RAS Cross-cutting question

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,
I know that I’m asking a lot of questions lately about my RAS, but please be patient with me, because here’s another one.
I have a 1960’s Craftsman 10 inch RAS, and I need to crosscut a piece of 1 inch thick material that’s almost 13 inches wide. The problem is, no matter how I place my front and rear tables and fence, my saw won’t crosscut that wide. About 12 inches is the absolute max that it will go. I don’t want to do this with a rip cut, and I don’t want to do this by cutting halfway, then turning the piece around to cut the other half. I don’t have a table saw, and I don’t want to try this with a circular saw, since this cut is to be done on an antique clock, and I want it to be an excellent cut.
Does anyone have a similar situation in which they needed to cut a wider piece than was normally possible on their RAS and if so, what solution did you come up with? I’ve considered using a smaller diameter blade than a 10 inch, possibly an 8 inch to reduce the “room” that the blade needs behind the fence, but I’m not sure that that’s the best solution.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Louis

[Bill White]

the pcs. over when I've had to make these cuts. If you do it carefully you can make a smooth cut. Gotta have the saw set up squarely to be accurate.
Bill

[Matt Day]

Sounds like you have the wrong tool for the job. There are other ways to do it, for instance clamp a guide board at 90* then run your circular saw or router against it.

[Louis Brandt]

As I explained, this cut calls for a smooth cut, because it's on the door of an antique clock. I don't currently have a router, and I don't want to use a circular saw on such a fine piece.
Louis

[Ray Phillips]

It appears that you have been given several options that you chose not to do. I don't see that putting an eight inch blade on a ten inch saw would work because you still have a stop on the saw it will not travel beyond the stops. Maybe you have a woodworker friend with a table saw that would allow you to cut the piece or cut it for you.

[Chris Barnett]

You might want to consider posting your location so folks can offer some assistance if they see you are close. If you are trying to stay hidden, they can still find you :D. If you were close you would be welcome in my shop (assuming you followed my safety rules).
A different size blade will not make a perceptable change in the cutting length since the cut is perpendicular to the work surface. The longest cut will be from a perpendicular to the blade axis at the rearmost blade position to the perpendicular at the foremost position. The blade diameter affects only the vertical dimension.
If you have your RAS perfectly aligned (yeah, right for a RAS;)) you can make part of the cut, turn the work around, and position the work using the blade in the end of the cut, then make the cut. Practicing on scrap will make you a master of this method. But that is probably still beating a dead horse. Hope you solve the problem.

[Louis Brandt]

Thanks to all for your replies. I'll keep working on it.
Thanks,
Louis

[Peter Quinn]

My RAS cross cuts 24", so I'm stumped. Cut it at my house? If you are saying that a small RAS is the only wood working tool you have, then I suggest again you use a sanding block and a guide board. A skill saw with a fine cross cut or plywood blade and a backer, guided by a straight rip of plywood is also a serious contender. Not sure why you ruled that out so quick.

[Steve Schoene]

For centuries, cuts weren't meant to come directly off the saw perfectly ready to be finished, so getting a perfectly smooth cut isn't really essential. A small block plane would take care of any roughness you might get from other methods of cutting off the board. Even a hand saw would work fine as long as you just cut outside of the line.

[Tom Veatch]

... I’ve considered using a smaller diameter blade than a 10 inch, possibly an 8 inch to reduce the “room” that the blade needs behind the fence, but I’m not sure that that’s the best solution. ...

Don't think that will help. Anything you might gain on the back side, you'll lose on the front side. You could gain a little width by lowering the arm. Don't know how far you can go that way before the blade gets into the saw structure below the table, plus you might need a new table top afterward.

Absolutely nothing wrong with using a guided circular saw for the cut. I agree with the hesitation you're experiencing since my skill with freehanding a long cut with a circular saw yields results that are fine for cutting a joist to length but not desirable for fine furniture. However with a guide, careful cutting, and a good sharp blade a handheld circular saw can rival the cut quality of a RAS or TS.

If that or none of the other suggestions tickles your fancy, break out the handsaw. If your skill set doesn't contain handsaw expertise, cut a little wide of the line and clean up with a good sharp low angle plane. My old Stanley 60 1/2 plane will take endgrain shavings that are almost transparent. 'Course you could also do that with a freehand circular saw cut.

[Doug Shepard]

Any way you could stick this door on an angled platform to get that last 1" ? If I did the math right I think you'd need 22.7 degrees but it's a moot point if the carriage or arbor wont clear it.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I think you have your fence in the front position....if you have the original tables you can switch them around and get 16" cut....I've not seen one that will only cut 12".

When I bought my RAS I immediately chucked the original fence made my own out of hardwood as far back as possible on the table surface. Mine is a 1965 model Sears RAS and I love it!

[Matt Day]

As Tom said, there's nothing wrong about a guided cut with the circular saw. Since you don't have a router, I think you have two pretty clear options: circular saw or find someone local to do it for you.

Just take a look the following Festool's guided saw system has, for example, if you don't think it's a guided circular saw is a good option.

[Jack Hutchinson]

Could you elevate the stock? Raise it an inch or more and you should get a longer cut. You may need to start with a plunge, lowering the spinning blade into the stock before drawing it across to get all you need. You'd be cutting the wood you placed beneath it also.

There are other solutions offered which would work well, but you sound determined to stay with the RAS.

- Jack

[Gene Michael]

I have a 1972 Sears 10" RAS. Here's how I routinely get 16" and occasionally more when the normal travel is 14".
1. The fence can be placed further back either by rearranging the table boards or by cutting new ones. Be sure that your blade will be clear of the work piece when you start the motor. I keep my saw set up this way and get 15 1/2" of travel and have room for a 2" board with 1/4" to spare.

