Gloat or Boat Anchor

[Pete Janke]

This very lightly used Craftsman Model #113.197150 Radial Arm Saw, with mobile base, ended up at my house last night. It had been stored for years. My brother got it for free and gave it to my Dad. Dad decided he didn't have room and gave it to me. Cuts great and came with a couple new blades. I need to build a fence. Downloaded the manual for it today.

[Rick Potter]

Definite gloat. Search this site for RAS postings. It will keep you occupied for a long time. First thing is to get rid of the blade that is on it, that baby will really try to self feed.

Rick Potter

[Denny Rice]

I would put it in my shop. I know a lot of people don't like a RAS but I find them very handy when creating half lap joints or dados. I like cutting dados and being able to see the line all at the same time. You can't do this on a table saw. I mounted mine inside a base cabinet that I had left over from kitchen remodel. I hate the cheap bases Sears mounts these and other saws to, there is a lot of open space under the saw that could be used for storage if the saw was moved to a cabinet.

[John Bailey]

Not sure about gloat, but not a boat anchor. I had one for about 20 years and it did everything I asked of it. The only real problem I had was keeping it in adjustment.

Rick's comment about a different blade is a good comment. The Craftsman RAS needs a negative hook blade. It doesn't seem to make much difference on my DeWalt RAS, but it did on the Craftsman I had.

Another good idea is to use a smaller blade on it. You don't need a 10" blade for most cuts and a smaller blade provides a bit more power. I run an 8" blade on my 10" DeWalt and rarely have to put a 10" blade on.

[Jim Matthews]

This is perhaps the most dangerous tool in a woodshop, after 2pm.

It was free, and that's good.
Unless you're clamping down the piece to be cut off, and keeping your free hand in your back pocket - watch the cut line closely.

While useful, these were subject to numerous recalls over the years due to the severity and frequency of kickback sending offcuts flying and the injuries that resulted.
http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

[Jim Tabor]

Pete,
Since it was free you can afford to buy a good radial arm blade with negative tooth angle, and maybe save some fingers. You will not believe how fast the blade that’s now on the saw will “self feed” across a board.

[Jim Andrew]

Someone posted a link to a company doing a recall on Cman radial arm saws. Mine was a model they were recalling. I called, they sent a box with a shipping label, and I put the motor off my saw in it, and they sent me 100$. Was a great deal to me. I had bought the saw new back in the 70's, and paid 139$. It was the Emerson tool company.

[Cary Falk]

Run. I don't think that was one of the good ones. I would look into the recall also. If you want a RAS, look into a DeWalt, Delta, RedStar.

[Joseph Tarantino]

... and keeping your free hand in your back pocket.......

i'm trying to imagine under what circumstances one would be using a RAS and have a "free" hand that isn't either securing the work piece or holding onto the saw carriage?

to the OP, that isn't one of the better regarded c-man RASs. those were the 60s and early 70s versions with CI columns, column supports and overhead arms. however, if that one is working for you, congrats and enjoy. i have one (circa '65) in my shop and it can crosscut 15+" and i wouldn't be without it. also great for dadoes. just engage the work piece slowly and carefully as the cutters (and blades with positive hook angles) on a dado blade help accelerate the movement of the saw from the fence towards the operator if the operator isn't paying attention.

[Myk Rian]

]The fence is nothing more than a stick of 3/4" scrap that goes between the table boards where indicated.
If you don't know much about these machines, I STRONGLY recommend you read up on them before using it.
When they bite you, they bite big time.

[Erik Christensen]

change the blade as others have said - they tend to not hold alignment as well as other RAS but I used mine for a 90 chop station for 25 years before I upgraded to a 12" delta - did what i wanted and with the right blade was a decent tool

[Pete Janke]

Thank you for all the replies. I checked the recall thread and have the retrofit safety parts on the way. Scary stuff. If/when the parts arrive, I'll install them and decide whether I am keeping the saw. My plan was to use it for dado cuts.

[Charlie Velasquez]

This saw does qualify for the recall.
When you contact Emerson they will send you a new table, fence, two back boards and a new blade guard.
The recall was because the blade did not have a lower guard. Actually many people remove this part of the guard anyway, so it was not a big deal.


This saw will do a credible job when it has been tightened and aligned correctly.


But, looking at your picture demonstrates why the saw had such a bad reputation.
The blade has a very aggressive profile. As others have mentioned, a less aggressive hook angle is preferred.
The table looks as if it has been replaced. It was done incorrectly. It should have a front table of about 18”, the fence, and two back boards.


All of this was in the owner’s manual.
But, as seems to be the case with many do-it-yourselfers the attitude of, “Manual?... I don’t need no stinking manual!” is alive and well.


This suggests that many of the other little details of the proper set-up may also have been short-changed; things like checking for table flatness, table parallelism to the movement of the arm, fence exactly 90* to the travel of the carriage, blade perpendicular to the table, vertical heel and toe, horizontal heel and toe, making sure detents are accurate . . .


Any one of these things could cause an otherwise good tool to be an accident waiting to happen.


Get a couple of books, I strongly recommend “Fine Tuning the Radial Arm Saw” by Jon Eakes.
If you can’t find a copy at your local library or woodworking club, you can order it from his website as a PDF. The best $10 you will spend.


Next, don’t install the new front table that will come with your safety kit. The table is where you will register all your work and the reference point when making all your alignments, so it needs to be perfect. Instead, build a dead flat reinforced table. A popular one is the Mr. Sawdust table, but other designs are out there including a torsion box concept and a unistrut reinforced table. Cover it with a sacrificial top (I use ½” ply attached with countersunk brass screws) and you will be confident in its accuracy and never have to worry about it again.


Did I mention you need to make all the proper adjustments? It is important. Not only do you need to address each setting, but you need to do them in the correct order as some settings can affect others. The Jon Eakes book will walk you through each step.


With a well tuned saw and knowledge gained from reading up on its use, the RAS will be as valuable and as safe as any tool in your shop.

[Bill Geibe]

I have the same or similar saw, bought new in the late 80's. I use it all the time for crosscutting. I also taught shop for 36 years and we always had RAS's in the wood shops. We had a pretty good safety record with them - certainly better than with the table saws. Just never have your fingers near where the blade will go. We painted the table orange on several inches of either side of the blade travel and told the kids never to have any parts of their bodies on the orange line. Also, do as the guys above said and get yourself a good, negative hook angle blade. I have a Freud LU91R on mine and it does great.

I put the recall guard on mine years ago. The biggest problem I had with the saw was that the lithium grease that the factory used eventually turned into glue and the lock pins for bevel, etc., wouldn't release. I cleaned and re-lubed things when I put the new guard on.

If you want to use the saw for dado's, that's probably a good plan - a lot of guys do that. I generally use my TS for dado's but sometimes use the RAS. Avoid ripping with it unless your REALLY know what you are doing. That's where guys run into problems. I only do crosscuts and angles.

Bill

[Rick Vincent]

I have one of these and I got in touch with sears and gave the serial # and a week later I had a new blade guard and top and fence

[Matt Day]

I used to have a similar one (now have a dewalt). I couldn't keep it aligned, so if I were you I'd only use it for rough cuts.

[Pete Janke]

Thanks to all who posted. I checked into the recall and received the new guard, table, and an impressive instruction manual for installing them. I bought a 5* negative hook blade and tuned up the saw. Several of the earlier posts scared the heck out of me. I watched a few videos on RAS use and read the operating instructions. I have been making 90* cuts with the saw. It works great. If I keep it, which is debatable due to lack of room, I'll use it for 90* cuts and dados.