Storage locker score - Delta Milwaukee Multiplex 40-B RAS, 2HP 14" blade

With the reports of inaccurate inconsistent results with these modern sliding miter saws made of plastic and aluminum, having owned and cussed them myself, I decided to go old school and get a cast iron radial arm saw. There are TONS of RAS for sale, top saws can be had for under $200 and under $100 is pretty common for the Craftsman saws.

I opted for this 280 pound beast a 1950's Delta Milwaukee Multiplex 40-B. I could have gone much larger but didn't really have the room for one. This one will take 12" and 14" blades, crosscut 15" of 2" thick stock, has a 2HP single phase motor switchable either 110 or 220, and is built like a tank. Even the base is cast iron I like that.

I found the saw on Craigslist, some guy said he purchased a storage locker and this was one of the tools in there. I'm going to restore this saw to is former glory and this will be my chop saw. I'm 51 years old, for a saw that's 10 years older than me this thing looks pretty good.

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Nice, I like it! Good score!

Very nice. I'm currently reading Kunkel's (Mr. Sawdust) "How to Master the Radial Arm Saw!" and it makes one nostalgic for old arn equipment. Christmas came early, Charles. Post pics of the restoration!

That's a beauty and great condition too. I like the position of the height adjusting crank. That's the single thing that bugs me about my '54 Dewalt RAS; it's awkward to crank the arm up and down. Once you get your machine all adjusted, you'll wonder why everybody doesn't use one. Shhhh. We don't want to drive the price up.

Awesome! Good score!

Once restored, that machine will eventually see you off the planet and will be ready for the next owner. The cord cap and plug combo was a common way to leave the saw on a job site and easily take the head- the most valuable part- home so theft was not much of a problem. When you make your new table, do not skimp by using a 3/4" thick slab. We've learned much since that saw was made and contemporary experience shows a thicker table gives superior results.

Very nice score B.T.W.

Thanks guys. Hank its good to know why it has the cord plugs, my first thought was what kind of Mickey Mouse thing is going on there? I'm surprised they were worried about theft it took 3 guys to lift it into the back of my truck. We only had 2 guys, after we heaved it up there we gave each other the 'lets never do that again' look. lol

I picked up a giant adjustable wrench to break loose the huge 1-21/32 arbor nut.

When you have a whip you only need one guy Charles. :rolleyes:

I just got back from dropping off the motor at Scotty's Electric Motors and Pumps. Scotty who looked to be in his 60's e.g. he's seen his share of motors was impressed with the weight. He picked it up out of my truck and about half way back to his shop said, "I can't believe how heavy this motor is" lol. I weighed it its 52 pounds!

I plugged the motor in, it started with the on/off switch in either position and did not sound too healthy. I also noticed someone replaced the on/off switch with some cheap Mexico switch not rated for the amperage. So I had Scotty check it out, he said the bearings were shot which I knew. Someone had also replaced the original starter on the back of the motor with an electronic starter at some point and the wiring looked dodgy. The cap 'looked okay' and he said it probably wouldn't need to be re-wound but he would check it out. I told him to return it to as new condition, bearings, cap, electronic starter which we think is shot, re-wind or re-varnish/bake as needed but I don't want it to fail in two weeks. He seemed happy a customer didn't want to cheap out with a band-aid fix.

In case of tornado shield yourself with this cast iron electrical box :)

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Delta listed their saws as portable, not because of weight, but they would go through a 3-0 door with table removed. My 10/12 (same as Norm used) weighs 300#, but it's listed as "portable."

If it's like the smaller Multiplexes, it's interesting to note that this is an earlier era's idea of a lightweight saw: except for the cabinet, column and motor, most of that 250 lbs is aluminum! That's one heck of a solid saw.

Hey Alan, there's not much aluminum in my saw its about 90% cast iron. The base, column, and arm are cast iron and steel. About the only things that are aluminum are the blade guard, the yoke (though most of what attaches to it is iron or steel and there's a steel hub cast into it) the track but again most of the parts that attach are iron or steel. Maybe they were transitioning to aluminum I hear the 40-B wasn't around that long.

Thats a classy old saw. I remember fondly the first RAS I used in high school shop quite some time ago. Thought it was an awesome tool then, and still do. Welcome to the RAS Club!

I wonder how many different ways the manufacturers came up with to slide the motor. Must have been a patent lawyer's meal ticket. That one has some similarities to the Walker Turner I have posted in the classifieds. Interesting old things.

What will it crosscut? Just curious.

Rick Potter

Rick the specs say it will cross cut 15" of 2" thick stock. Technically I could cut 15", stop, slide the track out and cut another 5" to 8" because unlike the later RAS the track on this saw is not fixed. Not sure how accurate that would be but the track slides on a dovetail brass way. I doubt I would ever try I'd use a sled on the table saw.