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Thread: Looking for RAS replacement safety key

  1. #1

    Looking for RAS replacement safety key

    I inherited a Montgomery Ward Powr Kraft Radial Arm Saw (Model TPC 2610C) which I have now set up 6 months later to find that the RAS switch key is missing. A Google search of the Web was no luck. Any ideas, short of hiring a locksmith?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Kingsport, TN
    Posts
    11
    You probably won't be able to find one. Sears has replacement saftey switch keys for their equipment, but I bet the Monkey Ward one was different.

    My suggestion would be to take the old one off and replace with a toggle switch. Or check with some of the online catalogs for a safety switch. However, you may not be able to find one that will fit the old opening correctly.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Buddy Clark View Post
    I inherited a Montgomery Ward Powr Kraft Radial Arm Saw (Model TPC 2610C) which I have now set up 6 months later to find that the RAS switch key is missing. A Google search of the Web was no luck. Any ideas, short of hiring a locksmith?
    Hiring a locksmith may not be that out of the question. The problem will be they will not have a blank...but may be able to changeout the switch.
    John Lucas
    woodshopdemos

  4. #4
    You could open the handle by removing two screws and remove the part that the key pushes down so the trigger can be pulled(be careful,the trigger can break if plastic,Mine just did that,I have to find a way to fix the top of the trigger or get a new one,my key lost the top portion),if you can get a new key...put tape over it so it stays in the slot.

  5. #5
    I need a new trigger assembly where to get that?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    1,830
    This post was from back in 2009. I doubt anyone involved is even looking at this post any more. Talk to www.ereplacements.com
    to see if they have any ideas about how to fix this. Do you have the manual and parts list? They, or any other source, will probably want the part number.

    Charley

  7. #7
    I had the same problem - solved it by cutting a small rectangle of sturdy plastic from a plastic bottle. Piece I cut was about 3/8" by 3/4" (approximate). I pushed the plastic into the slot and taped it in place. I no longer need a key.

    But I have a different problem. I can no longer raise the arm with the crank. I think what might have happened is the saw on it's stand got lowered way down - 3-4 inches below the table if the table top had been in place. I wonder if it's possible that since it got lowered so far down, perhaps the gears are not meshing which is required to raise the arm/saw. Any ideas from anyone out there? THANKS!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Sterling, Virginia
    Posts
    644
    Does the crank just free spin or is it jammed? if it free spins I think you are correct that it is not engaging the rack. Can you get a jack under the column to lift the weight while you turn the crank? A bunch of penetrating lube around the column would be a good idea also. If it is jammed tight the penetrating lube may loosen things up. Good luck! Let us know how it comes out.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Walter Plummer View Post
    Does the crank just free spin or is it jammed? if it free spins I think you are correct that it is not engaging the rack. Can you get a jack under the column to lift the weight while you turn the crank? A bunch of penetrating lube around the column would be a good idea also. If it is jammed tight the penetrating lube may loosen things up. Good luck! Let us know how it comes out.
    25+ years ago my Craftsman RAS got difficult to raise and lower. I had to take it apart, clean, and lubricate before it was like new again. But I agree with Walter, knowing if it is jammed or running free without engaging should indicate what to do.

  10. #10
    My forty year old Craftsman RAS broke its switch about 10 years ago, this is how I fixed it:

    IMG_1190.jpg

    Apologize the picture is up-side-down.
    Assumption is the mother of all screw ups
    Anonyms

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
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    7,541
    Quote Originally Posted by Orv Askeland View Post
    I had the same problem - solved it by cutting a small rectangle of sturdy plastic from a plastic bottle. Piece I cut was about 3/8" by 3/4" (approximate). I pushed the plastic into the slot and taped it in place. I no longer need a key.
    I recall doing the same thing with a slivver of wood. I don't recall what machine it was. Replacing the Montgomery Ward switch with a different style motor rated switch would work as well. Grizzly among others have push button switches that would be suitable but they're probably too big to fit where the switch is now. I did learn a lesson about light switches and motors. I was using a band saw that was using a light switch that welded itself in the on position. The only way to stop the saw was to unplug it. Luckily it had a plug; if it were hard wired I'd have been hunting circuit breakers while the saw hummed merrily along.

  12. #12
    I have one of the Powercrasft saws. Srill in use on and off when I’m working up at my camp. That’s where it’s migrated to simply because it does pretty much everything i need to install a T&G ceiling and trim work in one package.
    Only issue is parts, Wards closed it’s doors in 2001 and the Powercraft brand tools became orphans unless they were rebranded units of other manufacturers. Parts were available for a few years after, a couple of folks bought all of the NOS parts stock and sold them. IIR they were in St. Louis and Boston or near there.
    You will most likely have to bandaid the switch some how to get around the safety key. Chances of finding one of those without buying a parts machine are very slim,
    As to the issue of raising the post with the crank. If it turns freely, pull the table top off. The shaft is exposed and you can probably figure out what’s what. If it’s frozen, all is not lost but you will have to do a major disassembly. The housing is cast pot metal of some flavor, probably aluminum. It’s sturdy enough for the job it needs to do but the post is steel and dissimilar metals are a potential corrosion issue especially if the saw is kept in a humid unconditioned space. Solution is straight forward. Get the housing and post to a hydraulic press and separate them. Then hone the housing with a ball hone (flex hone). Engine rebuilders generally have one to roughen up cylinder walls a bit. Amazon does too. That gets the corrosion off of the housing. The post should clean up easily. Go with solid lube like Moly or graphite at reassembly. After a little silicone spray and exercising the lift over the full range once in a while keeps things in order. It should be obvious how I know this.
    The saw isa not a bad hobby level saw. If you are looking for perfect fits right off the blade you can get it but you will be spending a lot of time chasing alignments and trial cuts and even then you will have to tweak by hand .. Initially I had issues with it staying aligned. In later years it seemed to behave better in that regard. I still check thpugh. The one fault that I have is deflection of the arm as the motor is move to the ouy board positiob. Fo through cuts, it’s not an issue but for cuts like dadoes or rabbets it’s noticeable. If it matters make the cut with a rip setup and watch your fingers.

    jg

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    1,830
    Don't use silicone spray.

    If any of it gets on your wood or on anything that touches your wood, it will become a nightmare at project finishing time. Everywhere that the silicone drops land you will have fisheyes in your project stain and finish. I banned silicone lubricants from my woodshop 50 years ago, and had to trash much of the wood that was in my shop at the time, because of silicone spray. I still have and use silicone lubes, but they are 200' away from my woodshop in my garage. That is as close as it will ever be allowed. Synthetic lubricants, Johnsons Paste Wax, or dry lubes like moly lube are ok, but don't ever spray them in your woodshop either.

    Charley

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