On 3/29/2010 2:11 PM, RonB wrote:
On Mar 29, 12:45 pm, 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? 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?
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.
Would it be worth it to go after one of these things or am I just
thinking stupidly?
DeWalt Radial Arm Saw Model 7740 - $325 http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/1620826647.html
Dewalt Radial Arm Saw - $85http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/1665111701.html
RADIAL ARM SAW 10" DEWALT - $70 http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/1664498660.html
Thanks.
I went through a similar thought process several years ago when trying
to decide what size of miter saw to buy for a basement finish job. At
the time I opted for a 12" vs 10" to gain a little more size
capacity. I also decided then that I could add a RAS later when I had
more room. I have the room now, and I'm starting to think radial arm
saw again.
Comparing the two is a little like apples and oranges. Even the
sliding miters come up short on a lot of the capability of a RAS. Not
only can you do miter work with a radial, you can raise and lower the
arbor/motor to adjust depth of cut. When saw-cutting dado's it is
easier to index the stock against the fence and visually see the blade
cutting across the panel; rather than seeing it come out the other
side face-down. A RAS will accept most of the blades, dado heads,
shaping accessories, etc. that your table saw uses. Panel cutting,
within reasonable sizes, can be easier with a radial arm saw.
I don't think the RAS will give you the precision you can achieve with
a well-tuned table saw. Also, some folks will say that shaping, and
to an extent, dado cutting on the RAS isn't as safe. I would probably
agree with this but you just have to keep your head engaged as with
all power equipment.
Not seeing the original (and can't find it on Google Groups even though
it was posted from there) so putting in my 2 cents worth here.
First, check out http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/dewaltrebuild.pdf
Note that the middle one of the three listed is one of the old
industrial-strength dinosaurs--if that one doesn't have anything bad
wrong with it it's the one to go for IMO. The other two have been
consumerized to their detriment.
That said . . .
RAS and CMS don't really do the same job. Any cut that a CMS can do an
RAS should be able to do but to get it precise there's more setup time.
The CMS though is a one trick pony. What it does it does really well,
but that's all it does.
The amount of space it takes up depends on what you're doing. If you're
ripping or working with large stock you'll need clearance on each
side--if you're working with small pieces only then you don't need a
space any bigger than the saw.
There's at least 90 percent overlap between the RAS and the table
saw--there are situations where one does a job easily that it almost
impossible on the other but both will do most cuts. To a significant
extent they're complementary--ripping on an RAS is no fun at all, but it
doesn't need any kind of fixture for accurate crosscutting.
Working with small stock (defined as anything less than the cross-cut
capacity of the saw) I find the RAS much more convenient and safer than
the table saw simply because I can clamp the piece down and not have to
have my hands on it while cutting.
The page I linked above tells what to look for and how to check them out.
Books you'll be wanting:
https://www.dovetalebooks.com/sawdust/proddetail.php?prod=sawdust01 is
specific to the deWalt--note that his advice on blades, while it doesn't
exactly steer you wrong, is dated--he was writing before companies like
Forrest were producing purpose-made blades for radial arm saws.
http://joneakes.com/dvd and order the "stationary saws" which includes
his book on tuning RAS--he covers deWalt, Craftsman, and Delta in
excruciating detail. It's not a book on how to _use_ them, it's all
about adjusting them. It used to be sold as a print book and
occasionally you can find a used one but they don't go cheap--abebooks
has a couple for 68 and 75 bucks respectively.
Another that has a surprising amount of useful information is
http://www.amazon.com/SEARS-CRAFTSMAN-Woodworking-Professional-Illustrated/dp/B001M29OWK--of
course it's Sears-centric but most of what it contains applies to any RAS.