Craftsman RAS Table Dimensions

[Bill Yacey]

I just purchased a Craftsman 113.23102C radial arm saw, but the table was missing, Does anyone have dimensions for the table pieces?

The saw isn't in bad shape overall; it had a bit of arbor runout, around .010" , so I replaced the bearings and turned the blade bottoming nut on the lathe, and trued up the blade stabilizer washers. Total runout 4 inches out from center is now .002 inches.

Everything else on the saw appears that it led an easy life; bearings are all tight and smooth. The only thing is someone "farmer spliced" the AC line cord, which was wired for 240V with an #18 AWG power cord. I replaced it with an 8 foot piece of #12 AWG, spliced it with solder, thick wall shrink tubing, and fit a 20A twist lock plug. I left it wired 240V as my tablesaw is wired for the same, and I have twist lock outlets handy in the shop.

[Jim Allen]

Hi Bill,

I have a RAS model 113.19771 bought it about 40 years ago...
439081

The table is 3 pieces, back is 6½" wide, middle is 4" wide and front is 16" wide, they are 40" long and 1" thick.

Hope this helps.

[Bill Yacey]

Thanks Jim.
I imagine the table sizes didn't change much on these saw models. I'll lay it out with those dimensions and see how it'll work.

It's probably not critical because I intend to mainly use it for cross-cutting fret slots for guitar fingerboards, but I may use it for mitre cuts in the future. All the same, i'd like to make it standard to what it was supposed to be.

[Jim Allen]

Your welcome! I agree, I saw a picture of your model and the table looked about the same.

Good luck.

[Jim Becker]

Please be aware (if you are not already) that your saw was part of the very large recall quite a few years ago because of safety. You can get more information at:

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

[Bill Yacey]

Please be aware (if you are not already) that your saw was part of the very large recall quite a few years ago because of safety. You can get more information at:

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

I did indeed see that, but I don't think I'll destroy a perfectly good working saw. I feel that if you setup and use power tools properly, always use sharp blades and keep you hands away from the path of blades, you're not likely to get hurt.

Most of the accidents I've read about with radial arm (and table saws) are usually due to binding between the blade and fence, or feeding the blade the wrong way, or with lack of control.

[Bill Dufour]

I thought there was also a free blade guard upgrade?

[Bill Yacey]

No, from what I can gather because it's late in the program, they'll offer $50.00 to destroy your saw. If a blade guard update was still available, I would even buy the upgrade, but I'm certainly not going to destroy the saw because someone arbitrarily decided it was unsafe. It's not the tool that is unsafe, but the user.

I suspect that many of the injuries were due to inexperienced or overconfident hobbyists buying the saw, using it incorrectly and not having a feel for the tool. In the wrong hands, even a toothpick can do bodily harm.

I'll hop down from the soapbox now.

[Tom M King]

As I was taking my new one out of the box, in 1974, I built a 6 foot long table for it, framed with bolted 2x4's, and a double 3/4" Birch plywood cutting surface 6' long. It's still on that same base, although the top sheet of plywood has been replaced a number of times over those years. I built one new house a year for 33 years, and it got moved to every one of them, and has been moved a lot in the 13 years since then.

I probably used whatever width the particle board tops were that came with it, but those probably got thrown away that day.

[Jim Allen]

No, from what I can gather because it's late in the program, they'll offer $50.00 to destroy your saw. If a blade guard update was still available, I would even buy the upgrade, but I'm certainly not going to destroy the saw because someone arbitrarily decided it was unsafe. It's not the tool that is unsafe, but the user.

The upgraded blade guard was essentially for ripping, which I quite doing once I got a table saw, and it included a new table! I still use the original blade guard.

[Bill Dufour]

Blotter is the tern for the cardboard washers on a grinding wheel. Cut from a cereal box is the homemade version. More accurate then a hardware store washer since they are not bowed.
Bill D.

[Bill Yacey]

Third time typing this now- the site keeps saying I'm logged out and when I refresh to login (which it says I'm already logged in) I lose all the previously typed reply.

Anyways, Thanks to all for the replies and info.

I have a cabinet saw that will rip 52 inches, so I doubt I'll ever have the need to rip anything on the radial arm.

The radial arm saw was built for the sole purpose of cutting .023" fret slots for fingerboards, for which this saw is perfectly suited. It may also see the odd cross cutting duty and maybe some compound mitres as the need arises.

[Tom M King]

I leave mine set for cutting perfect 90 degree cuts, for things like tenon shoulders. It's not That much trouble to set it dead on, but a lot more trouble than not having to.

