Tommy T wrote:
I have had a Craftsman 10-inch electronic radial arm saw
(113.198211) for about 20 years. For years it has not made a clean
cut. The cut is warped. Lately it can barely make it through
anything thicker than 3/4" pine. This morning it stopped dead
trying to cut a 2x4. I've adjusted the blade many times to make it
square in every direction. I don't believe it's the blade because,
although it has been several years since I replaced the blade the
newer blade that i bought at that time didn't improve the cut at
all. Besides, I have a comparably old (and comparably used) 8-inch
table saw and it cuts the same piece of wood with ease, cross cut
or rip.

Does anyone have a suggestion before I begin the costly,
inconvenient, and most like unsatisfactory experience of taking it
to a sears repair store?

What do you mean, "the cut is warped"? Do you mean it isn't straight
(how can that be?)? If so, something isn't straight. Might be the
carriage in relation to the wood (most likely), might be a bent blade,
might be a dull blade. I reckoned the first as most likely since you
tried a different blade. Are you holding the wood tightly against the
fence and pulling the carriage? Got the blade on backwards? The
teeth should point down in the direction of rotation...teeth at the
bottom should point back, away from you. Is the saw kerf burned?

As far as stopping dead in a 2x4, that isn't all that unusual...the
saw isn't exactly a powerhouse and if you try to feed too rapidly - or
if the wood is warped and moves - stopping is what you get.
Especially with hard wood.

--

dadiOH
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