Radial Arm Saw

[Eugene Dixon]

I still remember my father going to Lazarus in Columbus Ohio to buy a DeWalt RAS in the late 50's. He built sloped front cabinets and a stylish wall of shelving with that saw in Ohio. We built a house in AL using it when we took over my grandfather's dairy farm. My BIL has that saw now.

I bought a used 12" Original RAS, 5 hp at GovDeals auction a few years ago. Much more substantial than the DeWalt and much longer arm. It was listed as 3 phase but turned out to be single phase when I picked it up. I was happy. I spent several hours building and leveling a replacement table using the outline in the RAS guy's book (sorry don't remember the exact name of the book - the author had passed and the family still published the book) - father of the Dewalt RAS I think he was called. I had access to a large, heavy layout table complete with clamping blocks at the university I was teaching at. Spent a Saturday and Sunday on campus on the glue up. I can find the name of the book if you are interested. PM me.

I took the saw apart far enough to clean the bearing runs on the arm. The carriage bearings seemed solid. The tilt indicator was out of calibration but I didn't worry too much about that until the last shop move. Overall, the saw was tight, i.e., no slop.

I don't use it frequently but have done cross cutting, ripping, and dados. It is, to me, ideal for cross cutting dados.

Glad I have it. But really don't use it enough to justify the floor space. It does remind me of that old DeWalt, however.

[Jim OConnor]

If you come across one, an OMGA radial arm saw is also a really solid industrial saw

[Earl McLain]

I still remember my father going to Lazarus in Columbus Ohio to buy a DeWalt RAS in the late 50's. He built sloped front cabinets and a stylish wall of shelving with that saw in Ohio. We built a house in AL using it when we took over my grandfather's dairy farm. My BIL has that saw now.

I bought a used 12" Original RAS, 5 hp at GovDeals auction a few years ago. Much more substantial than the DeWalt and much longer arm. It was listed as 3 phase but turned out to be single phase when I picked it up. I was happy. I spent several hours building and leveling a replacement table using the outline in the RAS guy's book (sorry don't remember the exact name of the book - the author had passed and the family still published the book) - father of the Dewalt RAS I think he was called. I had access to a large, heavy layout table complete with clamping blocks at the university I was teaching at. Spent a Saturday and Sunday on campus on the glue up. I can find the name of the book if you are interested. PM me.

I took the saw apart far enough to clean the bearing runs on the arm. The carriage bearings seemed solid. The tilt indicator was out of calibration but I didn't worry too much about that until the last shop move. Overall, the saw was tight, i.e., no slop.

I don't use it frequently but have done cross cutting, ripping, and dados. It is, to me, ideal for cross cutting dados.

Glad I have it. But really don't use it enough to justify the floor space. It does remind me of that old DeWalt, however.

Wally Kunkel was known as "Mr. Sawdust" and the book is "Mastering the Radial Arm Saw". Focused on the Dewalts (Mr. Kunkel was a rep), but most of the info is adaptable to good saws. My table for my 1957 GWI (Dewalt) is still flat 7 or 8 years later. The Kunkel family is good people, i felt good buying the book from them.

Another good solid reference is John Eakes' "Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw". Not sure if that one is still available, so happy hunting!!
earl

[Warren Lake]

offered Omgas a few times and should have scooped at least one. 225.00 Can dinaros, a good blade can cost that much and he would have delivered as well.

[Earl McLain]

offered Omgas a few times and should have scooped at least one. 225.00 Can dinaros, a good blade can cost that much and he would have delivered as well.

Ouch!! I passed one up just prior to pandemic for $400 USD--and shouldn't have!! Might have saved my marriage though...

[Ron Hampe]

Can you recommend a decent saw with this type of frame?
Although there are 88 drawers in this 23' bench all are full now and the most that I would be willing to part with is 4.
I would prefer a 24" crosscut, but would settle for a 10" saw if none of the 12" ones have that type of frame.
Please excuse the mess, the new shop wasn't done when this photo was taken.


Dewalt RAS.jpgUnisaw outfeed down.jpg

[James Jayko]

I get so tired of hearing this and I ripped a lot of wood on my 10" Craftsman.
When used properly an RAS is no more dangerous than any other power tool in the shop.

This just isn't true. The design of the RAS is fundamentally flawed for ripping, and is much more prone to grabbing and throwing because of its physical design. Also, the way the saw pulls the work piece into the stop (part of what mades it good at cross cutting) seems to me to make it EVEN MORE likely that a mistake will lead to a serious de-fingering or worse. It CAN be done, but physics says "Just because you can does not mean you should."

My friend's dad is a micro surgeon, reattaches hands and fingers and whatnot. He has always said that radial arm saws put his kids through college.

[Ole Anderson]

As a teen I learned on my dad's 8" green Dewalt. When I started my own shop in my basement, I bought a Montgomery Ward 10" RAS with two spindles, one 20,000 rpm for router bits. Interesting concept and it got a lot of use. But I could never get it to keep a 90 degree cut. After I got my G1023 and a miter saw, needing the room I eventually gave it to my son who almost never used it. He sat it out for the trash one day.

[Jonathan Jung]

Whichever saw you get, either select one with a brake or put a VFD on it for braking. I've got an Omga with a mechanical brake that stops the blade in less than a second.

[Barry McFadden]

I get so tired of hearing this and I ripped a lot of wood on my 10" Craftsman.
When used properly an RAS is no more dangerous than any other power tool in the shop.

I agree with Ron. I've had a Sears Crafstman 12" RAS saw for about 40 years now , ripped tons of wood on it and never had as much as a kickback on it. As long as the kickback pawls are adjusted properly and you stand out of the line of a kickback should one occur they work great. I also switch the arm from 90 degrees to other angles when crosscutting and move it back to 90 degrees and there is no loss of accuracy.

[Eugene Dixon]

IIRC, that is about what I paid for mine. And 2 tanks of gas round trip to get it. Gas was cheaper then.

[Ron Hampe]

Just came across this 10" for $50. is it worth buying? Seller is supposed to send more pictures tomorrow and the model #.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...ssenger_banner

[Barry McFadden]

personally I'd pass on something like that.....

[Dave Roock]

Just came across this 10" for $50. is it worth buying? Seller is supposed to send more pictures tomorrow and the model #.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...ssenger_banner

For $50 or less, not much of a gamble. If you replaced that table & cleaned it up, it would look just fine. I think you should buy it.

[Earl McLain]

Looks like a GWI--though could be an MBF. Late 1950's with that AMF badging. Also looks like the original table mounts are intact. The only reason i would not buy it (for $100 +/-) would be if the ways are worn to the point of the carriage being sloppy. RAS's used in production settings, making repeated short-stroke cuts, the ways in the arm tended to wear after a LOT of cuts. That saw doen't look like it was in a production setting--just based on the lack of paint wear on the handle. If it runs, and the arm is not excessively worn--may be an excellent buy. BUT...if you do, plan on new motor bearings (relatively inexpensive). Carriage bearings are usually okay--repack at worst. New table, and you may have a good working saw.

edit--looks like the dual voltage switch is missing from the motor...that's the empty hole on the back of the motor housing. Don't recall if that was specific to the 1.5 hp motor or if the 3/4 hp motors had it too. Just a toggle switch to flip between 120v and 240v (today's numbers) without having to change any motor connections. I have no idea how to check which voltage this would be defaulted to (low or high) in the absence of that switch.