I have a second one without a fence-just a large flat table, that I keep a dado stack on. A fence gets fastened for whatever angle I need. Sometimes it needs to be a lot more than the saw will swing to a normal fence, so being able to set a skewed fence opens up a whole other range of angles.

http://historic-house-restoration.com/images/windows3_0034.JPG

[Jim Becker]

The radial arm saw was built for the sole purpose of cutting .023" fret slots for fingerboards, for which this saw is perfectly suited. It may also see the odd cross cutting duty and maybe some compound mitres as the need arises.

It seems to me that for a dedicated purpose like that, you can not only build your table custom to fit the purpose but also create some safety guards that work with the dedicated 90º cut lines and thin for-purpose blade. I'm guessing you'll be using an indexing system for fret location which also plays into that scenario nicely.

[Tom M King]

I'm not sure about yours, since mine is an older model, but the rollers that the motorhead travels on the arm have eccentric centers. You can play with their positioning, and get every bit of extra play out of them. You can get it dead true, but it does take a while. Having done that, I think it was in 1991, the last time, I've never wanted to cut anything heavy, or irregular enough to have any risk of locking the blade up, which would surely have a good chance of changing that.

If you could get yours set up to cut dead true fret slots, I wouldn't want to use it for anything else, or at least anything else that there might be any possibility of a jamb.

[Bill Yacey]

I'm using a 6" slot cutter, .020" x 300 teeth meant to fit a 1" arbor. I had a friend machine the arbor adapter which has 4" diameter stabilizer disks. He was over today, so we made a couple of test cuts in maple, and the slot width was at .021 according to a feeler gauge; I marked the arbor and the adapter so it can be put back in the same position again, should I need to remove it.
439160
439161
439162
439163

[Bill Yacey]

I will indeed be using an indexing system. I made up a 3" wide x 3/8 thick aluminum jig with index notches milled into the edge for the indexing pin. All I need to do is double side tape the fingerboard blank to the aluminum piece, and I'm good to go. I was concerned about the lack of tooth set and the very fine tooth pitch on the blade, but it cuts just like soft butter without any sign of burning.

[Charlie Velasquez]

Since you did a test run, I assume you already made your table. But if not, I highly recommend watching Tommy Tompkins’s video on making a RAS table. There is not a lot involved, but the video gives a good visual representation of what a Mr. Sawdust table looks like.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6TMBT45g_qg
The Mr. Sawdust design has been a staple for RAS enthusiasts for decades. All your work and all your adjustments will be referenced from the table. It is the starting point for all your accuracy. Don’t skimp on its design or construction.

I also recommend Brian Weekly’s video on aligning the RAS. (and his other videos)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ_HXSuh1PU
Making the very fine, accurate dadoes of consistent depth is possible on the RAS. But the saw needs to be aligned and calibrated, especially the adjustment of the table to the travel of the saw. The RAS motor is hanging from an arm connected to a column. The farther you pull the motor, the more torque is applied to that column, and down to the base. There will be flex. But the flex is consistent and can be accounted for in the alignment process.
Edit: Weekly demonstrates the adjustments on a DeWalt. The adjustments on your Craftsman may have its adjustment screws or clamps different than the DeWalt, but the process and the order will be the same.

There are a lot of RAS videos on the internet, most are crap.
These videos have been vetted by RAS users on the Delphi Dewalt RAS forum with decades of experience, and generally considered of good quality.

Good luck.

[Bill Yacey]

Thanks Charlie, I'll be sure to peruse these videos.
I haven't yet made any sort of table. For my test cut I just clamped down a piece of 8/4 maple to the steel base frame of the saw. My cut depth was only 3/16", which is more than required for a fret slot.

[David Buchhauser]

No, from what I can gather because it's late in the program, they'll offer $50.00 to destroy your saw.
That was years ago - the program is long gone.
David

[Alex Zeller]

My father bought a RAS back in the late 70s or early 80s. I think it was his first real woodworking equipment purchase. Up until then he had a very small cast iron table saw (the kind that the motor hung below and it's weight is what applied tension to the belt). It came with a particle board table that eventually he replaced. He got a door from a company that sold office doors. It was damaged so he got it cheap. It took awhile because most are fire rated and have a gypsum like material inside. The one he got was solid wood with a nice maple veneer.

[Jim Becker]

That was years ago - the program is long gone.
David
The web site and submission seems to still be active...see the link I posted above.

