My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:51:52 -0400, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

Before giving it away you might want to jot down the model number of your RAS
and check it he

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

You might be entilted to a $100 check if the mocel number of your RAS is one
that they do NOT offer an updated guard kit.

On 7/19/2013 6:51 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

It's not the age that matters much at all, it's the specific model as to
whether it was ever very good and how it compares to something new or
newer also depends almost totally on what it's compared to.

Nobody can really tell you anything specific w/o the model and whether
it's worth putting money into in the end depends mostly on whether if it
did run you'd ever use it or not.

As another thread just yesterday noted, on a RAS there's at least a
reasonable chance that all that's wrong is the thing is full of sawdust
and that's stopping the internal centrifugal switch from contacting.
I'd investigate a little more thoroughly unless you know for a fact what
is wrong w/ the motor is more than just that (or, even simpler, maybe a
loose connection).

--

On 7/19/2013 8:03 AM, Spalted Walt wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:51:52 -0400, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

Before giving it away you might want to jot down the model number of your RAS
and check it he

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

You might be entilted to a $100 check if the mocel number of your RAS is one
that they do NOT offer an updated guard kit.


That will not help him, because he does NOT have the motor. To get that
$100 check, you have to send them the motor and the motor carrier. If
you have the right model, they will send you a shipping box, with the
return paid for. After they receive the motor assembly, and the serial
numbers check out, they will send you a check.

It worked for me.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:55:41 -0500, dpb wrote:
Nobody can really tell you anything specific w/o the model and whether
it's worth putting money into in the end depends mostly on whether if it
did run you'd ever use it or not.

I did a motor replacement on a Sears RAS, got the motor from Emerson
for a bit over $100 including shipping. The motor that was replaced
worked, but the play in it caused cuts wider than the blade by about
1/16th" on a 3/32" blade, and it was rather noisy.

Mark

mcp6453 wrote in
:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30
years. It's in my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I
think I'm at the point that I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old
ones? Neither my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he
likely get rid of the old RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding
compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may
be able to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old
saw that may or may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist
here that I may be able to get the motor from, but then again, it's a
50 year old saw.

There's no guarantee a new RAS will be more precise than an old one.
Some old power tools were absolute gems of tools and not priced like they
were intended to be. Other times the old tool is absolute garbage. You
won't know without experience.

If the moving parts still moved smoothly after all this time, I'd
probably look at putting some effort in to the saw. The blade will tilt
(I think), angle, turn (for ripping), and slide.

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

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:36:53 -0500, godsword wrote:

That will not help him, because he does NOT have the motor.

Perhaps you should re-read the OP's 3rd paragraph where he clearly states "A new
motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able to have
the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or may not
be a good one."

HTH

On 7/19/2013 12:36 PM, godsword wrote:
On 7/19/2013 8:03 AM, Spalted Walt wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:51:52 -0400, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30
years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the
point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old
ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid
of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I
may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw
that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may
be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

Before giving it away you might want to jot down the model number of
your RAS
and check it he

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

You might be entilted to a $100 check if the mocel number of your RAS
is one
that they do NOT offer an updated guard kit.


That will not help him, because he does NOT have the motor. To get that
$100 check, you have to send them the motor and the motor carrier. If
you have the right model, they will send you a shipping box, with the
return paid for. After they receive the motor assembly, and the serial
numbers check out, they will send you a check.

It worked for me.



I am confused.

--Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years.
--It's possible that I may be able to have the one on it rebuilt,

From the original poster's original message on first read there is no
motor, but it is possible that he actually meant that the motor while
present appears to be dead.

If he has the motor and it will not turn over, and if it were me I would
disassemble the think clean every nook and cranny. I would soak the
bearings if there are ball bearings, and re oil with fresh oil.

If the thing has not run for 30 years I would suspect all of the moving
parts are gummed up with old oil, there is wasp nest inside of the motor
and several other things that comes with standing; keeping it from running.

Where are you located? It sound like a nice project for my spare time.

On 7/19/2013 2:39 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
....

I am confused.

--Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years.
--It's possible that I may be able to have the one on it rebuilt,

From the original poster's original message on first read there is no
motor, but it is possible that he actually meant that the motor while
present appears to be dead.

....

