Why so many Radial Arm Saws for Sale?

[Peter Quinn]

If I had the shop space and an Original Saw, old heavy Dewalt or old heavy Delta came my way, I'd enjoy having it around. But as has been noted, the vast majority of RAS "out there" are lower end products that are just not that desirable. Some are even dangerous due to un-answered recalls.

Those Original Saw machines are really quite good. My local lumber yard set up two of them in the last few years, a 12" in the molding room and a 20" in the yard, to replace older machines, insurance company required it. They have anti climb mechanisms, braking motors, I want to say 8 bearing roller heads? Very rigid, decent safety, I'm impressed. And they start around $4K and go way up from there. A good cabinet saw like saw stop is at its base a pretty crude mechanism machining wise compared to a RAS, sort of like an upside down slider. I can't imagine what people expected to get for $375 from sears?

[Jim Matthews]

10 feet?

What's that, a sixty pound, hundred dollar board?

Yikes.

Most of my boards are 8 footers, light 4/4 maybe 9 inches wide.
I can wrangle those myself.

I doubt I could get a ten foot long board into my shop
without a flag man and an excavator to make a pathway.

[Jeff Ramsey]

10 feet?

What's that, a sixty pound, hundred dollar board?

Yikes.

Most of my boards are 8 footers, light 4/4 maybe 9 inches wide.
I can wrangle those myself.

I doubt I could get a ten foot long board into my shop
without a flag man and an excavator to make a pathway.

I bought out old stock from an old cabinetmaker outside of Philadelphia years ago who sold his entire shop, and I still have quite a bit left. It's quite heavy to hoist around! He had the largest cast iron 10" jointer I ever saw. I've no idea how someone would have gotten that out of his under-garage basement shop (I don't know how he got it in). He also had a complete collection of all of Stanley's planes (less #1); they were in a show case that a salesman used to bring to his Philadelphia cabinetmaking shop. That's the only group of tools he wouldn't sell.

[Rod Sheridan]

Good comments Peter, and I believe people expect to get a good table saw for $375 dollars also.

That might have been true in 1950...............Regards, Rod.

[jack forsberg]

I am going to have to agree with Joe that there is a place for the good RAS and trenching saws. The UK trenching saw are 1 1/4" arbor and will hold stacks up to 4.5" wide and will take spindle moulder tooling as well .But the biggest difference is they are not limited to the power of a 120 volt plug of the SCMS. Guards are not plastic and if set up proper are safe. The larger saws are heavy and do not climb cut

here is a wadkin CC trenching saw i got for $250



these are the trenching heads








here is one in a Delta 40C



here is how clean they cut





here is one cutting a tenon in a delta.

[John TenEyck]

Today I needed to cut some 60 degree bevels on the ends of 2 x 8 PT lumber for my new deck. I have no idea how I could have done it without my RAS. Of course, I could have done it with a handsaw, but I could not think of one other power option. It's just an incredibly versatile machine.

John

[Mike Chalmers]

My current supply of pine is all in 12' lengths, with most of the boards between 10 - 12" wide. One monster was 17" across! The long table is priceless.

[Henry Kramer]

I use my 1956 DeWalt MBF for just about every project. Table saw for ripping and large plywood cuts and the RAS for all of my cross cuts. A long bench on either side of the saw so 16' stock can be cut down was how I was taught.

[julian abram]

Yes, you guys hit the nail on the head, 99% of the ones I see are the cheaper models of Craftsman, Delta or Rockwell, usually priced $50-150. I not sure I've actually seen one of the true heavy duty "industrial" type saw for sell locally. I guess what really got me to thinking about it was a free offer to haul off a Rockwell unit. I looked at it and even ran the motor. It's missing some parts, but even for free not sure I want to give up space in my small shop, much less buy parts and spend labor getting it in good operational condition. It's in storage so I have some time to think about it. Thanks for all the good input!

[Mike Schuch]

When I was growing up my father had a 10" Delta Turret arm RAS as our primary woodworking tool. We did everything on that RAS. I now have a 16" Redstar turret arm RAS and could not imagine doing woodworking without it. I think it all depends on which tools you are comfortable using.

My first RAS was an old Craftsman RAS... I was pretty disappointed with it after having grown up with the Delta turret arm RAS.

[Rick Potter]

My DeWalt 7790 crosscuts perfectly square every time, and anything up to 16 1/4" gets crosscut on it. Wider stuff gets the Track saw. I cannot remember when I last used my table saw for crosscuts, and have never felt the need to build a sled.

The RAS is also the perfect tool for drawer joints, using a dado set, as well as using a dado for any shelf unit up to almost 16" wide.

I will never get my OMGA set up. Too bad, because it will crosscut 37" wide. I have just lost interest in it. It's a beast.

[Henry Kramer]

What type of saw do people use to cut long boards if they dont use a RAS? To cut a 10'-12' or even 16' board to length on the table saw would require a lot of room not to mention a balancing act. A Skil saw isnt that accurate. Do people use their sliding miter saw for cross-cuts? Every lumber yard that I have been to uses a RAS for cutting long lumber.

[Larry Edgerton]

.

I will never get my OMGA set up. Too bad, because it will crosscut 37" wide. I have just lost interest in it. It's a beast.

Not just a beast, a very accurate beast. The only thing I don't like about mine is that it is three phase which was no problem in the old shop, but at the new one I have to start the converter every time I want to use it. If I had known I was going to move I would have bought the single phase model. Does yours have the power feed arm?

Larry

[julian abram]

What type of saw do people use to cut long boards if they dont use a RAS? To cut a 10'-12' or even 16' board to length on the table saw would require a lot of room not to mention a balancing act. A Skil saw isnt that accurate. Do people use their sliding miter saw for cross-cuts? Every lumber yard that I have been to uses a RAS for cutting long lumber.

Circular saw with a speed square as a guide.

[Rick Potter]

Larry,

No arm on mine. I picked it up several years back (RN 900), and am facing the fact that I am getting older, and need to reduce the 'some day' tools. Mine is three phase also, but I bought a brand new single phase motor for it. Never mounted it. Decided I will never let go of the DeWalt anyway.