Tony Roun
06-06-2015, 9:02 PM
Hi All,
I picked up a nice yard sale find today, an old Dewalt MBC 27 radial arm saw, 1/2 HP. Motor sounded great, and the saw slid along the the arm easily in both directions. It felt rigid, but I don't really have a basis for comparison. The table is essentially no good but it does have the hardware to bolt down another table. OK so I have a few questions.
1. Suggestions for a blade? 9" is the max rating, so I was thinking of a 8.5" or a 9" blade. Only planning on crosscutting with the saw. I don't have a great understanding yet on rake angles and such for a RAS. I have read about the Forrest woodworker I blade but was hoping for less expensive options.
2. Is this saw powerful enough to handle dado stacks?
3. I need to build a new top for it. I was reading about Mr. Sawdust book that depicts a sandwich top with some steel reinforcement. Is this needed, or can I get away with a double layer of 3/4" MDF? Any suggestions for top construction would be appreciated. For what it is worth, I have a 5' long cabinet to put on each side of the saw, and to have a continuous top to the whole station. Also looking for guidance on what to have for the back stop and how to know where to position the backstop in terms of depth (front to back).
4. I have read a little about these saw rebuilds. How will I know if I need to replace motor bearings and such? The motor sounds great, but I have not dialed it in to see how it cuts. The blade does spin for quite a while after power is shut off, is this a sign of worn bearings? I'd just assume use it as is, but wasn't sure how to diagnose the bearing condition and what impact worn bearings might have on the performance of the saw?
Sorry for so many questions, just diving in to my first radial arm saw. Thanks!
I picked up a nice yard sale find today, an old Dewalt MBC 27 radial arm saw, 1/2 HP. Motor sounded great, and the saw slid along the the arm easily in both directions. It felt rigid, but I don't really have a basis for comparison. The table is essentially no good but it does have the hardware to bolt down another table. OK so I have a few questions.
1. Suggestions for a blade? 9" is the max rating, so I was thinking of a 8.5" or a 9" blade. Only planning on crosscutting with the saw. I don't have a great understanding yet on rake angles and such for a RAS. I have read about the Forrest woodworker I blade but was hoping for less expensive options.
2. Is this saw powerful enough to handle dado stacks?
3. I need to build a new top for it. I was reading about Mr. Sawdust book that depicts a sandwich top with some steel reinforcement. Is this needed, or can I get away with a double layer of 3/4" MDF? Any suggestions for top construction would be appreciated. For what it is worth, I have a 5' long cabinet to put on each side of the saw, and to have a continuous top to the whole station. Also looking for guidance on what to have for the back stop and how to know where to position the backstop in terms of depth (front to back).
4. I have read a little about these saw rebuilds. How will I know if I need to replace motor bearings and such? The motor sounds great, but I have not dialed it in to see how it cuts. The blade does spin for quite a while after power is shut off, is this a sign of worn bearings? I'd just assume use it as is, but wasn't sure how to diagnose the bearing condition and what impact worn bearings might have on the performance of the saw?
Sorry for so many questions, just diving in to my first radial arm saw. Thanks!