It does appear that OP used "gone" in the sense of "isn't working" as
opposed to "left the scene"...one has to go on to the end of the
following sentence to infer that if he didn't actually have it at all it
wouldn't seem that would be talking of having it rebuilt so by
elimination...

And, it doesn't appear is non-native English speaker to boot....

--

On 7/19/2013 11:36 AM, Markem wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:55:41 -0500, wrote:
Nobody can really tell you anything specific w/o the model and whether
it's worth putting money into in the end depends mostly on whether if it
did run you'd ever use it or not.

I did a motor replacement on a Sears RAS, got the motor from Emerson
for a bit over $100 including shipping. The motor that was replaced
worked, but the play in it caused cuts wider than the blade by about
1/16th" on a 3/32" blade, and it was rather noisy.

Hmmmm....that sounds like neat trick given the nature of RAS and their
motors being in the head casting and generally specific to model...

Did you find an exact replacement or wing something else in it's stead?
Or was this somewhat unusual configuration that somehow had a normal
motor mounted? (Inquiring minds and all that ... )

I had an old 10" B&D (well actually still have it but it's never used
since have the 16" Delta now) that I pined to upgrade the electricals
from the 120V under powered to the 240V 2 hp that fit into the same
case. But I couldn't bring myself to spring for the (what seemed like
big at the time) bucks and by the time I finally was ready to pull the
lanyard the parts were NLA...

--

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:21:40 -0500, dpb wrote:

On 7/19/2013 11:36 AM, Markem wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:55:41 -0500, wrote:
Nobody can really tell you anything specific w/o the model and whether
it's worth putting money into in the end depends mostly on whether if it
did run you'd ever use it or not.

I did a motor replacement on a Sears RAS, got the motor from Emerson
for a bit over $100 including shipping. The motor that was replaced
worked, but the play in it caused cuts wider than the blade by about
1/16th" on a 3/32" blade, and it was rather noisy.

Hmmmm....that sounds like neat trick given the nature of RAS and their
motors being in the head casting and generally specific to model...

Did you find an exact replacement or wing something else in it's stead?
Or was this somewhat unusual configuration that somehow had a normal
motor mounted? (Inquiring minds and all that ... )

I had an old 10" B&D (well actually still have it but it's never used
since have the 16" Delta now) that I pined to upgrade the electricals
from the 120V under powered to the 240V 2 hp that fit into the same
case. But I couldn't bring myself to spring for the (what seemed like
big at the time) bucks and by the time I finally was ready to pull the
lanyard the parts were NLA...

Direct replacement from Emerson for the model saw they manufactured
for Sears. As it is I bought it for $85 off of Ebay and have used it
about three times.

Mark

On 7/19/2013 4:38 PM, Markem wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:21:40 -0500, wrote:
....

Did you find an exact replacement or wing something else in it's stead?
....

Direct replacement from Emerson for the model saw they manufactured...

Ah! Had forgotten Emerson actually was OEM for some of the Sears
stuff...little company I consulted thru prior to the return to farm was
sold to Emerson by founders to get financial backing to (supposedly)
expand...all it did was nearly destroy them when Emerson gave the
product line to all their Rosemount reps who immediately begin
cannibalizing the clients of the inhouse sales staff who then
essentially all quit en masse...took a number of years to even get back
to even after that, what more grow. Fortunately, the time for the move
came a short time after the initial disaster and I was an odd-ball not
actually much involved in the corporate product line as had moved over
from another consulting gig bringing a client along who was my means of
support rather...

--

"dpb" wrote:

Ah! Had forgotten Emerson actually was OEM for some of the Sears
stuff...little company I consulted thru prior to the return to farm
was sold to Emerson by founders to get financial backing to
(supposedly) expand...all it did was nearly destroy them when
Emerson gave the product line to all their Rosemount reps who
immediately begin cannibalizing the clients of the inhouse sales
staff who then essentially all quit en masse...took a number of
years to even get back to even after that, what more grow.
Fortunately, the time for the move came a short time after the
initial disaster and I was an odd-ball not actually much involved in
the corporate product line as had moved over from another consulting
gig bringing a client along who was my means of support rather...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Emerson managed to lay rape and pillage a number of successful
businesses under the guise of providing corporate cover if they joined
Emerson.

There were several in Northern Ohio; however, the most notorious was
probably Ridgid in Elyria, OH.

Remember the Ridgid calendar?

