DeWalt 7749 Radial Arm Saw

[Dave Roock]

00000_geGM0QP0Sizz_0CI0t2_600x450.jpg Picked this up last weekend. Other than a couple dents from careless storage & some needed cleaning/maintenance, it appears in excellent condition with limited actual usage. Not sure on age - also included was an original Craftsman Accessory kit with Molding Head & shaping guard, Rotary Surface Planer, Sabre Saw & Fence attachment. And.. Radial Arm Saw Techniques by Roger W. Cliffe , with some magazine clippings on wood joinery from a 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Next will be a new table based on Mr Sawdust plans...

[Rick Potter]

Looks like early 70's to me. If you are new to RAS's that book should be a great help to you. One term you may not be familiar with is 'heel', which is very important to having the saw adjusted right.

Skip the above if you are not new to them. The saw looks really clean. So many are rust buckets.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

That looks like a good sturdy saw. The auto brake is a good safety feature. I had a brush with a saw as it was coasting down and very nearly stopped. Even at very slow RPM the result was an injury.

[Holmes Anderson]

00000_geGM0QP0Sizz_0CI0t2_600x450.jpg Picked this up last weekend. Other than a couple dents from careless storage & some needed cleaning/maintenance, it appears in excellent condition with limited actual usage. Not sure on age - also included was an original Craftsman Accessory kit with Molding Head & shaping guard, Rotary Surface Planer, Sabre Saw & Fence attachment. And.. Radial Arm Saw Techniques by Roger W. Cliffe , with some magazine clippings on wood joinery from a 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Next will be a new table based on Mr Sawdust plans...

Used RASs are a great way to get wide crosscut capacity for short dollars. The saws are excellent for cutting rough stock to length but are often relatively inaccurate. More importantly, ripping, planing, molding, shaping and other operations described in the manual can be very risky. Even as a crosscut saw they have a tendency to creep forward if there is no safety device. Craftsman provided swinging guards for retrofit to old saws because the saws have a habit of creeping forward and severing fingers. You probably know all these things already but because you mention the accessory kit it seems worthwhile to mention that these saws have a bad reputation for a reason. They are really a one-trick pony for crosscutting rough lumber if you don't have a slider. You will want a negative rake blade to minimize self-feed for safest operation. I use a Forrest and it makes a world of difference versus a standard crosscut blade. Still, I would rather have a slider.

[Dave Roock]

Looks like early 70's to me. If you are new to RAS's that book should be a great help to you. One term you may not be familiar with is 'heel', which is very important to having the saw adjusted right.

Skip the above if you are not new to them. The saw looks really clean. So many are rust buckets.

The saw was made in Italy. Still has the protective plastic wrap on it. Somewhat familiar with RAS but has been a very long time since last usage. Purchased a CMT negative 5% hook blade yesterday - that should help with "climbing" issues. Will be going through and checking everything, lubricating WD-40. Feels solid with track. Some interesting techniques in that book - shaping is ruled out, I have a shaper. I do not feel a RAS is any more dangerous than other saws, keeping fingers out of way very important on any saw/power tool. I think RAS are very overlooked/underrated, many people tend to follow what others opinions on non-relevance, which may not always be accurate.

[John TenEyck]

A quality RAS is an incredibly versatile machine capable of very high accuracy. Mine is my preferred way of crosscutting parts to finished length, especially when I have to make a lot of long parts where it would be difficult to support them on the crosscut sled on my TS. The climb cutting problem happens on saws with low stiffness and using the wrong blade, but if you keep your hands where they belong you will never get hurt. A negative rake blade is a must on those saws. Proper use technique is a must on any saw.

Love my old Dewalt.

John

[Holmes Anderson]

The saw was made in Italy. Still has the protective plastic wrap on it. Somewhat familiar with RAS but has been a very long time since last usage. Purchased a CMT negative 5% hook blade yesterday - that should help with "climbing" issues. Will be going through and checking everything, lubricating WD-40. Feels solid with track. Some interesting techniques in that book - shaping is ruled out, I have a shaper. I do not feel a RAS is any more dangerous than other saws, keeping fingers out of way very important on any saw/power tool. I think RAS are very overlooked/underrated, many people tend to follow what others opinions on non-relevance, which may not always be accurate.

Dave, I tend to agree with you but just for the sake of discussion, which machines do you consider the most dangerous? I use a 3 HP shaper and it easily demands more respect than any other machine in my shop. Next in order would be either the router table or the RAS. Even with the negative rake blade, the RAS has a tendency to climb. It also has a bad habit of binding in rough hardwood that is thicker than 4/4.

[Dave Roock]

Dave, I tend to agree with you but just for the sake of discussion, which machines do you consider the most dangerous? I use a 3 HP shaper and it easily demands more respect than any other machine in my shop. Next in order would be either the router table or the RAS. Even with the negative rake blade, the RAS has a tendency to climb. It also has a bad habit of binding in rough hardwood that is thicker than 4/4.

