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dpb

On 8/7/2011 7:58 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Sun, 07 Aug 2011 19:51:46 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:
....

- If a RAS ever *does* kick back, the wood is thrown *away* from the operator.

Not on a crosscut!
....

Horse pucky!

How can it be anything else unless one is standing behind the saw
instead at the operator location? The blade is rotating away and the
arm, motor and blade guard (as well as the kickback pawls--you _are_
using and have them set properly aren't you--I knew you were) prevent an
material from possibly going up and over and thereby towards the operator.

If anything, the carriage may try to accelerate, but holding a firm hold
on it is sufficient.

I've used the RAS for 30 years+ and never had even a hint of such a
thing as kickback of material, riding over a board or the other examples
cited.

I can only infer that most of these are very lightweight, small machines
that aren't rigid enough to prevent such things. Those might, indeed,
as Robotoy says, be worthy candidates for abolishing and since they have
little if any more capacity crosscut wise than the sliding miter saw if
that's all one is doing with one then may as well use them instead since
they now exist (as another said, that's a fairly recent development).

IMO a RAS should be nothing less than the 12"
DeWalt/Rockwell=Delta/Original Saw or similar; the little 10" things
from Sears are just too lightly built. I've the 16" Rockwell-Delta and
it's used extensively; primarily for roughing out large stock to length
but it rips much more conveniently than the TS as well for sizable
pieces; it's not as handy for taking a smidge off the edge.

But, they belong built into a long table so there's support both infeed
and outfeed and as such w/ a well constructed table they are both
effective and efficient as well as safe to operate.

In my early days, like Leon, it and a jointer were the only power tools
I had and it did everything from the rough outs to shaping and even
thickness planing w/ the rotary head attachment...also have a chain
mortiser attachment that works the cat's meow for larger end mortises
and particularly angles. A drill arbor on the rear shaft and it's great
for center drilling posts, etc, as well.

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