Sliding miter saw versus old school radial arm saw.

[Chris Hammersley]

Is there really any reason to have a radial arm saw? I have 2 miter saws, one sliding. I found a radial arm saw cheap, but not sure its worth the space it will take up.

[William Chain]

What did you find? Nice old cast iron? The RAS will do many things the sliding mitre won't (e.g. dadoes), and can be as accurate as you're willing to make it with some TLC and proper setup when you build the table.



Is there really any reason to have a radial arm saw? I have 2 miter saws, one sliding. I found a radial arm saw cheap, but not sure its worth the space it will take up.

[Chris Hammersley]

It was a Black and Decker, so probably not to coolest tool out there. It was only $35 so I wonder how wrong I can go with it.

[William Chain]

Depends.... B&D was sort of a race to the bottom, but if its early in the B&D/DeWalt portfolio it may have signs of life. PM me a link/ad and I'll try to help you out. No good DeWalts or old Deltas around?


It was a Black and Decker, so probably not to coolest tool out there. It was only $35 so I wonder how wrong I can go with it.

[Bill Dufour]

If it is a 16" B+D it is worth it for sure. They are scary to rip with.
Bil lD

[Chris Hammersley]

I just looked on facebook and I cant find it. I'll have to send a message and see if its sold or not.

[Jim Becker]

There are RAS and there are RAS. The big "old iron" Dewalts and even the big, heavy Delta that Norm Abram used in the NYW back in the day were worthy and still are if one has an application that could benefit from one. (or a modern one like Original Saw Company has offered) But the majority of the mass market machines were nothing like that. They worked, but many were difficult to keep in alignment and a very large portion of those offered via Craftsman were recalled for safety reasons.

That said, there are many folks who love a good RAS.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Craftsman were recalled for safety reasons.

That said, there are many folks who love a good RAS.The Craftsman's were recalled because Emerson didn't want to make a guard for the blade. To offer a guard would be admitting that you could have made a safer saw. Ironically the guard off the Delta 10" RAS fits the Craftsman guard. Using polycarbonate (Lexan,) you can make your own blade guard.

[Chris Hammersley]

Well, she responded and its sold. If I find one that cheap again I will probably just snatch it up then try to decide the value.

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it so much.

[Doug Garson]

The Craftsman's were recalled because Emerson didn't want to make a guard for the blade. To offer a guard would be admitting that you could have made a safer saw. Ironically the guard off the Delta 10" RAS fits the Craftsman guard. Using polycarbonate (Lexan,) you can make your own blade guard.
Actually they did make a replacement guard as an option to the recall, I know because I have the replacement guard which was supplied free of charge c/w a replacement table. I got it as much for the free table as the guard, if you paid attention to what you were doing, you could use the saw with the old guard safely (I did for decades, can't remember when I got the upgrade).

[Dave Sabo]

What did you find? Nice old cast iron? The RAS will do many things the sliding mitre won't (e.g. dadoes), and can be as accurate as you're willing to make it with some TLC and proper setup when you build the table.

Incorrect .

There are many SCMS that will do dados. Makita 1019, Kapex, and a couple of Craftsman saws all have stops that allow for dados.

And those are just the ones I own.

But try setting up a RAS for a compound miter and get back to us, especially one with a big ol induction motor. The principal benefit of a RAS is crosscut capacity. Only thing a SCMS won’t do is rip.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Incorrect .

There are many SCMS that will do dados. Makita 1019, Kapex, and a couple of Craftsman saws all have stops that allow for dados.

And those are just the ones I own.

But try setting up a RAS for a compound miter and get back to us, especially one with a big ol induction motor. The principal benefit of a RAS is crosscut capacity. Only thing a SCMS won’t do is rip.

You can't stack a dado in a scms that I know of. The stop works fine for single blade dado's, cut shift repeat. It also doesn't cut full depth at the fence, so you have to use a spacer to push the stock away which decreases cut width.

