Do I need a RAS in my shop?

[Nick Crivello]

Just ruminating on ways to improve workflow in my small ~425sq ft workshop. I have a 1946 era 12" DeWalt 3hp 3-phase RAS that I really love; it's a great looking tool with character. Despite that, are there compelling practical reasons to keep a RAS in a workspace that includes a Felder slider, track saw, jigsaw, shaper, shaper origin, and full size plunge router? It takes up about 4' of space along one wall next to the workbench. I have several machines on mobile bases such as the bandsaw and planer, which are moved about during projects. It would be handy to have a 'parking spot' for 1-2 as it's annoying to have to keep moving things around...

[Rod Sheridan]

As a slider owner I vote no, it’s just taking up valuable space.

My mitre saw has been banished to the shed, something the slider also replaced

Regards, Rod

[Michael Burnside]

I don't think owning a slider or not matters too much. I don't own one and my answer is probably the same as Ron's. Personally, I think it depends on your workflow and what you build. I cannot think of the last time I used my RAS for final dimensioning lumber. Even when I rough-cut I often just pull out the old jigsaw. It's nice, sometimes, but far from necessary unless what you do or how you do it makes the RAS the best tool for the job.

[andrew whicker]

Interesting.. as a non slider owner I am hoping to get my ras to the point of enough accuracy in order to final cross cut panels.

I more or less hate the tracksaw for efficiency reasons

[Nick Crivello]

I more or less hate the tracksaw for efficiency reasons

I find the track saw very handy for many tasks, but they can certainly be inefficient. Many accessories can mitigate it. A full size MFT table with fence and hinge mounted track goes a long way to overcome them. I have one of those Dashboard PWS tables that I wasn't able to fully realize in my space.

[Patrick Kane]

I don't think owning a slider or not matters too much. I don't own one and my answer is probably the same as Ron's. Personally, I think it depends on your workflow and what you build. I cannot think of the last time I used my RAS for final dimensioning lumber. Even when I rough-cut I often just pull out the old jigsaw. It's nice, sometimes, but far from necessary unless what you do or how you do it makes the RAS the best tool for the job.

It does to a certain degree, because the Felder performs all the operations the RAS does. It is redundant, and probably inferior. The Felder will cut a workpiece that is significantly wider than the dewalt's CC capacity, i assume. I havent been around his model of RAS, but im guessing the Felder crosscuts with greater accuracy too.

I would sell it. I sold my MFT and kapex when i purchased a used felder slider. I think that was 6ish years ago and i have zero remorse. Now, oddly enough i did buy a Northfield Unipoint RAS last year. The way my table saw is setup, it isnt terribly convenient to cross cut long lumber. Furthermore, crosscutting something that leaves a 4'+ offcut on the rip fence side of the blade hits my dust collection drop.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I had a 12" DeWalt RAS for about 14 years, and I paid $25 for it at an auction. It was nice for very rough fast cuts, but that was about it. It never was in the shop, but in the sawmill building for 7 years, and then in the new building while I built that and afterward. If a sawmill customer needed to cut a pile of boards shorter to fit in his vehicle the RAS was great, but I could do the same thing by stacking the boards and cutting them all at once with the chainsaw. If you had lots of room I would keep it for those times when it might be handy, but in limited space it wouldn't seem worth it to me. I'm in a similar sized shop to yours now, and have had to prioritize a bit.

[Nick Crivello]

It does to a certain degree, because the Felder performs all the operations the RAS does. It is redundant, and probably inferior. The Felder will cut a workpiece that is significantly wider than the dewalt's CC capacity, i assume. I havent been around his model of RAS, but im guessing the Felder crosscuts with greater accuracy too.

I would sell it. I sold my MFT and kapex when i purchased a used felder slider. I think that was 6ish years ago and i have zero remorse. Now, oddly enough i did buy a Northfield Unipoint RAS last year. The way my table saw is setup, it isnt terribly convenient to cross cut long lumber. Furthermore, crosscutting something that leaves a 4'+ offcut on the rip fence side of the blade hits my dust collection drop.

It's a short arm RAS with about 18" or so cross cut ability. The slider exceeds that by miles. Thought I might be doing more tenon and dado work in future builds, but the routers and shaper(s) can also do this. The Felder is an earlier K700 with short arbor and inability to use dado stacks however.

[John TenEyck]

As one who would never get rid of my old Dewalt RAS, I would not get one if I had a slider. There are things the RAS can do easier than any other machine, like plow dados, and make horizontal cuts (Try that with a slider or just about anything else, and, yes, I've used my RAS for that function and it's saved my bacon a couple of times.), but I easily could live without it IF I had a slider.

Fear not, Andrew, you will get your RAS dialed in and be able to crosscut anything out to the capacity of your saw with as much accuracy as any other machine. I use my RAS to crosscut anything that will fit on it. With a calibrated length stop on the rear fence, I can cut one or a hundred parts to identical length. It can be used on either side of the blade, too, something you can't do with a slider.

John

[Nick Crivello]

I had a 12" DeWalt RAS for about 14 years, and I paid $25 for it at an auction. It was nice for very rough fast cuts, but that was about it. It never was in the shop, but in the sawmill building for 7 years, and then in the new building while I built that and afterward. If a sawmill customer needed to cut a pile of boards shorter to fit in his vehicle the RAS was great, but I could do the same thing by stacking the boards and cutting them all at once with the chainsaw. If you had lots of room I would keep it for those times when it might be handy, but in limited space it wouldn't seem worth it to me. I'm in a similar sized shop to yours now, and have had to prioritize a bit.

Not to mention a battery powered jigsaw can achieve those same rough cuts.

I actually did just that a few weeks back; picked up about 122bf of wide pine lumber from hardwood dealer. Broke them down in parking lot with the jigsaw in all of maybe 5 minutes. Threw everything in the SUV and away I went.

[George Yetka]

I like the idea of either a RAS or CMS to break down wood. The RAS can double as a cross dado machine. The CMS can double as something you can use outside the shop for trim/framing etc. Each do take up room though. And I agree a jigsaw can handle rough breakdown or even a tracksaw with a short track but I need a place for drawer storage so a Miter saw station fits the bill

[Edward Weber]

Well, I've always had a RAS since about 1990 or so. I never understood the notion that they're only good for rough dimensionless. you can tune up just about ant saw to make straight repeatable cuts.
Recently, i got an Omga for $30 at auction. A little clean up and it's a great tool I would never get rid of.
Work flow, specific tasks, etc, there is a place for an RAS IMO, regardless of your other tools.

[Bradley Gray]

14" turret saw here. It's not going anywhere. Cut some12' to length yesterday.

[Michael Burnside]

I never understood the notion that they're only good for rough dimensionless.

I never said that or meant to imply such a notion. The reason I only use mine for rough-dimensioning is that I generally build furniture and when I'm dimensioning, it's usually rips and crosscuts and I prefer the table saw as it does it all for me.

Even a skill saw and a square can be used to dimension lumber if you got the skill. My grandpa did...I don't.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I don't understand why people choose a jigsaw to crosscut lumber. It seems like a handheld circular saw is an order of magnitude faster, at least for the saws I have owned or used, and tends to cut straighter and cleaner. I'm sure the RAS I had could have been tuned to cut better, but I didn't really need it for that.