Even if you were not a plumber, a Ridgid calendar hanging in your shop
showed to all your shop had arrived.

Lew

On 7/19/2013 3:39 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 7/19/2013 12:36 PM, godsword wrote:
On 7/19/2013 8:03 AM, Spalted Walt wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:51:52 -0400, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30
years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the
point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old
ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid
of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I
may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw
that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may
be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

Before giving it away you might want to jot down the model number of
your RAS
and check it he

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

You might be entilted to a $100 check if the mocel number of your RAS
is one
that they do NOT offer an updated guard kit.


That will not help him, because he does NOT have the motor. To get that
$100 check, you have to send them the motor and the motor carrier. If
you have the right model, they will send you a shipping box, with the
return paid for. After they receive the motor assembly, and the serial
numbers check out, they will send you a check.

It worked for me.


I am confused.

--Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years.
--It's possible that I may be able to have the one on it rebuilt,

From the original poster's original message on first read there is no motor, but
it is possible that he actually meant that the motor while present appears to be
dead.

If he has the motor and it will not turn over, and if it were me I would
disassemble the think clean every nook and cranny. I would soak the bearings if
there are ball bearings, and re oil with fresh oil.

If the thing has not run for 30 years I would suspect all of the moving parts
are gummed up with old oil, there is wasp nest inside of the motor and several
other things that comes with standing; keeping it from running.

Where are you located? It sound like a nice project for my spare time.

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment. There's too
much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully soon, I will get better
information. Most of the purpose of my post was to learn whether there is any
reason to waste time on it. It sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be
interesting to someone else if I decide to give it away.

mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment.
There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully
soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose of my post
was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time on it. It
sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be interesting to
someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and freecycle. Many
are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way more useful
tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

On 7/20/2013 1:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
....

... A mitre [miter] saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

You're leaving much of the RAS's capabilities sit idle, then...

--

On 7/20/13 1:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the
moment. There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it,
hopefully soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose
of my post was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time
on it. It sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be
interesting to someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and
freecycle. Many are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that
might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way
more useful tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm
saw has ever done for me.


To each his own. I got mine for 50 bucks and the following week had
the replacement table and saw guard from Emerson delivered.
I spent a long day totally disassembling, cleaning, lubing, and
calibrating all the adjustments and angle scales, and installing the new
table and guard.

With a good quality, negative hook cross cut blade, it produces
extremely accurate, clean cuts. I also added sawdust collection to it so
it cuts with virtually no dust. I do almost all my rough crosscutting on
it and can do final crosscuts when it's too inconvenient to use the
table saw sled.

The only negative I can think of is the space it takes up. But that's
more a limitation of my one car garage sized shop than the tool. It now
sits in a wall bench next to and on the same plane as the 12" CMS.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 7/20/2013 2:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment.
There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully
soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose of my post
was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time on it. It
sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be interesting to
someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and freecycle. Many
are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way more useful
tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

Out of curiosity, can you put a dado blade in a sliding miter saw? Someone said
he kept a dado in his RAS but used the compound miter for everything else.

On 7/20/13 4:49 PM, mcp6453 wrote:
On 7/20/2013 2:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment.
There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully
soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose of my post
was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time on it. It
sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be interesting to
someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and freecycle. Many
are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way more useful
tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

Out of curiosity, can you put a dado blade in a sliding miter saw? Someone said
he kept a dado in his RAS but used the compound miter for everything else.


Most likely the arbor would be way too short.
You can't even put one of those washer-style laser guides on most CMS.



--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 7/19/2013 6:51 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.


Any worthy motor shop can make it good again.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 18:29:31 -0500, -MIKE-
wrote:

On 7/20/13 4:49 PM, mcp6453 wrote:
On 7/20/2013 2:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment.
There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully
soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose of my post
was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time on it. It
sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be interesting to
someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and freecycle. Many
are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way more useful
tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

Out of curiosity, can you put a dado blade in a sliding miter saw? Someone said
he kept a dado in his RAS but used the compound miter for everything else.


Most likely the arbor would be way too short.
You can't even put one of those washer-style laser guides on most CMS.