I keep a RAS because I have yet to find a SCMS that will crosscut anything over 12" and I seem to need to cut a lot of 16" wide stock. The dado is a fringe benefit.

[Tom M King]

I wouldn't want to be without either, but I'm building stuff for a living. I keep the RAS only for making accurate, and clean 90 degree cuts, like tenon shoulders. The Sliding Miter Saw does rough crosscuts, and angles. Actually, I have two RAS's. One is set up for dadoes, and can be used for angles.

[William Chain]

Thank you. Indeed, a SCMS can’t sling a dado stack. Plowing out dadoes one thin kerf at a time at the mercy of a plastic stop is not appealing to me. I of course concede that a compound mitre is faster to set up on a SCMS but I do them all the time on a DeWalt MBF. I prefer the MBF, no plastic and once I’m set, I can drop the saw off a building and the setting won’t move. I think having a bench with a SCMS and a radial arm sharing a fence is a dynamite setup (and I have that in my garage/shop). They both have their uses but I’d toss the SCMS before the RAS. OP, you can find a solid old RAS that needs a little TLC for little money. Spend a couple more bucks for a restored unit and you’ll be ready to go as soon as it’s off your truck. I have as much fun restoring the RAS as I do using it. Join the RAS dark side. We’ve got cookies. Avoid craftsman, later and smaller B&D, and other cheapos. Get as much iron in the construction as possible, older the better. They’re on CL all the time, and come to the Delphi RAS forum, there’s a great community there that can nurse you and your saw through anything.

That was a lot of acronyms for one post.


You can't stack a dado in a scms that I know of. The stop works fine for single blade dado's, cut shift repeat. It also doesn't cut full depth at the fence, so you have to use a spacer to push the stock away which decreases cut width.

I keep a RAS because I have yet to find a SCMS that will crosscut anything over 12" and I seem to need to cut a lot of 16" wide stock. The dado is a fringe benefit.

[Ole Anderson]

I bought a Montgomery Ward 10" RAS new. Anything but accurate. Finally gave it to my son when I needed the wall space for other tools, who then scrapped it. I learned WW on my dad's old 8" Dewalt RAS.

Question: I see a lot of videos where folks take a shallow cut on their SCMS then one or two more cuts to finish it off. Does that really reduce chipping?

[Mike Kees]

My vote is for my sliding TS. I almost never use my miter saws at the shop ,I find the slider quicker and more accurate. On jobsites and installs it is my makita SCMS that usually gets the nod.

[Mike Delyster]

Incorrect .

There are many SCMS that will do dados. Makita 1019, Kapex, and a couple of Craftsman saws all have stops that allow for dados.

And those are just the ones I own.

But try setting up a RAS for a compound miter and get back to us, especially one with a big ol induction motor. The principal benefit of a RAS is crosscut capacity. Only thing a SCMS won’t do is rip.

My 5hp Unipoint will cut a compound miter. They’re a bit of a different bird in the radial saw world though.
In the shop I use my SCMS for breaking down rough stock and the Unipoint for pretty much everything else. Being able to run dado stacks and adjustable grooving heads is very handy. A 12” two piece adjustable groover makes for perfect dado cuts on my saw.

[Jim Dwight]

I used to use mine to rough tenons in long pieces but now that I have a domino it just sits.

[Doug Garson]

Agree the old Craftsman RAS are not great at compound mitres or holding their settings but they are incredibly versatile. Try flattening a driftwood slab to make a bench with a SCMS. I've done it several times using a molding head cutter with a set of planer blades. Not precise but gets the job done (don't ask about dust collection).

[Brian Holcombe]

:DA Kapex cuts .120” dadoes. I found the SCMS a source of constant frustration, much happier with a short stroke sliding tablesaw and a standard chopsaw.

[Mark e Kessler]

In 30+ years of ww for others and on my own i have only used/seen ras as a rough cut to bust up hardwood planks suppose if you don’t have a slider and you need to rough cut lots of hardwood and have the space then sure why not. You are better off in the long run with a slider, my scms only sees action when a construction project comes along