radial arm saw (comparision)

[jeff oldham]

well I have posted on here about a craftsman radial arm saw about making adjustments,,,and after trying everything to get it square ,,which I have had no luck,,i was told that I shouldn't compare all radial arm saws with the craftsman and was told to get either a dewalt or delta Rockwell,,and I have found both,,,the dewalt is model number 790 and at this moment I don't know the model of the Rockwell but it has the swivel turrent in the middle of the arm,,im not a pro by no means but if you have one of these saws could you give me some input on which do you think would be the better saw,,not only user friendly but in making adjustments,,and both are 12 inch where the craftsman was just 10,,all input would be greatly appreciated,,thank you

[David Eisenhauer]

I have owned a (bought new 1981) Dewalt 77 something or other 10" RA saw and have had no real issues with it. It came with an instruction manual that walks the user through the various adjustments to put and keep the saw in square. The first many years I owned it, I used it for all cuts, but have not used it for angle or bevel cuts in many years now. It is way better to use a blade with negative hook to help prevent "climb cutting" and an accidental "climb cut" is probably the most likely cause of the saw getting out of adjustment. By now, I have tons of experience with the saw and have not had to adjust it for square in a few years. It is kind of like my Unifence - I don't remember to check for square all that often because it stays in adjustment. The cutting head rollers and roller-track in the DeWalt required cleaning a few times over the years (especially after using it extensively for cutting framing lumber over an extended period), but the manual describes a fairly easy (no disassembly required) process for that.

[David Eisenhauer]

BTW - I was able to set up dust collection for the DeWalt fairly easily.

[Ken Combs]

Both are good saws. The Turret arm is the better of the two. I saw this one and wish it weren't 1500 miles away! up to 400 miles or so, I'd be on the road.
https://corvallis.craigslist.org/tls/5414694528.html

I had one and sold it when I moved.

That said, there should be no reason why the Craftsman can't be made to work for you. At least, for occasional use and not moved a lot. I had one for years, and made a lot of things with it.

[Charlie Velasquez]

The 790 is an excellent saw. That is the one I upgraded to after owning a 7740 for 30 years. Be that as it may, regardless of brand or model, you will still need to go through the process of tuning the saw.
All moveable parts must move correctly and all locking parts must lock positively.
The table must be flat and parallel to the travel of the arm.
The travel of the saw in the arm must be perpendicular to the fence
The blade must be parallel to the travel of the arm
The blade must be perpendicular to the table in both the vertical position and the horizontal position

There are adjustments for all these and some are sequence specific as a change in one may affect others.

The RAS has received a bum rap from many users because of its finickiness or poor performance or "dangerness". Most of those complaint can probably be attributed to a poor adjustments in one of these areas or the use of an aggressively positive hook angle on the blade.

As you mentioned in a post, you may not be highly experienced with the RAS. Because of its many adjustments and the consequence of a poorly adjusted saw, I suggest you check out some books from your local library and read up some.
While xperience being the best teacher, in this case a bad experience may be detrimental to your health. Better to learn from others' experience for the big stuff and confine your experiential learning to various new techniques. And by all means practice your various cuts in scrap wood so as to be comfortable with the saw before making cuts in good wood.

p.s. You asked about the Dewalt and Delta, both great saws and capable of industrial use. But many of the Craftsmans, once tuned, can provide the typical homeowner with reliable, repeatable, consistent results.

[Ken Combs]

T
All moveable parts must move correctly and all locking parts must lock positively.
The table must be flat and parallel to the travel of the arm.
The travel of the saw in the arm must be perpendicular to the fence
The blade must be parallel to the travel of the arm
The blade must be perpendicular to the table in both the vertical position and the horizontal position

There are adjustments for all these and some are sequence specific as a change in one may affect others.

The RAS has received a bum rap from many users because of its finickiness or poor performance or "dangerness". Most of those complaint can probably be attributed to a poor adjustments in one of these areas or the use of an aggressively positive hook angle on the blade.



Exellent post!

[Kim Gibbens]

"How to Master the Radial Saw" by Wallace Kunkel should be on your short list, it tells you how to bring your saw back up to spec. It was a godsend when I set up my new to me DeWalt 1030 a few years ago.

[Jake Elkins]

well I have posted on here about a craftsman radial arm saw about making adjustments,,,and after trying everything to get it square ,,which I have had no luck,,i was told that I shouldn't compare all radial arm saws with the craftsman and was told to get either a dewalt or delta Rockwell,,and I have found both,,,the dewalt is model number 790 and at this moment I don't know the model of the Rockwell but it has the swivel turrent in the middle of the arm,,im not a pro by no means but if you have one of these saws could you give me some input on which do you think would be the better saw,,not only user friendly but in making adjustments,,and both are 12 inch where the craftsman was just 10,,all input would be greatly appreciated,,thank you

I have both a Red Star RAS (Earlier Delta) and an early 60ish Dewalt. Both are great saws. I have then side-by side, sharing a long table. I keep the dewalt at 90 degrees and never change settings. I use the Turret arm RAS for any miter, dado, odd-cut. Both are easy to adjust. With that said, I probably use the Dewalt more, but the Red Star/Delta just feels like the better saw. This is a great set up, and highly recommended. If they are both decently priced, get both! If I could find another for a reasonable price, I would get a third, elongate my table, and use it for dedicated dado/tenons.

[Matt Day]

I don't know if throwing money at a new saw is the answer. A C'man is just as capable of getting dialed in, but the other saws you mentioned are better at holding the settings, more robust, powerful, better built, heavier, etc.

If you can't get a C'man dialed in its probably not the saw.

I owned a craftsman, 7790, now a turret arm Dellta.