DeWalt 7749 Radial Arm Saw

[Dave Roock]

478269 Picked this up last weekend. Other than a couple dents from careless storage & some needed cleaning/maintenance, it appears in excellent condition with limited actual usage. Not sure on age - also included was an original Craftsman Accessory kit with Molding Head & shaping guard, Rotary Surface Planer, Sabre Saw & Fence attachment. And.. Radial Arm Saw Techniques by Roger W. Cliffe , with some magazine clippings on wood joinery from a 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Next will be a new table based on Mr Sawdust plans...

[Rick Potter]

Looks like early 70's to me. If you are new to RAS's that book should be a great help to you. One term you may not be familiar with is 'heel', which is very important to having the saw adjusted right.

Skip the above if you are not new to them. The saw looks really clean. So many are rust buckets.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

That looks like a good sturdy saw. The auto brake is a good safety feature. I had a brush with a saw as it was coasting down and very nearly stopped. Even at very slow RPM the result was an injury.

[Holmes Anderson]

478269 Picked this up last weekend. Other than a couple dents from careless storage & some needed cleaning/maintenance, it appears in excellent condition with limited actual usage. Not sure on age - also included was an original Craftsman Accessory kit with Molding Head & shaping guard, Rotary Surface Planer, Sabre Saw & Fence attachment. And.. Radial Arm Saw Techniques by Roger W. Cliffe , with some magazine clippings on wood joinery from a 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Next will be a new table based on Mr Sawdust plans...

Used RASs are a great way to get wide crosscut capacity for short dollars. The saws are excellent for cutting rough stock to length but are often relatively inaccurate. More importantly, ripping, planing, molding, shaping and other operations described in the manual can be very risky. Even as a crosscut saw they have a tendency to creep forward if there is no safety device. Craftsman provided swinging guards for retrofit to old saws because the saws have a habit of creeping forward and severing fingers. You probably know all these things already but because you mention the accessory kit it seems worthwhile to mention that these saws have a bad reputation for a reason. They are really a one-trick pony for crosscutting rough lumber if you don't have a slider. You will want a negative rake blade to minimize self-feed for safest operation. I use a Forrest and it makes a world of difference versus a standard crosscut blade. Still, I would rather have a slider.

[Dave Roock]

Looks like early 70's to me. If you are new to RAS's that book should be a great help to you. One term you may not be familiar with is 'heel', which is very important to having the saw adjusted right.

Skip the above if you are not new to them. The saw looks really clean. So many are rust buckets.

The saw was made in Italy. Still has the protective plastic wrap on it. Somewhat familiar with RAS but has been a very long time since last usage. Purchased a CMT negative 5% hook blade yesterday - that should help with "climbing" issues. Will be going through and checking everything, lubricating WD-40. Feels solid with track. Some interesting techniques in that book - shaping is ruled out, I have a shaper. I do not feel a RAS is any more dangerous than other saws, keeping fingers out of way very important on any saw/power tool. I think RAS are very overlooked/underrated, many people tend to follow what others opinions on non-relevance, which may not always be accurate.

[John TenEyck]

A quality RAS is an incredibly versatile machine capable of very high accuracy. Mine is my preferred way of crosscutting parts to finished length, especially when I have to make a lot of long parts where it would be difficult to support them on the crosscut sled on my TS. The climb cutting problem happens on saws with low stiffness and using the wrong blade, but if you keep your hands where they belong you will never get hurt. A negative rake blade is a must on those saws. Proper use technique is a must on any saw.

Love my old Dewalt.

John

[Holmes Anderson]

The saw was made in Italy. Still has the protective plastic wrap on it. Somewhat familiar with RAS but has been a very long time since last usage. Purchased a CMT negative 5% hook blade yesterday - that should help with "climbing" issues. Will be going through and checking everything, lubricating WD-40. Feels solid with track. Some interesting techniques in that book - shaping is ruled out, I have a shaper. I do not feel a RAS is any more dangerous than other saws, keeping fingers out of way very important on any saw/power tool. I think RAS are very overlooked/underrated, many people tend to follow what others opinions on non-relevance, which may not always be accurate.

Dave, I tend to agree with you but just for the sake of discussion, which machines do you consider the most dangerous? I use a 3 HP shaper and it easily demands more respect than any other machine in my shop. Next in order would be either the router table or the RAS. Even with the negative rake blade, the RAS has a tendency to climb. It also has a bad habit of binding in rough hardwood that is thicker than 4/4.

