What's the footprint for a RAS "Radial Arm Saw"?

[Mike Olson]

I currently have a 12" sliding compound miter saw which is working fine but i'm a bit put off by the footprint it requires. It uses a 42" deep by 46" wide area. I have to angle it off to one side when i'm done so I don't keep knocking into the table angle adjusting arm when I walk by. it's 38" deep when angled out of the way.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has a 10" or 12" RAS and could tell me what the footprint is that it uses. If it's comparable, then I might try and pick one up on craigslist as a replacement for my mitersaw.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

Mike

[Don Jarvie]

Probably need 30 by 35 or so. Depends on what size. May need a bit more than 35 if you go over 12 for a RAS.

[Roy Turbett]

I have a 1957 DeWalt GWI built into my bench. Its about 34" wide by 26" deep and is considered one of the best RAS ever made. It has a 1 1/2 hp motor that can be switched between 115 v and 230 v. When its not in use, you can move the arm to the back and still use the bench.

DeWalt RAS 003.jpg

[Bill Orbine]

I currently have a 12" sliding compound miter saw which is working fine but i'm a bit put off by the footprint it requires. It uses a 42" deep by 46" wide area. I have to angle it off to one side when i'm done so I don't keep knocking into the table angle adjusting arm when I walk by. it's 38" deep when angled out of the way.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has a 10" or 12" RAS and could tell me what the footprint is that it uses. If it's comparable, then I might try and pick one up on craigslist as a replacement for my mitersaw.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

Mike

Curiously, What 12" compound sliding miter saw takes up roughly 13.5 square feet of floor space? I mean, my 12"scms takes up less than 5 sf space when closed up. But that's when stowed away in storage. My 14" RAS takes about 13-14 sf of space... it's a retracting arm type saw.

[Mike Olson]

Curiously, What 12" compound sliding miter saw takes up roughly 13.5 square feet of floor space? I mean, my 12"scms takes up less than 5 sf space when closed up. But that's when stowed away in storage. My 14" RAS takes about 13-14 sf of space... it's a retracting arm type saw.

It's the Harbor Freight 12". Those bars force it to sit way out front and swing wide from side to side.

[Mike Olson]

I have a 1957 DeWalt GWI built into my bench. Its about 34" wide by 26" deep and is considered one of the best RAS ever made. It has a 1 1/2 hp motor that can be switched between 115 v and 230 v. When its not in use, you can move the arm to the back and still use the bench.

DeWalt RAS 003.jpg

Thanks for the info, that's a very nice looking setup.

[Art Mann]

I had a Craftsman RAS and it takes up considerably more space than my Hitachi slider. In your case, it is possible to rotate the slider arm to one side to minimize how far it sticks out into the room. A RAS sticks out equally as far but it isn't practical to turn the arm to the side all the time. Even if you could, the table sticks out to the end of the saw arm. Recently, I bought a new slider from Bosch (GCM12SD) that uses articulated arms to support the head rather than tubes. The space behind the fence is only a few inches. This is an expensive saw but I have been wanting one for a long time. My Hitachi broke at the same time the Bosch went on sale at Amazon for $100 off - a perfect excuse to upgrade. Another option is one model of slider from Hitachi. The head slides on tubes like other sliders but the tubes are located to the side of the saw rather than behind it. This also allows the fence to be placed very close to the wall. I think Lowes Home Center stocks this model so you can go see it easily if you are near one of their stores.

[ShawnE Curry]

My Hitachi broke

Another reason to choose an old DeWalt RAS! I have my grandfather's 1959 MBF - thing is built like a tank.

I just built a folding sawbuck from 2x4's, and used a lot of half-lap joinery on it, so I needed to make a whole bunch of short crosscut dadoes. Could do it on the tablesaw, but that would require a lot more setup than was needed for the RAS. Mounted the 1/2" dado stack, made a fresh cut in the fence, use that to position stop blocks, cut all the dadoes in under an hour. Lets see you do that with a scms!

[Floyd Mah]

Since you seem to have worked out how much space you need on that blue shelf (in front of and in back of the saw), if I were trying to make that saw work, I would modify the table just a bit more. Place hinges at the back of the support and drop the table down when it isn't in use and put a table top in its place when not using the saw. Bolt the saw to the table. I suspect that you are currently not just taking the CMS down, when not in use, is because the saw is very heavy, about 60 pounds if I recall correctly.

[Art Mann]

Another reason to choose an old DeWalt RAS! I have my grandfather's 1959 MBF - thing is built like a tank.

