radial arm saw

[Peter Quinn]

I have an old craftsman radial arm saw and I am in the process of trueing it up and I have done everthing the manual says,,but my problem is that then it cuts,,it actually goes thru the wood at a angle,,the blade actually pushes the wood back,,the manual says to move the rail system unloosten a bolt on the bach so you can move it right or left,,i have tried this and cant seem to get it to move,,i know its old and but can anyone tell me how to set the rail ,,or move the rail,,,,i hate to get rid of it,,,but I really would like to have it cutting square,,i did everything the manual says and layed a square on the table to make sure the blade runs true from the back to the front and it does,,but I still have the same trouble when I start it,,the blade goes thru at a angle and pushes the wood to the left,,i even changed blades but still no luck,,,,

The bolts on the back hold the fence and rear boards which are essentially cleats in place, not the front table, which is what must be squared to the carriage's travel. You have to loosen the 6 bolts that hold the front table to the frame, they should be on slotted holes, then you tap the front table into square, tighten the hold down bolts, then reinstall the fence and rear boards. Thats the way I'm reading the manual I found on line. Similar to older delta models Ive set up, simple but should work. Those wing bolts on the rear are NOT the squaring mechanism, its the whole front table that must be adjusted. This whole thing assumes that the front board on your saw has a straight rear edge to reference, if yours does not have a straight rear edge, make it straight.

[Denny Tudor]

Jeff.

Peter is right on in previous post. Carpenters square is best tool to square up table.
For addition info- Hands down the "bible " of RAS books is by Jon EAKEs

http://joneakes.com/learning-curve/75-radial-arm-saws

its also available at Amazon.

They are are great tools. I would never ever give my craftsman ras up.

[Ken Combs]

First order of business: call the number for the recall(google radial arm saw recall). You may get a new table and guard free if yours is in the right age bracket.

I've had the 'pleasure' of aligning several of these.

A I recall the sequence is:Adjust column to support tension/clearance(clamp screw on the back of column support). Adjust column to arm free play(set screw on the back of the column support). level table to the motor(screws that hold table supports to the frame?. square arm to the table(screws on back of arm/column). align the blade to the kerf(bearing eccentric adjust on carriage). Not really difficult, just requires precision at every step.

[Mike Chalmers]

The recall is limited to $100 rebate if you return the motor and carriage housing. In other words, you lose the saw.

[Ed Aumiller]

There is also another recall... it is to provide a safer blade guard... if you get that one, it comes with a new table and backstop... not sure of years it was done but should be able to locate it via bing or google...
You end up with a nice unit...

RAS's are great in my opinion... all power woodworking tools are dangerous if used improperly....

Also, Peter Quinn's post about squaring the table to the arm of the saw is correct for both of the Sears RAS's I have had...

[Duane Meadows]

There is also another recall... it is to provide a safer blade guard... if you get that one, it comes with a new table and backstop... not sure of years it was done but should be able to locate it via bing or google...
You end up with a nice unit...

Was anyway... I thinks in most, if not all cases at this time(the recall has been around for years) your only recourse is the $100 for return of the motor/carriage. With the model/serial numbers you can check here...

http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/determinemodels.aspx

[Ed Aumiller]

The recall I am talking about was by Sears if I remember correctly... not Emerson.. if I remember to check after the snow episode here will try to find info in shop...

[Ken Combs]

The recall is limited to $100 rebate if you return the motor and carriage housing. In other words, you lose the saw.

That is only for those saws that are too old to be retrofitted with the new table and guard.

And those are the best of the breed, IMHO.

here is a link to all the info:
http://rasrecall.com/faq.aspx#whyretrofit

The recall was by Emerson, for saws sold by sears.

[Ken Combs]

I have an old craftsman radial arm saw and I am in the process of trueing it up and I have done everthing the manual says,,but my problem is that then it cuts,,it actually goes thru the wood at a angle,,the blade actually pushes the wood back,,the manual says to move the rail system unloosten a bolt on the bach so you can move it right or left,,i have tried this and cant seem to get it to move,,i know its old and but can anyone tell me how to set the rail ,,or move the rail,,,,i hate to get rid of it,,,but I really would like to have it cutting square,,i did everything the manual says and layed a square on the table to make sure the blade runs true from the back to the front and it does,,but I still have the same trouble when I start it,,the blade goes thru at a angle and pushes the wood to the left,,i even changed blades but still no luck,,,,

Try this: lay your square in place, then elevate the front as high as possible. while holding it against the blade, with the guard removed. I'll bet you will find the blade is not square to the direction of travel. Just adjust the eccentric bearing on the carriage to align the blade and provide the correct fit. If too tight it will be hard to move, too loose and it will 'wiggle' on the arm. It'll likely take more than one iteration to get it on the money, but it can be done.

[Mike Schuch]

1) Square the arm to the fence. Lay a framing square on the table. Elevate the carriage so the bottom most tooth is about 3/16" off the table. Butt the framing square against the bottom tooth so the tooth just barely touches the edge of the framing square. When you pull the carriage forwards the tooth should just scrape the edge of the framing square all the way forwards. To adjust loosen the 4 bolts that fasten the column to the stand and turn the column slightly until the bottom tooth can maintain contact with the edge of the square all the way through the carriage travel on the arm. After you have the arm adjusted and the 4 bolts tightened back up test again to make sure the arm didn't move during tightening.

2) Now that the arm is perpendicular to the fence you need to square the blade. Lift the framing square up a few inches in the front. The framing square will intersect the blade in the front and back of the blade. Adjust the carriage wrist so the blade touches the framing square in the front and the back. I believe there are 2 Allen screws on the carriage stop plunger to adjust the angle of the wrist.

[Roy Turbett]

Jeff.

Peter is right on in previous post. Carpenters square is best tool to square up table.
For addition info- Hands down the "bible " of RAS books is by Jon EAKEs

http://joneakes.com/learning-curve/75-radial-arm-saws

its also available at Amazon.

They are are great tools. I would never ever give my craftsman ras up.

+1 Jon Eakes book, Fine Tuning a Radial Arm Saw is by far the best book on the subject. Well worth the money.