[Dave Roock]

Dave, I tend to agree with you but just for the sake of discussion, which machines do you consider the most dangerous? I use a 3 HP shaper and it easily demands more respect than any other machine in my shop. Next in order would be either the router table or the RAS. Even with the negative rake blade, the RAS has a tendency to climb. It also has a bad habit of binding in rough hardwood that is thicker than 4/4.

Hello Holmes, I would say a circular saw is the most dangerous. A shaper would probably rate as a close second. With a RAS, a sharp negative rake blade should eliminate many possible issues. Keeping your fingers out of the way on a RAS appears easy to me - I watched someone cut his finger off on a band saw back in HS. Caution is prudent with all power tools, drill press included.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A family friend who was a very wise old farmer and skilled woodworker always cut by pushing the RAS back into the wood. I have tried it. I don't like it. Thanks for the reminders on the non climbing blade.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I have an old 12" 50's 240v DeWalt which I love for dado work and of course it excels in cross cutting. I've never attempted ripping on it, but when I was a carpenter in the 1960s, we built whole homes with a single RAS and yes we ripped plywood and dimensional stock. I was taught that the biggest safety feature for all power equipment is your brain and a healthy respect (fear) for the tool. With the blade angle and the blade rotation, the saw will force the lumber into the fence, which is what you want to happen.

I had to look up the term "heel" and I don't believe I've ever adjusted it, only an annual adjustment of the arm to make sure it is 90° to the fence.

[Dave Cav]

I used various RAS in my shop for 40-odd years. Started out with a horrible Montgomery Wards, then got a decent 80s Delta, then a succession of vintage DeWalts round arms and Delta turret models. I loved acquiring and restoring the little MB series Dewalts because they are such a cool little piece of industrial design, but I ended up giving all of them away. They were great for breaking down stock, and I did quite a bit of rabbet, lap joint and dado work, too, but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing. A few years ago I got a slider and the RAS had to go, and I really haven't missed it.

[Rick Potter]

I have probably had a dozen RAS's, and the only time I had to adjust 'heel' was when I bought a used saw and someone had tried to adjust those three pesky little screws on the back of the yoke.

Easy explanation of heel: If you make a partial cut and measure the kerf, it should be the same as the blade kerf. Assuming no damage like bad blade or bent arbor, if the kerf is wide, the saw has heel. The saw is going straight but the blade is cocked, and making a wide kerf. Not to be confused with cutting an angle.

Well, maybe not so easy, but I tried.

[Tony Joyce]

but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing.

But shouldn't this really apply to all power tool woodworking operations!

[Michael Schuch]

A quality RAS is an incredibly versatile machine capable of very high accuracy. Mine is my preferred way of crosscutting parts to finished length, especially when I have to make a lot of long parts where it would be difficult to support them on the crosscut sled on my TS. The climb cutting problem happens on saws with low stiffness and using the wrong blade, but if you keep your hands where they belong you will never get hurt. A negative rake blade is a must on those saws. Proper use technique is a must on any saw.

Love my old Dewalt.

John

I completely agree. I grew up learning woodworking on my fathers Delta 10" turret arm saw. My first radial arm saw (and first stationary saw) was a well used Craftsman RAS that I was a little disappointed in the Craftsman after learning on the heavy cast iron Delta.

I have owned my 1947 16" 7.5hp RedStar 50A radial arm saw for almost 30 years now and it is the most used saw in my shop! It has always done an excellent job of keeping accurate repeatable angles.

478441

Unfortunately I fear I am going to have to retire my beloved RedStar RAS. I recently picked up a 16" 5hp LONG ARM Delta 40C radial arm saw in pristine condition for $100 and the extra crosscutting length of the long arm kind of trumps my 30 year relationship with the RedStar.
478443

I have always wanted to try and probably own a UniPoint radial arm saw. They were kind of the first miter saws.
478442
Not my UniPoint, but she sure is pretty isn't she!

[Dave Roock]

I completely agree. I grew up learning woodworking on my fathers Delta 10" turret arm saw. My first radial arm saw (and first stationary saw) was a well used Craftsman RAS that I was a little disappointed in the Craftsman after learning on the heavy cast iron Delta.

I have owned my 1947 16" 7.5hp RedStar 50A radial arm saw for almost 30 years now and it is the most used saw in my shop! It has always done an excellent job of keeping accurate repeatable angles.

