Do you own one?

[Fred Voorhees]

I have an older Craftsman, a freind got it somewhere and he gave it to me. I built it into a thirty foot long bench in my woodshop. Although I don't use it much, it really comes in handy when I have to batch cut a number of identical items. I have also used it to repeatedly cut dado's. It does have its place in my shop, though, as I said, it doesn't get used all that much.

[Dar Lounsbury]

I, too have an older 10"" Craftsman RAS. At one time, it was heavily used for dados/Rabbets. Once I got a SCMS, use slowed down. Now have purchased a panel router for the dados and the RAS is a foot deep in dust.

Reasonable offer and it is gone. Not worth much but I could use the space.

Dar

[Bob Johnson2]

I've had one forever, it was my first power tool bigger then a circular saw. Works fine and I do use it, not nearly as much as I used to though and I don't think I'd buy one today. I use it for crosscutting when finish is not a concern, as in 2x4's, pressure treated, and such, built most of my house with it. I keep a few older 40 and 50 tooth blades around for it and don't worry too much about what I run into. Kind of like my Craftsman circular saw that I cut pavers with.
For a cleaner cut I opt for the power miter, or a Slider if I had one, it's nice to not have to swap around blades. I may pass it down to my son when I need the room for another tool or he asks to borrow the miter saw again, took 6 weeks to get it back.
It just kind of sits there out of the way until it's needed.

The table surface comes in handy all the time...

[aurelio alarcon]

I have a DeWalt 770 that was my first saw. An older DeWalt, that my dad had, built some homemade speakers, out of walnut ,veneer and solid, that I still use today, albeit in the garage. When I crank up my old 150w/channel [60's] Kenwood tuner those speakers put out some sound. They shake the ground and can be enjoyed, quite comfortably, at least 100 yards away. Got to crank up "Old Time Rock & Roll" and "Sweet Home Alabama", as well as some CCR.

I use my RAS for cross cuts, some mitering and some dado work. I'm not sure I'd buy one now, but I wouldn't get rid of the one I have, even though I do have a CMS and I really don't know what I did before I got my TS.

I love classic rock!

[aurelio alarcon]

Even at their peek of popularity (back in the 1970s as I recall), I did not own one. I used some owned by friends but could never get comforatable with them and had trouble setting them up to get exactly the cut that I wanted.

These days with good choices in both sliding compound mitre saws and guided circular saw systems, it is my opinion that radial arm saws survive only as redundent curiosities.

I suggest that if you want to find out how popular they are that you extend this question in a new thread with an attached poll.

That is an excellent idea. I might try to make up a poll. But if someone else beats me to it, its ok. (I'm not that good at formulating polls)

[mike lucas]

According to Mr. Sawdust himself, the 1950`s were the Radial arm saw best times, with many millions of the DeWalt brand sold each and every year from 1950-1962, it was Sears, and Black & Decker that ruined the RAS reputation. They cut corners and done away with the trainers.

Mr. Sawdust says that if you can find an old DeWalt RAS with the solid cast iron rounded arm that runs, to try to get it. So I bought one that is 53 years old. And it looks like it will never ware out in a thousand years. The arm alone wieghs more then 75# on the one I own.

To buy a new saw like mine at Original, it would be $5500 after shipping. And I have just $750 in it. These were/are over built for the one man shop.


The RAS is the best machine in a woodworking shop. That is as long as it is one of the great one`s DeWalt built in the 50`s, it is aligned properly, and the operator is well trained with it. There is no other saw that can come close to a well tuned radial arm saw.

The fence and table is as important as any other part of the RAS. If they are not square, parallel, straight, and solid, the rest of the saw will be junk.

My brother bought a 14" Delta RAS new about 4 years ago. The minute he seen my DeWalt, he said that he wish he would have found one before he bought his saw. Then once we had the fence and table setup properly, he wanted my saw, even said he would talk paying some on the trade. I'll be keeping it until I die. Then hopefully, my Son, or Son in law will keep it!

I can rip a sheet of plywood down the center, quicker, safer, and easier then I can on the 10" Powermatic model 66 table saw. The dado setup is much quicker, the saw is just so much safer to use then a table saw. And because of Sears, most woodworkers and the general public as a whole think the radial arm saw is dangerous, when it is one of the safest machines one will find in the shop.

I use the RAS 3 times as much as I do the table saw. I could see me selling the table saw, but never the radial arm saw.

[Alfred Hoffmann]

I own a Craftsman 10" RAS for the past 35 years. I use it extensively. I use all its accessories - Dado, boring, cross cutting, ripping as well as mitering. You have to align it properly to have it do its job well.

Al Hoffmann

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I bought a SawSmith made by ShopSmith way back in the fifties. I used it for everything, drilling, milling, shaping, etc. I never considered it dangerous. If one just followed tha manual and set everything up right it was flawless. I still had it when I had my auction last year and although I had a shop full of tools I still used it as a cut off saw and did dadoes when they needed to be done just right.

[Scott Stephens]

I to own a 10" Craftsman. I use it mostly for crosscutting. I am going to be building a deck around my swimming pool this spring. Will take it out of the shop, set up on the back deck, build my deck, and then to the garage and up for sale. My shop is on the small side, so I am getting a sliding compound mitre saw. I want build a cabinet with a long top the same height as the SCMS (and hopefully my planer), and maybe add a downdraft table to it. I could use the extra storage space under it also.

[Steve Stube]

I have 5 of the 70's vintage Craftsman 12" RAS's but two are for use with router sleds. I have used C man 10 inch RAS's but I would not accept one as a gift at least not if it had the aluminum clamshell post base or the open gearbox that most all had.

RAS's are frequently traded because "wood butchers" don't understand or care about the proper setup of the saw so consequently it won't perform well. It gets sold or otherwise passed on. Craftsman offered a complete set of detailed instructions for proper setup of the RAS but many folks that buy second hand never see these necessary steps to successful accurate cutting. My guess is that 9 out of 10 RAS owners haven't a clue how to set one up correctly. And then there are the weekend warriors and crowded shop owners that think they ought to be able to roll that RAS around and get accurate cuts because they set the saw up correctly 10 years ago. I have news for those folks (and maybe even you), you can kiss that setup goodbye the moment you move that saw and I mean even the very heavy duty 12, 14 and 16 inch commercial units by DW and Delta. Believe me if you care about your cuts being right you need to go thru the setup whenever the RAS is moved or bumped into sufficient to knock it out of alignment.

[Frank Pellow]

That is an excellent idea. I might try to make up a poll. But if someone else beats me to it, its ok. (I'm not that good at formulating polls)

OK,I set one up. See the thread: http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=16975

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I like them, but only use them for crosscutting. I don't have one anymore...sold it on ebay to make room for the cabinet saw last year. I use my sliding table now and it's much more accurate.