Leon wrote in
:

Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:
I'm looking at buying a used DeWalt RAS. It's definately quite old,
but those DeWalts have a reputation for top quality. What should I
be looking for in evaluating the saw?

Puckdropper

Something to thing about. Is it going to be your primary tool for
cutting?

If not, do you have the room to dedicate to it?

I started with a RAS and built quite a bit of furniture with it. We
still use a dresser that I built. 3 years later I added a Craftsman 1
hp TS and "never" used the RAS again. 3-4 years later I got rid of
the RAS and have never missed it. 17 years later I upgraded the TS to
a cabinet saw. When I did that my CMS saw the same as the old RAS. I
still have the CMS but have not used it in the shop since 1999.

It won't be my primary tool for cutting, but I do have the room to
dedicate to it (I think.) I've seen some shop designs where they put the
SCMS and RAS next to each other, so both tools share the same work space.
It would be nice to set the RAS for a dado cut and SCMS for cut-off duty,
especially on this next project.

Cross-cutting dadoes is really my biggest thing. I figure for what I put
into a RAS, if it makes the next project easier then doesn't get used
much afterwards it'll probably be worth it.

Puckdropper

--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.