Craftsmen RAS - blade brake repair?

[Jim Mackell]

Has anyone ever taken apart their Craftsman RAS to repair or replace the blade brake? My blade currently spins for a minute or so after switching off and I'd like to have it stop much more quickly.

From the parts manuals I've seen on OWWM the disassembly doesn't seem too difficult. But everything looks easy in the movies!

Anyone actually done this??:confused:

[Jules Dominguez]

Mine seems to spin forever also. Not even sure when I bought the saw, probably during the 80's. I've thought about working on it or having it done, but haven't.
One thing I did do is to install the recall kit, and the new blade guard won't let the saw come back through the fence unattended, so normally I don't worry about it spinning down after a cut. If I need to stop it quicker, I use the built-in manual brake. I only use the saw for cutoffs.
I'll be interested in how it works out if you decide to rebuild it.

[Jim Mackell]

Well, I dug further into the owners manual and it's probably a little more complicated than I want to mess with. Plus, I checked the Emerson recall site for their Craftsmen products and my machine is on the list for a $100. reward if the motor gets turned in.

So I'm probably going to replace it.

[Bart Leetch]

My 12" saw which was my Dad's doesn't have a guard kit available & the brake system doesn't work & repair parts are not available. I put a little pulley at the back & a weight with a cord attached to the head so it pulls it back if I release the handle & built a good lexon guard. Works great no plans on getting rid of it. I still have Dad's 10 RAS setting in storage so I don't lack options.

You are a wood work with an inventive mind so put it to work. You can get way more than $100 worth of work out of your saw. If you don't want to use it as a saw make an over head router system out of it or buy the system from proformax to make a drum sander out of it using that motor your thinking of getting rid of.