Radial Arm Saw as an overhead Router?

[Ralph Barhorst]

I need to level (Joint) some thick wood and I was thinking about using my RAS with a 1-1/4" diam. straight bit.

I would remove the saw blade and attach the Drill chuck with the router bit and take shallow cuts.

This should not be any more dangerous than using the saw blade itself.

Has anyone done this? What are your opinions?

[Grant Morris]

The RAS saw probably spins at 5K RPM max. Typical routers start at about 15K rpms. It won't work.

[Vernon Taylor]

I think that it would be extremly diffucult and tedious to do it this way. Many years ago I tried to use a Cm RAS as an overhead router and the results were not good,not enough power or speed. Sears at one time offerred a rotary planer which attached to the RAS which utilized three carbide tipped blades, 9-29513. This worked reasonably well. I think was also marketed under the trade name Saf-t-planer or something close to that. Someone was recently looking for one and I volunteered mine but he had a Delta ras and in typical Sears fashion the one I have will only fit CM. PM me if interested,just pay shipping which should be minimal. I no longer have the RAS.

[Steve Leverich]

Depends on your saw - I have a 70's vintage 12" craftsman commercial RAS and its spindle has a 1/2"/20 thread opposite the blade that turns at blade speed, 3650 rpm. However, in the same time period Wards used to sell a double-arm RAS that had a secondary spindle that turned at (IIRC) 20,000 rpm. There may be other saws with this feature, but if yours doesn't have that then I agree with Grant - very tedious, with poor results... Steve

[glenn bradley]

You will be much happier using a router sled:

http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?t=8904

[Greg Pavlov]

....... Sears at one time offerred a rotary planer which attached to the RAS which utilized three carbide tipped blades, 9-29513. This worked reasonably well. .......
I had/used one of those to mill window abd baseboard mouldings (had a 19th century Victorian, was trying to create something that was compatible). It worked, but I had a very difficult time maintaining consistent depth: there seemed to be just enough play throughout the whole mechanism of arm, carriage, and mount that it was difficult to avoid up to 1/8 inch variations. Some of this probably was operator error, and some of it was probably excacerbated by the pancake-shaped planer attachment, so someone else might well do better, especially with the narrower profile of a router bit.

[Jim Becker]

The RAS saw probably spins at 5K RPM max. Typical routers start at about 15K rpms. It won't work.

Maybe not even that when you consider the diameter of the cutter...the RPM on a saw is typically stated as the RPM of the tips of the blade, as far as I know...that would be a lot slower at the arbor if my thinking is correct.

[David Duke]

Maybe not even that when you consider the diameter of the cutter...the RPM on a saw is typically stated as the RPM of the tips of the blade, as far as I know...that would be a lot slower at the arbor if my thinking is correct.

Jim, think your wrong on this one, RPM is Revolutions/Rotations per minute, a 1" bit at 5000 RPM and a 10" blade at 5000 RPM are turning exactly the same revolutions per minute however the tip speed (which I think your talking about) will would be significantly greater on a 10" blade vs a 1" router bit.

[Lee Schierer]

The RAS saw probably spins at 5K RPM max. Typical routers start at about 15K rpms. It won't work. I've used a similar set up wher eI used to work. I used a Bridgeport machine to cut slots in pieces of wood with router dovetail bits and they worked just fine. The 3450 rpm will be just fine, but the rate of cutting will be slower.

My craftsman radial arm doesn't go down smoothly all the time so be careful changing depth of cut while the cutter in in the wood. Stiffmness may also be an issue if you press too hard against the cutter. Planing off 1-1/2 at a time width wise will be pretty slow going. Most likely you will need to do light cuts.