478441

Unfortunately I fear I am going to have to retire my beloved RedStar RAS. I recently picked up a 16" 5hp LONG ARM Delta 40C radial arm saw in pristine condition for $100 and the extra crosscutting length of the long arm kind of trumps my 30 year relationship with the RedStar.
478443

I have always wanted to try and probably own a UniPoint radial arm saw. They were kind of the first miter saws.
478442
Not my UniPoint, but she sure is pretty isn't she!


478447 I won this Unipoint & conveyors at an auction last week. Now if I only had somewhere to put it lol

[Michael Schuch]

478447 I won this Unipoint & conveyors at an auction last week. Now if I only had somewhere to put it lol

I would love a review of it when you get a chance to set it up.

May I ask what the winning bid was?

[Bobby Robbinett]

I have an old Dewalt GE model RAS that I only use to crosscut. It stays dead on accurate and is quite a bit more accurate at cutting 90’s then my Dewalt DW780.

I built a 60” x 24” extension cabinet on the left side and a 16” x 24” extension cabinet on the right side with a single piece of 10 foot long x 24” deep top made out of 5x10 MDF that went continuously across the cabinets and saw from left to right with a 1” x 3” aluminum extrusion fence that covered that span. I made two 24” t tracks on the fence side for the extrusion to mount in so that it was adjustable enough for me to square the fence to the blade.

[Jim Becker]

Wow...that 40C is a real BEAST! Congrats, Michael!

[Michael Schuch]

Wow...that 40C is a real BEAST! Congrats, Michael!

Thank you! The pictures don't really do the Redstar justice. In person the Redstar is decently bigger and beefier than the Delta but the Redstar just has a short arm. The table on the Redstar is 30" deep and the table on the Delta is only 24" deep which kind of makes it hard to see the perspective int the pictures. I am still working on my sliding table saw which got sidelined due to the bearings on my SouthBend 13" lathe motor which are literally SCREAMING for replacement. Once I replace the motor bearings on the lathe I will finish the fence on the sliding table saw and then will work on recommissioning the Delta long arm RAS.

I bought the Delta from a local fabricator that builds rough sawn covers for ceiling beams to make married 2 by stock look like hand hewn beams (for ceilings and such). The place I bought it from were some really nice guys. The owner told me that they had only turned it on once when they got it. He hinted that everyone was too afraid to use it so it went in a corner MANY years ago and just sat there. The knob on the plunger turret arm alignment pin is broken off which will be a pretty easy fix. The elevation for the arm barely moves but I can feel some springiness on the elevation. I am pretty sure the column is packed with either saw dust or a mouse nest. All the rubber fell off the power cable when I picked it up. The rubber was so dry it just cracked and fell off in chunks. Rewiring the saw will be a pretty easy task. The rest of the saw looks really pristine for its age.

If it sounds like I spend more time working on machines than being productive on machines, I am probably guilty of this. The Delta RAS is definitely going to be my LAST machine acquisition, at $100 I just couldn't pass up the long arm. Of course the sliding table saw was also going to be my LAST acquisition, at $400 how could I pass it up... and it was... for about 6 months. :)

[Michael Schuch]

I have an old Dewalt GE model RAS that I only use to crosscut. It stays dead on accurate and is quite a bit more accurate at cutting 90’s then my Dewalt DW780.

I built a 60” x 24” extension cabinet on the left side and a 16” x 24” extension cabinet on the right side with a single piece of 10 foot long x 24” deep top made out of 5x10 MDF that went continuously across the cabinets and saw from left to right with a 1” x 3” aluminum extrusion fence that covered that span. I made two 24” t tracks on the fence side for the extrusion to mount in so that it was adjustable enough for me to square the fence to the blade.

The fence on my Redstar RAS is similar. Instead of a piece of aluminum extrusion backing the fence I just have a jointed and planed 2x6 screwed directly to the back of the table. The sacrificial fence is a jointed and planed 2x4 on top of the table screwed into the first 2x6. When the sacrificial fence gets cut up I just unscrew it from the backing 2x6, butt the two halves together then make a nice new zero clearance cut in the sacrificial fence for aligning the stock being cut on the saw. Having a zero clearance blade gap in the fence to align the stock to makes it much easier to get cuts of really accurate lengths... instead of lining the stock to a tooth on the saw blade I line it up to the blade gap in the fence.