"Charlie Self" wrote in message
ups.com...

ATP* wrote:

I've used them for siding, although I haven't see too many other
contractors
in NY employ them in that manner.

How recently? My brother was using one in '68 in Westchester County,
through about '79 or so when he went to CA, from whence he came to VA.
I don't know if he used one in California, but I know for sure he used
on in NY and VA. They were popular on almost all construction sites in
and around Westchester and up in Albany back in the mid-60s through '72
when I left to go to Wisconsin. From about '73 to '77 I saw many around
Orange County, Sullivan County, etc. In '77 I moved down here, and not
long after that the power miter box started to take over, though RAS
sightings were still frequent. I don't recall seeing one on a job site
in 20 years, though, here or elsewhere.

Part of that may be the fact there are now only two makes out there. In
the bad old days, B&D, Craftsman, Delta, Monkey Ward, and others had
one or more models, and 20 years ago there were several little 8 or
8-1/2" versions from Ryobi, B&D and, I think, Craftsman. Today, the
only ones I see are Craftsman and Delta. Somehow, I have it in my mind
that Emerson made a Ridgid for Home Depot for a few years, but that may
be wrong.

Of course, there are still the old, old DeWalts, the Original Saw and
the big Delta saws, but none of those are portable. IIRC, my buddy's
Delta 14" weighs about 700 pounds, which definitely takes it out of the
job site category, while another friend has the 12", lighter but not
light enough for travel.

I started working part time about 1971. Framers here (LI) tended to work
light. Everybody didn't own a truck or an SUV in the 1970's and individual
carpenters would usually arrive in a car. Contractors had trucks but there
was usually no room for a RAS. In most cases a tool like that would not be
left on an insecure jobsite anyway. IIRC Rockwell came out with a chopsaw
way back, which my boss had, although it was probably out of reach for many.
Carpenters were expected to be able to make pretty precise cuts on the site
with a circular saw. Later, in the remodeling business, I bought one of
those Ryobi's, thinking it would be a great timesaver, but with the
exception of cutting soffits, it was a disappointment. The best carpenters
I've seen come to the job with a few basic tools and still run circles
around anybody else. Those were usually the old time union trained guys.