Do you have a radial arm saw and do you use it?

[Curt Harms]

A radial arm saw will make one cut that is difficult if not impossible on any other machine found in hobby shops - cutting deep notches. I built a couple light benches using 1 X 4s to form a grid. I wanted to notch halfway thru the 1 X 4 then mate the notches. the long 1 X4s would have been awkward on a table saw. The radial arm saw cut the notches in 2 passes very nicely using a stacked dado head. I maybe could have done it on a table saw but it would have been awkward.

[Alex Zeller]

Wait- What? Were you actually feeding wood into it from the front when you were ripping? No wonder people think these are dangerous.

It didn't come with any manual and YouTube was decades away from existing. Back then you just tried it and when it didn't work you tried something different (assuming you didn't loose your fingers). I was a teen doing what I was told back then. My father's line of thinking was that if you pushed it in from the other side the blade would try to lift the board.

[John K Jordan]

It didn't come with any manual and YouTube was decades away from existing. Back then you just tried it and when it didn't work you tried something different (assuming you didn't loose your fingers). I was a teen doing what I was told back then. My father's line of thinking was that if you pushed it in from the other side the blade would try to lift the board.

Zounds, scares me just to think of it!! I shudder every time I remember the boy I sat next to in 4th grade. I think he was missing five fingers out of the ten he was born with. This was from his dad's table saw. Ack.

When ripping (or cutting molding) on the RAS I always used a hold down. It was a strong wood fence clamped in the fence slot with four spring steel curved flat pieces that pressed down on the wood from above and in towards the fence from the front. Never had an "exciting" moment when using this.

JKJ

[Jim Mackell]

Crosscuts and dados, always with a slow gentle pushing motion. If it ever dies a good sliding miter saw would replace it.

[Bruce Zurbuchen]

Dad bought it before I was born. Delta Super 900, We've run thousands of board feet through it ripping and cross cutting. Now I only cross cut as I've brought a table saw; The table saw still scares me...

[Randy Heinemann]

Got rid of mine a little over 5 years ago but didn't use it much even at that point. It was a Sears bought in the late 1970's. Must have been a low point in their tool production because it would never stay setup square for crosscuts for more than a couple of cuts. Plus, while you could avoid problems if careful, it was still one of those tools that you always had to be on edge to be sure the blade didn't grab the wood and shoot the blade toward you. Gave up and junked it when I was offered compensation for a motor which was considered dangerous and defective. I use a Festool TS55 track saw and MFT table for crosscuts now; more capacity and squarest cuts ever for me. I still sometimes use my small table saw for crosscuts, but mostly the track saw and table.

[Jon Grider]

I have had several RAS. Currently a DeWalt 1030 round arm and a DeWalt 1400 C.I.. I keep one in the garage to break down long boards before bringing them into my basement shop. I had an old Craftsman RAS before I had a table saw. It did the job, but I still marvel that I still have all my digits after using a Rotary Planer attachment on that old Craftsman. That was my SOP for thicknessing stock and it still gets my pulse up thinking about it.

[Phillip Gregory]

Crosscuts and dados, always with a slow gentle pushing motion. If it ever dies a good sliding miter saw would replace it.

A RAS is supposed to be be started with the blade behind the fence and then pulled through the cut, not pushed. The manual for my DeWalt GE even says in bold, "You should never push the saw blade into the material. Instead, always pull the blade slowly and firmly across the material."

[lowell holmes]

I always use push sticks.

[Alex Zeller]

A RAS is supposed to be be started with the blade behind the fence and then pulled through the cut, not pushed. The manual for my DeWalt GE even says in bold, "You should never push the saw blade into the material. Instead, always pull the blade slowly and firmly across the material."

More than once I've had the teeth of the blade dig into the wood causing the motor come flying at you using that method. Pushing it with the board clamped down worked the best for me.

[brent stanley]

What blade are you using Alex?

[Ted Reischl]

Ripping on a RAS is like crosscutting on a TS. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

I use mine pretty much every time I am in my shop. Mine is tuned to make very accurate cross cuts. I also added the excellent dust collection to it recently. On the arbor opposite the saw blade I have a jacobs chuck. It usually has a fiber wheel in it for deburring metal parts or polishing.

Just used it today, not for woodwork, but to cut a bunch of concrete patio pavers. Put a DeWalt 7 inch diamond blade in it, worked REALLY well, the dc got it all too. Much better than standing out in the hot yard with a circular saw in a cloud of dust. There I was, in air conditioned comfort. . . .life is good.

Once a woodworker figures out that machines/devices that are touted as "swiss army" gadgets are just a bunch of hooey, woodworking becomes more fun. That is what the marketing folks do though, LOL.

[James Pallas]

Used an RAS for 50 years. I think I tried every attachment at least once. A well tuned saw is a great tool. Before SCMS saws they were the only way to do certain cuts with power and taking the tool into the work instead of the work into the tool. Those flimsy ones can get you hurt, too much flex. Even ran a rotary planer on one, that will make you squeeze your cheeks a bit. If you have lots of compound miters to do and a big stable saw I think they are way better than a SCMS. Difficult to haul to a site tho.
Jim

[Phillip Gregory]

More than once I've had the teeth of the blade dig into the wood causing the motor come flying at you using that method. Pushing it with the board clamped down worked the best for me.

There is something wrong if the saw wants to "make a run at you." Two things will cause this to happen, using an incorrect type of blade or the saw blade binding up in the cut. A low tooth count, heavily positively hooked blade such as a typical table saw rip blade can lead to climbing during the cut. A saw that is out of adjustment (particularly if it has noticeable heeling or inadequate rollerhead bearing preload) can, so can poorly held down warped stock that moves as it is cut, and in some of the chintzy units such as the later Sears units, the arm can flex and torque and bind up the blade.

[ray grundhoefer]

I used my old craftsman for ripping lumber and plywood all the time. Didn't have the internet back then so nobody told me it was terribly dangerous. Also had the 3 cutter craftsman molding head that I used a lot.