Radial Arm vs SCMS?

[Jay Yoder]

As i posted in another thread, i am evaluating my cross-cutting capacity in the shop. I already own a Delta 12" Miter saw, but am not satisfied with its accuracy. I purchased an older c'man RAS used, but have yet to use it much. I have no manual, so getting it dialed in will be a pain. I was thinking of purchasing either the Hitachi 10" slider with laser or the Hitachi or DeWalt 8 1/2 in sliders. I would then unload the RAS. I guess the question would be A) which would be better and more accurate B) any actual experience with any of these. As of now i am leaning toward the hitachi 10" b/c it could share blades with my table saw...i just want something that would be easy to dial in and then holds the settings and that will work smoothly for crosscutting solid hardwood. Any input and personal experience would be greatly appreciated

[jack duren]

Sell miter saw, buy slider and keep RAS for rough cutting.

A slider isnt a RAS and shouldnt be treated as such...Jack

[Tom Veatch]

Jay, I have a Hitachi 10" SCMS that I've very, very pleased with. I just donated a old 10" Craftsman RAS to our church camp. Perhaps it's just my techniques and prejudices, but the only place I found the RAS preferable to the SCMS (or table saw for that matter) was cross grain dado cuts on long (~10') workpieces. For through crosscuts, I'd go to the SCMS every time and for rip cuts, the table saw got the nod. So I got rid of the RAS to regain the floor space.

[Matt Hutchinson]

I don't own a sliding miter saw, nor have I used one, just a miter saw. But I too own a C-man RAS, and it's not fun to use.

Before miter saws came into popularity, the RAS was what your everyday guy bought. Think about how many guys you know who have a miter saw. Now think what it would be like not to have a miter saw available, and how many RA saws would be in homeowners' garages instead. Well, this is why most Craftsman radial arm saws are junk. They massed produced them cheaply, lots of people wanted them and owned them, and they just didn't have the refined engineering necessary to do fine work. Chances are, like myself, you have one of those low quality RA saws.

However, quality RA saws can do extremely fine work, but new ones cost an arm and a leg......and possible a kidney too.

SO, all that being said, unless you are willing to pay big bucks for a quality RAS, I think a sliding miter saw or miter saw is definitely the way to go. You can't beat their accuracy for the price. I too recommend getting rid of the RAS altogether, especially since a sliding miter saw can cut equally wide boards as a cheap RAS.

Hutch

[Joe Jensen]

I have a "quality" Dewalt 14" RAS, and it is amazing for 90 degree crosscuts. Mine is set up with a Biesemeyer RAS crosscut station setup they used to sell. I set it 15 years ago with a 5 cut method and got the cutoff consistently within .001". I checked it last year and it's still exactly the same. I can rip a panel 26" wide, cut 1/2 way across with the RAS, flip, and finish the cut and the kerf ends up prefect.

But, the RAS takes a lot of room, and it's a lot more expensive than all but the Festool slider..joe

EDIT: I do not Rip on the RAS :)
I rip on the TS, and crosscut on the RAS

[Gary Lee]

I have used 2 models of the 10" Hitachi SCMS. The one I have now is mounted to a Ridgid rolling miter saw station and is used on my job sites. These saws are sweet. Put a 5 degree negative rake blade on it (I have the Freud Industrial) and cuts are near flawless top and bottom. But you can't swap this into your table saw. Great for veneered plys. The laser is very nice also. It speeds things up a hair. Line it up and cut. I also have a 12" Dewalt SCMS. Very nice also, has a much larger cutting capacity. It has a lttle more "clunky" feel to compared to how smooth the Hitachi is, but can cut up to 14" wide with back fences removed. The laser on the Dewalt is very fussy to adjust, but visible through the entire cut. The Hitachi laser is blocked when you drop the saw to cut.
I have never had much use for a RAS. Had one once and sold it. Took up too much space for the limited use. Used one in someone else's shop and still would not want another one. I do my large crosscuts with my table saw sled.

[David DeCristoforo]

The SCMS will be much "lighter on it's feet" and more versatile (except for the ability to rip which, IMMHO, is a "fools errand" on a RAS), easier to set up and adjust. As others have suggested, you might want to keep the RAS for rough crosscutting. That's pretty much what I use mine for although, every now and then it gets used for some oddball operation like "overhead" dadoing. BTW I have the Hitachi 8" (my second one in 25 years) and I still think it's "the best". I also have an Omga 12" but it's not a compound slider, just a "straight up" miter saw.

[Ben Cadotte]

Go to sears parts. Follow the links to manuals. You end up at some place called manage my home, or something close to that. Not sure how many they have but I have downloaded manuals for free from them for all my Craftsman power tools.

I have my craftsman RAS dialed in very good right now. I mostly use it for just 90 deg cross cuts though. SCMS gets the angled cuts. Its a cheapie but still cuts very accurately after some tweaking.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

The SCMS IMHO is more accurate and will hold it's settings better but ...I wish I had a RAS for doing dados.

[Bob Willcox]

I unloaded my C-Man RAS and got an SCMS years ago. I found the RAS too inaccurate and dangerous (I hated the climb cut) for my tastes. Also, my SCMS takes up considerably less room (8 1/2" Hitachi), and space in my shop has always been a problem.

[Jeff Duncan]

I use a Craftsman RAS for cutting rough stock to length, as the others said it's not accurate. I wouldn't bother going through the hassle of getting it set too precisely, I went through it twice on my saw many years ago, and it's just not built heavy enough to withstand any use without losing it's accuracy.
I use a DeWalt 12" miter for general purpose cuts and installs. I have a 14" Omga chopsaw for times when I need very accurate cuts. And lastly for a lot of 90 deg. work I'll just use the TS since it's already setup to do multiple cuts.
So you don't necessarily have to give up a saw, you can use more than 1 saw and have them dedicated to certain tasks.

good luck,
JeffD

[Frank Drew]

I didn't have enough free wall space so I (thankfully) never considered a radial arm saw and eventually got a very good sliding table saw which handled all my cutting needs. I'd still consider a good sliding compound mitre saw, however, for job site work in case you're ever doing built-ins or whatever.