I've never owned or even thought I needed a radial arm saw but I was at an auction and picked up a clean 10" craftsman saw for $35. It just needs a new switch. Easy enough to fix.... going by the serial number it was made around 1981 and it doesn't have any plastic bits on it, at all. Seems to be built quite well. Everything pivots, locks, twists and slides like it is supposed to.

my question for the RAS fans out there, why is a 10" RAS a good addition to a shop? What does it excel at that can't be equally accomplished by a 12" miter saw? Are they considered more or less accurate than mitre saws?

basically I'm looking for someone to convince me to keep it and use it, rather than fixing it and selling it off! Maybe if I keep the RAS, I can get rid of the 12" miter saw?

This saw does have an interesting threaded arbor on the opposite side of the motor from the blade side that I assume could be used to attach various sanding drums or other bits.(?) Please educate me and tell me what I need to know about these saws...