In article , Robatoy wrote:
In article ,
Adam wrote:

Now I just need to learn everything else about it, particularly in regards
to keeping all the parts I was born with attached.

RAS's are a nasty piece of gear. A blade with sharp teeth at 3500 RPM is
not only dangerous as is..but now we're hanging that on a little
carriage?!?!?!

I'm always mystified at the prejudice displayed toward RASs by those who have
never owned and rarely used one.

Radial arm saws are WAAAAAY safer than table saws. When operating the RAS, one
hand is *always* on the handle of the saw and it is therefore impossible to
amputate that hand or any of its digits - and to keep the other hand safe, all
you have to do it put it someplace that isn't in the path of the blade, and
keep it there.

Kickback is a rare event, and if it occurs, the workpiece is thrown *away*
from the operator, not *toward* him as with a TS.

Crosscutting long boards on a table saw is insane by comparison with doing the
same on a radial arm saw.

Ripping looks scary... but think about it - there's less blade exposed during
rip operations on a RAS than on a TS (assuming you haven't done something
stupid like removing the guard).

I know I'm coming perilously close to violating the Usenet Prime Directive by
attempting to inject a dose of reality into a discussion, but, please, let's
at least attempt to be a little bit objective here.


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?