Like you I have the old craftsmen with the upgrade and spent time
tweaking it and adding dust collection. You can do a lot with it if
you keep track of the accuracy. Making trim for curved cabinets I was
able to mound a chuck on the opposite end and with a router bit use it
as a pin router to cut the inside of pieces. Not production but it
got the job done. There have been lots of times I was glad to have
it. Only thing I won't do with it is rip boards although with the
upgrade it probably wouldn't be as terrorizing.

Mike M

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:36:53 -0500, godsword wrote:

On 7/19/2013 8:03 AM, Spalted Walt wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:51:52 -0400, mcp6453 wrote:

My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

Before giving it away you might want to jot down the model number of your RAS
and check it he

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/

You might be entilted to a $100 check if the mocel number of your RAS is one
that they do NOT offer an updated guard kit.


That will not help him, because he does NOT have the motor. To get that
$100 check, you have to send them the motor and the motor carrier. If
you have the right model, they will send you a shipping box, with the
return paid for. After they receive the motor assembly, and the serial
numbers check out, they will send you a check.

It worked for me.

He has the motor or he would have no option to nhave it rebuilt. By
"gone" I think he means "kaput"

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:55:41 -0500, dpb wrote:

On 7/19/2013 6:51 AM, mcp6453 wrote:
My father left me a Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw from the sixties.
Unfortunately, the motor is gone. It hasn't been turned on in 30 years. It's in
my way. While there may be some sentimental value, I think I'm at the point that
I'm going to give it away.

My question is this. Aren't the new RAS more precise than the old ones? Neither
my father nor I is/was a woodworker, but wouldn't he likely get rid of the old
RAS and buy a new one (or get a sliding compound miter) instead?

A new motor is $300, if it's still available. It's possible that I may be able
to have the one on it rebuilt, but then I'd have a 50 year old saw that may or
may not be a good one. There are some on Craigslist here that I may be able to
get the motor from, but then again, it's a 50 year old saw.

It's not the age that matters much at all, it's the specific model as to
whether it was ever very good and how it compares to something new or
newer also depends almost totally on what it's compared to.

Nobody can really tell you anything specific w/o the model and whether
it's worth putting money into in the end depends mostly on whether if it
did run you'd ever use it or not.

As another thread just yesterday noted, on a RAS there's at least a
reasonable chance that all that's wrong is the thing is full of sawdust
and that's stopping the internal centrifugal switch from contacting.
I'd investigate a little more thoroughly unless you know for a fact what
is wrong w/ the motor is more than just that (or, even simpler, maybe a
loose connection).
+1 on that Some chraftrman RAS were fantastic tools - others not much
more than junk, even when brand new.

On 7/21/13 9:43 PM, Mike M wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 18:29:31 -0500, -MIKE-
wrote:

On 7/20/13 4:49 PM, mcp6453 wrote:
On 7/20/2013 2:13 AM, Bob F wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:

The motor is still on the saw, but I can't get to it at the moment.
There's too much junk in front of it. When I get to it, hopefully
soon, I will get better information. Most of the purpose of my post
was to learn whether there is any reason to waste time on it. It
sounds like there may be. At least the saw may be interesting to
someone else if I decide to give it away.

Radial arm saws are available free frequently on Craigslist and freecycle. Many
are newer than yours. If you want a usable one, that might be a better approach.

I wish I had never wasted the money on mine. A table saw is a way more useful
tool to me. A mitre saw does almost anything a radial arm saw has ever done for
me.

Out of curiosity, can you put a dado blade in a sliding miter saw? Someone said
he kept a dado in his RAS but used the compound miter for everything else.


Most likely the arbor would be way too short.
You can't even put one of those washer-style laser guides on most CMS.

Like you I have the old craftsmen with the upgrade and spent time
tweaking it and adding dust collection. You can do a lot with it if
you keep track of the accuracy. Making trim for curved cabinets I was
able to mound a chuck on the opposite end and with a router bit use it
as a pin router to cut the inside of pieces. Not production but it
got the job done. There have been lots of times I was glad to have
it. Only thing I won't do with it is rip boards although with the
upgrade it probably wouldn't be as terrorizing.

Mike M


I wouldn't think it would turn fast enough to get a router bit to cut
well. But it worked for you, so that's all that matters.

I recall ripping with mine soon after getting it and didn't find
anything more inherently dangerous than with a table saw. I don't think
anyone uses the antkick back claws on their table saws, so the RAS might
actually be safer. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply