New toy - WT 1100 radial arm saw

[Dennis Nagle]

I added to my shop tools yesterday. I bought a Walker-Turner RA1100 radial arm saw.

Well, I paid the guy for it, but have to go back in a couple weeks to pick it up. It is sitting in his field and is all there without a base. For the most part, all rust but light and easy to refirb.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Congrats Dennis! I have one of those sitting in a shed, got it for $25 on an auction, so thought I better bring it home. One of these days I will either get it running or pass it on to someone. I am clueless as to why WT did the sliding mechanism like they did on these. Just looking at it, it looks like you better have a manual to understand what all it is supposed to do. My Dewalt GE is so simple compared to the WT, maybe you can educate me as to some of the features?

[david brum]

That is a gloriously complicated machine. It will be fun to see photos of your rebuild. Did you get the base?

[HANK METZ]

Walker Turner is legendary for their bandsaws, just about every furniture factory in the last century had a fleet of them, but I never got the radial saw design as being better, only different. The Comet (http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/images/11259-A.jpg) was the same design, so I suppose it was a way around DeWalts patents, unfortunately it negates one of the major assets of a fixed arm design: backing it up to a wall and using it.

- Beachside Hank
Improvise, adapt, overcome; the essence of true craftsmanship.

[Dennis Nagle]

I am looking forward to tearing into this saw. The issue of needing room behind it, is a real issue in my very small shop but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. The base is made out of very heavy timbers. I wish I had the stock WT base though.