Old Craftsman RAS

[Marc Prudhomme]

Hi all,
I purchased an old craftsman RAS model # 113.23100(late 70's)from my neighbor for $50.I heard that craftsman had a free refurbish kit with a blade guard and table on some of the older models...when I punched in my model number it said that there was no kit for this model but I could ship them the motor and blade and they wil cut me a check for $100.I guess its their attempt at getting these saws off the face of the planet
Should I keep the saw and set it up ? Is it to dangerous to even bother with?..I was going to take it apart,clean it and replace any old parts that show wear and set it up as a dedicted cross cut saw. I was thinking of setting it up on the long wall my shop and maybe setting up a very long fence so I can turn the blade and maybe do some plywood ripping.
Any thoughts,
Marc

[Cary Falk]

I would send it in and take the extra money and buy a DeWalt Round Arm RAS if you really want one. A lot of the Craftsman Saws have a reputation of not keeping their settings.

[Marc Prudhomme]

It would be sweet if I could find one of those to rebuild...very sturdy well built machine..Ive seen many pictures of these units nicely restored

I would send it in and take the extra money and buy a DeWalt Round Arm RAS if you really want one. A lot of the Craftsman Saws have a reputation of not keeping their settings.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I'm in the "keep it school." The only thing missing is a blade guard. Very few saws from this era came with guards. With a little creativity, you could build a guard using polycarbonate. If you look at the guard, you will see that a pivot hole is already made into front of guard. Try to find someone who has a Delta with the leaf guard for ideas. As for ripping plywood, I think you would be better off using a circular saw and guide.

[Jim Andrew]

I bought a new RAS from Sears in about 1976. The only plus for the thing was the switch location, you could flip the switch with your thumb while you had hold of the handle on the saw.
How did you get the offer on the saw? Still have mine, would not mind unloading it for 100$. Tried it as a cut off saw, but took up too much room. Now my SCMS sits where the RAS did.

[Stephen Cherry]

I just picked up a bridgewood radial arm saw, which is a maggi 640 junior, for a couple of hundred dollars. I did not get a great deal, that's just what they go for. Fleabay just had one close for about 200 also. Cast iron arm with steel runners and 8 bearings. Crosscuts over 24 inches. Not 50 years old either. The old dewalts might have been good years ago, but the wiring does not last forever.

My opinion is that if you want to put the time and effort into the setup for the saw, and you can buy a 2800 dollar saw for 200 dollars (minus your 100 from sears), why not start with a machine that is more stable? I plan to mainly crosscut and dado.

[Cary Falk]

I bought a new RAS from Sears in about 1976. The only plus for the thing was the switch location, you could flip the switch with your thumb while you had hold of the handle on the saw.
How did you get the offer on the saw? Still have mine, would not mind unloading it for 100$. Tried it as a cut off saw, but took up too much room. Now my SCMS sits where the RAS did.
http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

[Joseph Tarantino]

keep it. i have one from the mid 60s and it's dead on accurate for crosscuts. i don't move it or the support arm, as they don't like a lot of movement around the shop. got mine from a neighbor for free, invested $50 in parts and it's been golden ever since. it didn't qualify for a refurb kit, but i phonied up a model number and used the new table on my older saw. crosscuts 16" 1X material.

[Jim Andrew]

My saw is the exact same number. Typed the number in and it said there is no kit available and to call the phone #800 511 2628 to order a box for the option of turning in your saw for 100$. Cool! I paid 129$ for the thing years ago.

[Kevin Rossi]

got the refub kit installed on mine just a couple of weeks ago. note that they said it would take 6-8 weeks for the parts and i got them in like 3-4 weeks

[Steve Rost]

I had a Sears RAS back in the 70's. Most dangerous tool in the shop. Back then they advertised it as a multi tool, dado, rip, pin router, and miter/crosscut saw. A single use tool will usually out perform a multi-use tool. If you only use to as a cross cut you should be ok. Boards need to be flat. If twisted or bowed it will try to climb cut or bind the blade. The carrage is not strong. My opinion, spend your hard earned money on a heaver unit. A saw is not the place to cut corners, No pun intended.