New to me RAS

[Bruce Volden]

Free tools are always nice. Seems to run strong. Very clean for a 60's/70's machine.
Any recommendations for a nice blade? Also what is the lever on the front right for?
Any input appreciated!

Bruce

[Tom M King]

Looks like a head swivel lock for changing it to a rip saw. I'd leave it crosscut all the time.

edited to ad: duh..missed the front right part.

[Jim Davenport]

The lever in the front is to unlock the arm to cut miters, and angles.
I recommend the book:The magic of your radial arm saw
by R. J. De Cristoforo (http://www.amazon.com/R.-J.-De-Cristoforo/e/B001HD3CYU/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1)

From Amazon.

[Rich Riddle]

Get a blade specifically made for use with radial arm/sliding miter saws. It needs to have a negative hook.

[Ray Newman]

Heed Rich Riddle's and Jim Davenport's advice. About 35 years ago, I purchased a Sears radial arm saw and had to tinker with the adjustments to get it cut square. You will probably need to do the same with the saw you have. From what I recall, it was a tedious job due to the number of adjustments required.

Have no idea as to where you would find the owner's manual if it was not with the saw. You might look here: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=252&tab=3

Once set up properly it did work well, despite the fact that I had to be careful returning the arm to 90 degrees after cutting a miter. If memory serves me, the locking pin on the arm had a tendency to over ride the 90 degree detent by a 1-2 degrees. Ripping was scary, just 'nevva' felt comfortable doing a rip cut with it. As others posted, I do believe that the radial arm is best suited for cross cuts. I have seen very experienced radial arm saw operators do some amazing work with one, but they had years of experience running a radial arm and never worked with a table saw. Good luck with it and hope it is a good saw for your use.

[Todd Burch]

Your table/fence boards aren't set up right. You have two flat pieces of MDF and that piece of wood on edge. The piece of wood that is on edge should be placed between the two pieces of MDF. When you install a blade, you'll see that having the fence (the piece of wood on edge) moved up and set between the two pieces of MDF, provides a rear "gutter" area for the blade to be in, out of the way of positioning your stock on the table.

That's not a professional grade saw, but it looks to be in good shape.

Todd

[Bruce Volden]

I brought it home from a local business which had it stored on top of a cooler. They wanted it gone.
I'm going to use it for construction grade stuff--2 X's and what not. My little miter saw doesn't cut 5 1/2" wide boards (unless I stack a couple). I have a remodeling project coming up in July so I'll see how it works for that.

Todd, what! it's not professional grade??? Thanks for the table layout advice!!

Bruce

[joe maday]

The only difference between the "Pro" and the "Home" 10" versions is the HP..the pro was 3 or 3 1/2 hp and 220v where the other was 2 1/2 hp 110v. Other than that the saws were identical (also the pro was painted black). the boards/fence in the photos is set for wide rip cuts. or "push" cuts to increase the cross cut capacity. moving the fence inwards give a place for the blade s to sit without protruding into the cutting area. get the book by R. J. De Cristoforo (http://www.amazon.com/R.-J.-De-Cristoforo/e/B001HD3CYU/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1) is excellent and yes a negative rake blade is necessary to keep all your fingers!