[Harry Niemann]

Be sure you use the correct blade type to avoid kick back. So many people think these saws are dangerous but they are not if you have the right blade. The blade must have a zero or negative hook. if you draw a line from the hole to the perimeter, the tooth must be straight or lean slightly back, not forward.

[Jim Becker]

Be sure you use the correct blade type to avoid kick back. So many people think these saws are dangerous but they are not if you have the right blade. The blade must have a zero or negative hook. if you draw a line from the hole to the perimeter, the tooth must be straight or lean slightly back, not forward.
This is absolutely true for general usage. The OP here is using a specialty blade that's extremely thin (.020") and smaller in diameter to cut fret slots for guitar necks, so the teeth are very tiny and not likely going to cause the same kind of issues that a regular size blade will.

[Tom M King]

I've used RAS's since 1965, and never had a negative, or zero hook blade on one. What has always seemed more dangerous to me, is people using sleds on a table saw with no safety box on the back. Yes, I still have all ten fingers, and also have never used any table saw with any kind of safety guard on it, nor have I ever known anyone that did, leaving out people I "know" from online.

[Jim Allen]

The negative hook blade makes a world of difference in the quality of the cut, though before changing (~ 5 year ago) I never had a kick back or any other problems using a positive hook blade.

[Bill Yacey]

I agree. The only time I have experienced kick back was with a saw that had an out of square fence that caused binding, or cutting with a very dull blade.

I can see the radial arm saw running away if the operator tries to hog it through the wood, or not having a firm, controlled grasp on the carriage handle.

[Phillip Gregory]

I use a big old ex-lumberyard DeWalt radial arm saw more than any other saw in my shop. I've run a number of different blades in it including a 12" stack dado and the saw has never tried to climb at me. The real keys are to get the saw properly aligned, have a saw that's sturdy enough to stay in adjustment, follow the advice on the blade guard to "keep saw sharp," and don't overload the saw.

You do not necessarily have to use a zero or negative hook blade, many have used combination blades with a modestly positive hook of +10 degrees or so without issues and note they work better for compound miters and other non-crosscuts than a zero or negative hook blade. I personally don't notice a difference in cut quality or aggressiveness between a negative hook blade like the -5 degree CMT 219 I have on my saw and a +10 degree blade like an old SystiMatic crosscut blade I got from the local saw shop on closeout. Do avoid the heavily hooked low tooth count tablesaw rip blades.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I bought mine, checked the recall website, saw the kits were no longer available and elected to keep it for tenon shoulders. I am very careful.

[Tom M King]

Mine gets used for tenon shoulders more than anything else too. I cut my RAS teeth on an underpowered 9", with a bent, dull blade when I was an early teenager. It belonged to my Dad, and he would just tell me to build something, not how to do it. I never took shop in school. I think I built a couple of hundred picnic tables with that saw, and other stuff too.

Finally, an old carpenter straightened the blade some, and showed me how to sharpen it. It worked a lot better after that. I think that was in 1963, when I was 13. A well set one, with a sharp blade is easy to use after that.

[Roy Turbett]

That saw was my first woodworking machine and like many others I had trouble keeping it aligned because of the way the positive stops are designed and the stamped sheet metal construction. I took advantage of the recall when new guards were still being offered but found it awkward to use and gave the saw to a friend.

I've since rebuilt a number of older cast iron DeWalt RAS and can attest that they are much more accurate and hold their alignment. In my area you can find older 1950's round arm 9" saws for $20 to $150 that would be perfect for what you have in mind. Larger 10" round arm saws go for $75 to $400 depending on condition, Square arm 10" and 12" cast iron saws from the 60's go for $20 to $200 depending on condition and come with better motors but the castings are softer. Most of the new motors also have brakes.

Bottom line, if you're going to spend the time to restore and tune up a radial arm saw, look for an older DeWalt. You won't be disappointed. Also check out the Delphi DeWalt Radial Arm Saw forum for sound advice from guys that have used these saws for years. As for the hook angle on a RAS blade, the acceptable range from respected authors on the subject is -5 to +15 degrees. I agree with forum users that the best overall blade is the 60 tooth Forrest WW1 blade with a TCG grind. This blade is +5 degrees. Next best for all round use is the 50 tooth Freud LU83R. This is a thin kerf blade with a +10 hook.

Regardless of which saw you keep, buy a copy of Jon Eakes book Fine Tuning a Radial Arm Saw from his website. His book covers how to tune several different radial arm saws including your Craftsman.