"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
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/
Hey, I looked at your photo and saw my RAS with a larger table. I rarely use
it, but it still is handy for the cuts that it can only do. Mine was bought
in 1971 when I was trimming out the house that I had built (I am still
living in it). It was branded TECO as it was purchased from a Canadian
department store (since closed) called T. Eaton Co., therefore the brand
name. I understand it was a OMA model that a US department store also sold
under its own name.