Hello Holmes, I would say a circular saw is the most dangerous. A shaper would probably rate as a close second. With a RAS, a sharp negative rake blade should eliminate many possible issues. Keeping your fingers out of the way on a RAS appears easy to me - I watched someone cut his finger off on a band saw back in HS. Caution is prudent with all power tools, drill press included.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A family friend who was a very wise old farmer and skilled woodworker always cut by pushing the RAS back into the wood. I have tried it. I don't like it. Thanks for the reminders on the non climbing blade.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I have an old 12" 50's 240v DeWalt which I love for dado work and of course it excels in cross cutting. I've never attempted ripping on it, but when I was a carpenter in the 1960s, we built whole homes with a single RAS and yes we ripped plywood and dimensional stock. I was taught that the biggest safety feature for all power equipment is your brain and a healthy respect (fear) for the tool. With the blade angle and the blade rotation, the saw will force the lumber into the fence, which is what you want to happen.

I had to look up the term "heel" and I don't believe I've ever adjusted it, only an annual adjustment of the arm to make sure it is 90° to the fence.

[Dave Cav]

I used various RAS in my shop for 40-odd years. Started out with a horrible Montgomery Wards, then got a decent 80s Delta, then a succession of vintage DeWalts round arms and Delta turret models. I loved acquiring and restoring the little MB series Dewalts because they are such a cool little piece of industrial design, but I ended up giving all of them away. They were great for breaking down stock, and I did quite a bit of rabbet, lap joint and dado work, too, but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing. A few years ago I got a slider and the RAS had to go, and I really haven't missed it.

[Rick Potter]

I have probably had a dozen RAS's, and the only time I had to adjust 'heel' was when I bought a used saw and someone had tried to adjust those three pesky little screws on the back of the yoke.

Easy explanation of heel: If you make a partial cut and measure the kerf, it should be the same as the blade kerf. Assuming no damage like bad blade or bent arbor, if the kerf is wide, the saw has heel. The saw is going straight but the blade is cocked, and making a wide kerf. Not to be confused with cutting an angle.

Well, maybe not so easy, but I tried.

[Tony Joyce]

but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing.

But shouldn't this really apply to all power tool woodworking operations!

[Michael Schuch]

A quality RAS is an incredibly versatile machine capable of very high accuracy. Mine is my preferred way of crosscutting parts to finished length, especially when I have to make a lot of long parts where it would be difficult to support them on the crosscut sled on my TS. The climb cutting problem happens on saws with low stiffness and using the wrong blade, but if you keep your hands where they belong you will never get hurt. A negative rake blade is a must on those saws. Proper use technique is a must on any saw.

Love my old Dewalt.

John

I completely agree. I grew up learning woodworking on my fathers Delta 10" turret arm saw. My first radial arm saw (and first stationary saw) was a well used Craftsman RAS that I was a little disappointed in the Craftsman after learning on the heavy cast iron Delta.

I have owned my 1947 16" 7.5hp RedStar 50A radial arm saw for almost 30 years now and it is the most used saw in my shop! It has always done an excellent job of keeping accurate repeatable angles.

PICT8053.JPG

Unfortunately I fear I am going to have to retire my beloved RedStar RAS. I recently picked up a 16" 5hp LONG ARM Delta 40C radial arm saw in pristine condition for $100 and the extra crosscutting length of the long arm kind of trumps my 30 year relationship with the RedStar.
00q0q_23oXNQyzKw4z_0fu0kE_1200x900.jpg

I have always wanted to try and probably own a UniPoint radial arm saw. They were kind of the first miter saws.
s-l1600 (2).jpg
Not my UniPoint, but she sure is pretty isn't she!

[Dave Roock]

I completely agree. I grew up learning woodworking on my fathers Delta 10" turret arm saw. My first radial arm saw (and first stationary saw) was a well used Craftsman RAS that I was a little disappointed in the Craftsman after learning on the heavy cast iron Delta.

I have owned my 1947 16" 7.5hp RedStar 50A radial arm saw for almost 30 years now and it is the most used saw in my shop! It has always done an excellent job of keeping accurate repeatable angles.

PICT8053.JPG

Unfortunately I fear I am going to have to retire my beloved RedStar RAS. I recently picked up a 16" 5hp LONG ARM Delta 40C radial arm saw in pristine condition for $100 and the extra crosscutting length of the long arm kind of trumps my 30 year relationship with the RedStar.
00q0q_23oXNQyzKw4z_0fu0kE_1200x900.jpg

I have always wanted to try and probably own a UniPoint radial arm saw. They were kind of the first miter saws.
s-l1600 (2).jpg
Not my UniPoint, but she sure is pretty isn't she!

90b0d99c-7e77-4103-a4ae-ae76010abca0.jpg I won this Unipoint & conveyors at an auction last week. Now if I only had somewhere to put it lol