On 3/29/2010 12:45 PM, busbus wrote:
While scrounging on Craig's List, I found a couple old Dewalt Radial
Arm saws. One is pretty pricey at $325 but one is $85 and the other
is only $70. Would it be worth it to purchase one of these or would I
be better off with a good miter saw?

That depends on the cutting you plan to do and on the space available. I
routinely cut long, wide stock - and my RAS with stops set for the
lengths I want is the perfect tool for my jobs. YMMV.

I already have a Jet table saw,
so my initial thoughts are that one of these would be redundant but
the prices keep bringing me back. From what I understand, the Dewalt
is one of the few radial arm saws that were really very good at
keeping true. Or am I wrong?

The older DeWalt models (especially the 12" and 14" models) were great -
but I've heard a lot of negative comments about the more recent 10"
models - and I have no first-hand experience. While driving through
Cheyenne a few years back I heard a 14" DeWalt advertized on the radio
for $150 and still regret not stopping to find a phone to buy it.

I don't know how much space would be eaten up by one of these but I
don't think it would be ultra-terrible, is it? I "share" my garage
with my car but even if I kept it outside all the time, I would need
to put this on wheels because there is simply no room. Also, I do not
know if things get all out of whack if I would move this thing all the
time.

They /can/ grow to fill a lot of space - see what happened to mine at

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/RadialArmSaw/

I do move it occasionally, and it's withstood my occasional moving
without problem.

Would it be worth it to go after one of these things or am I just
thinking stupidly?

It's a good tool to have if you actually /need/ it, but you'll have to
decide that for yourself.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/