Dewalt RAS fix up?

[Rich Luczak]

I just acquired a Dewalt 740 Powershop 10"RAS. It runs, but has no table. Any advice on putting it back in service? Does anyone sell parts?

[Ben Cadotte]

For the table top, you can make your own of a good wood, can be thicker than stock. Or laminate some MDF or other stable sheeting together. I say laminate as no one in my area stocks thicker than 3/4" in anything.

[Mike Spanbauer]

Mr. Sawdust book has detailed plans and instructions to build one. 2 layers of 3/4" MDF basically.

The book is well worth the price.

mike

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Take a look at this thread and at the pic in it. Should give you a good starting place.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?referrerid=5960&t=39847

[Peter Quinn]

For parts and a laminated maple as per OEM on some old DeWalts Check with Wolfe Machinery at WolfeMachinery.com. You'll have to call those folks, the web site is mostly informational, not a place to buy things on line. When B&D sold the radial arm saw business Original saw bought the rights to produce new machines, and did so by going back to 1950-1960 era designs, probably the technical heyday of the DeWalt saw. Wolfe bought the rights to service and rebuilt existing machinery. They helped me out with original wiring diagrams, owners manuals and schematics for my DeWalt RAS, and provided access to parts both used and new. They also sell quality blades designed for the RAS. Worth a call to see if they can help with your saw.

[Charlie Velasquez]

I just acquired a Dewalt 740 Powershop 10"RAS. It runs, but has no table. Any advice on putting it back in service? Does anyone sell parts?

A lot of woodworkers would advise you to NOT put it back into service - something about inherently dangerous. But a well-tuned RAS can be a great help in the shop.
So here is my advice:
#1 Make sure you know how to use it. Since you are asking, I'm assuming the RAS is not your usual tool of choice. Experience is the best teacher, but in this case you can't afford to experience anything bad. Get some books, "Radial Arm Saw Techniques" by Roger Cliffe is an excellent beginning book. "How to Master the Radial Arm Saw" by Wally Kunkel (aka Mr. Sawdust) has some good sections and describes the famous Mr. Sawdust table construction. You can order this from his website. (http://www.mrsawdust.com/) "Fine Tuning Your radial Arm Saw" by Jon Eakes is the bible of tuning and maintaining your saw. A MUST HAVE. This is out of print but he has it available as a PDF file on a DVD at his website (http://joneakes.com/dvd).. I think it was only $9.something

#2 Clean and lubricate every part of the saw. Everything needs to be in good condition to do its job.

#3 The table needs to be flat. All your work and settings reference from the table. Take your time when you make the table. As suggested before, do it right the first time, add a sacrificial top and you won't have to do it again.

#4 READ Eakes book... several times. Make sure you tune it well. Spend a lot of time on this the first time, then you will only need occasional tweaks later. You will be amazed at how well it will do what you want it to do.

#5 Buy a good quality thin kerf, negative hook or low angle blade and keep it sharp. I have a couple of Lietz blades I purchased from a guy on Woodnet that I like. I also have a Forrest WWI that I'll put on it sometimes. The 7740 is the little brother of the bigger DeWalts and the motor will bog down when cutting 8/4 stuff. The thin kerf helps. The low/negative angle blade helps negate the tendency for a poorly tuned RAS to climb and try to jerk through the cut as you pull.

#6 Join the Dewalt RAS forum. FORUM LINK (http://people.delphiforums.com/snotzalot/sawdust/) Some of the people on that forum have forgotten more about the RAS than a lot of others will ever know. (Wally's son spends time there)

#7 Visit (and maybe donate to) the "Old WoodWorking Machine" website (http://www.owwm.com/)They have a manual in PDF format for that machine.. If you can't find it there, let me know I have it also in PDF

#8 Think SAFETY FIRST on every cut. Know what you are going to do and how it is going to play out BEFORE you make any cut.

Good Luck

[Rich Luczak]

Hi Charlie,
Thank-you very much for your thoughtful reply. I could not find the Jon Eakes book so I placed a request with a library in Lansing to borrow it. I ordered the Mr. Sawdust book, and downloaded the PDF from OWWM.

I'm (at least) several months away from using the machine, but after following your suggestions I'm sure I'll have a solid foundation to get started.

Who did you buy your blade from on WN? A regular vendor or a private party? I use that site often my name is KzooRichie there.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it.
Cheers,
Rich

[Charlie Velasquez]

You're welcome. This is like paying it forward. There were a lot of people on various forums that really helped me along.


Hi Charlie,
I could not find the Jon Eakes book so I placed a request with a library in Lansing to borrow it.


I used the library a lot when I inherited my 7740 from my dad. My dad and I had used the saw for several years before his death, but I was astonished at how lucky I must have been when I discovered how poorly tuned the saw was. I read four or five books on the RAS, took it apart to transport it so I went ahead and finished disassembling the whole saw. Cleaned it up, put it back together. I spent an entire afternoon tuning it up the first time (Eakes said he can do it in like 20 minutes), then went out and practiced making specific cuts.

I now have a few books on the RAS specifically. Eakes's book is the only one that I would grab if my house was burning.

Try clicking on the provided link again. The DVD item says "Stationary Saws with Jon Eakes" for 9.95 Canadian (not sure how that comes out in US$), but you can pay with Paypal and let it do all the conversions.

XCESSTOOLING is the screen name of the guy that sells very reasonably priced quality blades at WN