neutral to negative hook blade to keep it from running at you as you cut.

[Sid Matheny]

Yes always pull on a radial arm saw.

Sid

[J.R. Rutter]

Even though we have a conclusive answer on the radial arm saw, I remembered an incident that I had with a SCMS where the board pinched as tension was released and the whole head jumped up and towards me. It was fast enough and strong enough to jump out of my grip and the blade hit me before my hand even moved. I would be very careful pulling a SCMS because your grip is not counteracting this tendency at all... Maybe it was a freak thing, but I'll just mention it FWIW and provide a visual.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aAga0ICvmkA/S9XTutC4QyI/AAAAAAAAAYU/Qpksq8gtc8Y/s912/DSCF0037-26.JPG

[Luke Pighetti]

I've decided to forgo the radial arm saw as soon as possible and replace it with a bandsaw, especially since the bandsaw is definitely the right tool for this job. But for now much caution will be exercised. Thanks all for the tips.

[Tim Streagle]

There was a free blade guard kit available from Emerson, the manufacturer of most of the saws from Sears (as pictured in previous reply). Check the serial number against the listings to see if yours qualifies. The guard is actually very nice and helps mitigate the queasy feeling in your stomach when using this tool. I just don't like open blades without protection.

Every time I pull a radial arm saw I am always anticipating the saw to climb-cut. It happens more than I like.

[phil harold]

There was a free blade guard kit available from Emerson, the manufacturer of most of the saws from Sears (as pictured in previous reply). Check the serial number against the listings to see if yours qualifies. The guard is actually very nice and helps mitigate the queasy feeling in your stomach when using this tool. I just don't like open blades without protection.

Every time I pull a radial arm saw I am always anticipating the saw to climb-cut. It happens more than I like.
You could get 100 bucks for it if a the free blade guard is not available for your model
http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

[Jim Andrew]

The secret to operating a radial arm saw is to cut slowly. If you jerk it into the cut, it will bog down and come on top of the board. And keep your hands out of the way of the blade.