I just built a folding sawbuck from 2x4's, and used a lot of half-lap joinery on it, so I needed to make a whole bunch of short crosscut dadoes. Could do it on the tablesaw, but that would require a lot more setup than was needed for the RAS. Mounted the 1/2" dado stack, made a fresh cut in the fence, use that to position stop blocks, cut all the dadoes in under an hour. Lets see you do that with a scms!

My Hitachi broke because I wrapped a piece of aluminum threshold molding between the blade and the aluminum shroud. It broke the blade guard. It was a stupid mistake where I didn't secure what was being cut properly. I have probably cut many thousands of linear feet of 1 and 2 inch mostly hardwoods over the decade i have owned the Hitachi and have no complaints about its durability or performance. I have also cut thousands of pieces of crown, case and base molding with the saw - a task for which a RAS is not well suited. My personal preference is to have the ability to cut molding rather than the ability to cut dados if I could choose only one tool. I have several different ways to cut dados. By the way, the Bosch and Hitachi saws I suggested hasveprovisions for limiting the cut depth to a specific dimension so as to cut dados with it, although I doubt I would use that feature.

The original poster was interested in saving space and that is what prompted his original question. Your photo shows that your RAS is taking up about the same amount of space as a typical sliding compound miter saw. I suggested what I thought might be an improvement in the amount of space required.

The fact is, I would own and use an old Dewalt or Delta Rockwell or Walker Turner or any of the other great old brands of RAS if I could find one. My shop is large enough to accommodate. I watch Craigslist closely for tool deals and I haven't seen a worthy RAS for sale within 100 miles of my home in several years. Buying one that is new and is the quality of yours would be cost prohibitive if I could even find one. Unless the OP lives in an area full of woodworkers, buying a used saw that is worth owning (not Craftsman!) may not be possible. You obviously don't want to sell yours.

[ShawnE Curry]

That looks to be roughly the size of the table on my RAS. I think the total footprint is roughly 36" wide by 30" deep.

DeWaltMBF.jpg

[ShawnE Curry]

I have also cut thousands of pieces of crown, case and base molding with the saw - a task for which a RAS is not well suited.
[...]
Your photo shows that your RAS is taking up about the same amount of space as a typical sliding compound miter saw.
[...]
The fact is, I would own and use an old Dewalt or Delta Rockwell or Walker Turner or any of the other great old brands of RAS if I could find one.

Most reviews I've seen of chop saws and SCMS's usually knock their accuracy in a bevel or compound setup. These old cast iron RAS's do not suffer from this. I use all sorts of sacrificial fences with it for different purposes, and I've never had an issue cutting moldings. A simple cradle jig keeps the piece in the right orientation.

The photo posted earlier wasn't mine, although I've now posted a picture of mine for comparison. I have the MBF - baby brother to the GWI. The footprint is roughly 36" wide by 30" deep.

I'm surprised you're not able to find one - there are a couple different ones listed on CL in my area. They were very popular saws in their day, and they *never* die. I actually dropped mine about 2-1/2 feet loading it onto the truck, because it wasn't secured to the stand; needed a realignment but everything was fine.

[Mike Olson]

Since you seem to have worked out how much space you need on that blue shelf (in front of and in back of the saw), if I were trying to make that saw work, I would modify the table just a bit more. Place hinges at the back of the support and drop the table down when it isn't in use and put a table top in its place when not using the saw. Bolt the saw to the table. I suspect that you are currently not just taking the CMS down, when not in use, is because the saw is very heavy, about 60 pounds if I recall correctly.

Because it is heavy and it's only a few inches less if I were to fold it down due to the 2x4 the shelf sits on and the height of the saw even when locked down like shown in the picture.

[Mike Olson]

I'm surprised you're not able to find one - there are a couple different ones listed on CL in my area. They were very popular saws in their day, and they *never* die. I actually dropped mine about 2-1/2 feet loading it onto the truck, because it wasn't secured to the stand; needed a realignment but everything was fine.

I'm in your area and am now, on the hunt!

[HANK METZ]

"...I have also cut thousands of pieces of crown, case and base molding with the saw - a task for which a RAS is not well suited...."

Well, actually the radial saw, be it DeWalt, Delta or others was the tool of choice for thousands of lumber yards themselves cutting thousands of pieces of trim, millwork, 1X and 2X, etc. stock. The saw type played a prominent role in the construction of Levittown, and other mas- produced affordable housing stratagem. The DeWalt "Moto Miterbox"- the original spawn of all contemporary miter saws (ca. 1940's) was originally designed as an dedicated, narrow- scoped version to answer trim and finished carpentry needs.
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