On 8/7/2011 7:39 PM, dpb wrote:
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.

--

Agree with most of that, however:

My first RAS which lasted for 32 years was a 10" Monkey Ward universal
motor type. It was great, held alignment and did have the "climb" issue
until I figured how to set the rail bearings correctly (along with all
other adjustments)and started using the proper crosscut technique. It
did one rip kickback early on when I tried to cut a narrow piece of 1/4"
ply which came back like an arrow and peeled about half my thumb nail
off - healed up nicely without any after effects. It had a high speed
spindle which was great for overhead routing. I used it for rotary
surface planing, horizontal boring, disc and drum sanding and had a
variable speed router control that helped with some operations. It's
big drawback was the universal motor which probably accounts for the
current state of my hearing. Finally, the smoke all leaked out of it -
probably as a result of my incorrect replacement of brushes.

My current RAS is also a 10", but a Searz model. It is much quieter as
it doesn't have a universal motor. Contrary to Robo's critique of the
"control cut" feature, I have never had any incident as a result of it's
use. It's main problem is the "safety guard" with all the hangy down
things that make blade changing, deep cuts and miter adjustments a real
pain in the tookas. I'm considering removing those as the old RAS
worked fine without them.

The point about constant adjustments isn't a problem if the saw is set
up correctly and proper techniques are used - in other words not having
the motor climb or bind.

I use the table saw for what it does best and the RAS for what it does
best. I don't shake or tremble at the thought of eithers use, just make
sure all setup and technique is done with care.