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wrote:

I own a Sears 10" radial arm saw that I purchased when my son was in
the Cub Scouts. He's now 40 just to give you an age fix on the saw
(which actually still looks like it's new).

Recently I purchased an 8" abrasive metal cutting blade from Home Depot
and used it to cut some thin-wall aluminum tubing to length and it did
a fine job (except for the fact that the hot fiber blade made my shop
smell like a wet dog for about 12-hours). I also chopped some steel
angle stock and, except for all the sparks, that appeared to work fine
too.

Is there a problem with cutting metal on a radial arm saw normally
intended for woodworking?

Why I ask is that I have some 1-1/2" hard aluminum (7075?) bar stock
that I need to cut down to machine on my lathe. Am I in for some
unexpected problems if I try to cut it on this saw using a 10" abrasive
blade?

Thanks in advance.

Harry C.

The abrasive grit from cutting steel will play heck with the rollers
and any sliding interfaces. You can either accept the damage or take
extraordinary measures to protect these areas, and suffer the damage
anyway.

Aluminum cuts way better with a saw blade. Negative rake or zero rake
teeth are better, as they will not dig in or self feed. Nice clean cuts.
Clamp everything. There are abrasive blades for aluminum, but they are a
poor second choice to a saw blade.

You can pretty much give up on ever cutting wood for fine projects with
the saw. There will be bits of grit finding their way to the wood
forever. Worse than trying to do varnishing in the driveway during fly
season. :-)

There was an article in Home Shop Machinist a while back on the use of
a RA saw in this manner.

Cheers
Trevor Jones