2. For that last half inch, when the saw is solid against the stop, I carefully lift the edge of the board being cut, supporting both sides. This gives about another inch.

3. Use two people for this one. Place the fence all the way in the back, directly against the tension screws. Raise the saw and blade a couple of inches, then put your work piece in place. Hold the saw motor and the piece to be cut firmly firmly while having a helper SLOWLY lower the running saw into the wood. Be sure to know how many turns of the crank to lower the blade.

I'm sure some will say that 2 and 3 are dangerous, but I've done #2 many times and #3 dozens. I've also been told my old saw is dangerous because there is no blade guard as there is on the newer models. By being careful and taking time to plan out the cuts, my RAS has given 36 years of injury free service.

[Rick Potter]

I agree with those who say you should be able to cut more than 12". I have had several RAS from different manufacturers, and all were able to cut about a 16" crosscut. I cannot imagine Craftsman would be that much different. They could not have been competitive if they were.

Rethink where the fence is.

Rick Potter
PS: my newer DeWalt is right on, and I never change from the crosscut position. The cut in the table is just that, a cut, not a dished out groove like I see so often.

[Jason White]

Try to find somebody local who owns a Festool saw and guide rail. Maybe they'd be willing to let you borrow it or make the cut for you. You won't get any tearout with one of these. A TS55 or TS75 will do the trick.

Jason


Hello,
I know that I’m asking a lot of questions lately about my RAS, but please be patient with me, because here’s another one.
I have a 1960’s Craftsman 10 inch RAS, and I need to crosscut a piece of 1 inch thick material that’s almost 13 inches wide. The problem is, no matter how I place my front and rear tables and fence, my saw won’t crosscut that wide. About 12 inches is the absolute max that it will go. I don’t want to do this with a rip cut, and I don’t want to do this by cutting halfway, then turning the piece around to cut the other half. I don’t have a table saw, and I don’t want to try this with a circular saw, since this cut is to be done on an antique clock, and I want it to be an excellent cut.
Does anyone have a similar situation in which they needed to cut a wider piece than was normally possible on their RAS and if so, what solution did you come up with? I’ve considered using a smaller diameter blade than a 10 inch, possibly an 8 inch to reduce the “room” that the blade needs behind the fence, but I’m not sure that that’s the best solution.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Louis

[Jason White]

I'm with Peter. You could make a "shooting board" for your circular saw. You can build one so that the "sled" will support the wood fibers on both sides of the blade, so you won't get tearout. Also get a blade with a high tooth count (the Freud Diablo has 40 teeth, I think).

JW


My RAS cross cuts 24", so I'm stumped. Cut it at my house? If you are saying that a small RAS is the only wood working tool you have, then I suggest again you use a sanding block and a guide board. A skill saw with a fine cross cut or plywood blade and a backer, guided by a straight rip of plywood is also a serious contender. Not sure why you ruled that out so quick.

[Terry Stellman]

You didn't say how long the board is. If it is fairly short you could make a sled to hold the board and set up the saw in a ripping configuration with the sled sliding against the fence. This way you could crosscut any width board.

Terry

[Gary Elore]

I know that when I initially installed the new table boards and fence that came with the blade guard upgrade (Craftsman radial saw recall), it significantly reduced the width of cut of my saw. I got most of it back by cutting a strip from the rear (behind the fence) table board and placing it in front of the fence board.

I had to do a little experimentation to determine the absolute maximum I could move the fence board back, and still have the blade guard clear the fence board when the handle is squeezed.

[Kirk Poore]

1. Cut it as far as you can.

2. Draw a line the rest of the way across the board at the cut. Handsaw the remainder just outside that line.

3. Handplane the remaining section so it's flush.

Kirk

[Bruce Benjamin]

Lots of good alternative suggestions in this thread. But clearly this is either an issue with the size of the tables on the RAS and where the fence is placed or Craftsman made some sort of bizarre 10" RAS in the 60's that nobody else has ever heard of. I've never seen any 10" RAS that would only cut 12" unless the tables were sized or positioned wrong.

A simple solution is to push the saw carriage all the way back, measure where the closest you could put a fence and still clear the blade guard and cut some new tables from MDF or particle board to fit. Install the tables with a new fence and you should be ready to go. If the arm of the saw is freakishly short for some reason then your next step is to follow one of the other suggestions. If that doesn't suit you then...I dunno, got a hatchet?;)

By the way, if the arm of the saw really is that short I'd toss it in the trash and spend $50 to $100 on a used one that has a 16" cross cut capacity. Even in my relatively small town there is nearly always a Craftsman RAS for sale pretty much every week in the paper, in the, "Nickle Ads", or on Craig's List.

Bruce

[Ken Tucker]

Hello,
I know that I’m asking a lot of questions lately about my RAS, but please be patient with me, because here’s another one.
I have a 1960’s Craftsman 10 inch RAS, and I need to crosscut a piece of 1 inch thick material that’s almost 13 inches wide. The problem is, no matter how I place my front and rear tables and fence, my saw won’t crosscut that wide. About 12 inches is the absolute max that it will go. I don’t want to do this with a rip cut, and I don’t want to do this by cutting halfway, then turning the piece around to cut the other half. I don’t have a table saw, and I don’t want to try this with a circular saw, since this cut is to be done on an antique clock, and I want it to be an excellent cut.
Does anyone have a similar situation in which they needed to cut a wider piece than was normally possible on their RAS and if so, what solution did you come up with? I’ve considered using a smaller diameter blade than a 10 inch, possibly an 8 inch to reduce the “room” that the blade needs behind the fence, but I’m not sure that that’s the best solution.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
LouisHello ,I had to cut 14" w board I used a stop block made 1st cut fliped it over and made the 2nd cut right on the money:D