RAS or SCMS?

[Paul Arnold]

I'm sure its been asked before but I couldn't find anything on it.

Which would you rather have a radial arm saw or a sliding compound miter saw?

Thanks

[Larry Conely]

I have both, a Hitachi SCMS and an old DeWalt radial arm. The Hitachi is more of a finesse tool and I like it for doing fine trim work.

Most of the time, I gravitate to the radial arm. The larger table is more convenient to work on, and it is a more production friendly tool. I recently trimmed out a cottage using the DeWalt with excellent results. I think a high quality radial arm saw that is well-tuned can do most of the things a SCMS can do (although more slowly), but a SCMS is hard pressed to do some of the larger and heavier things a radial arm can do.

But it would be a hard tough for me to choose between the two. It depends on what you are doing with it.

If you were to decide on a radial arm, look for an older DeWalt or Delta, not a Craftsman.

Larry

[Gene O. Carpenter]

This will raise a few Hackles but for what it's worth, I'd opt for the RAS! I've used my 35 year old 12 Craftsman for just about everything including sawing red brick when I laid our patio and then used it to saw cement paving stones, then after blowing all the grit out I used it to mould stiles and rails out of Oak dunnage for our kitchen cabinets. Raised the panels too!

I've cut aluminum tubing, extruded aluminum channels for bath tub shower doors and sawed 1/2" Lexan panels for other uses.

I've ripped 4'X8' 3/4" plywood for shelving, to re-saw Oak 4"X4" dunnage into 1"X4" and then run them thru my home built planer and then thru the Delta to fine the finish up a bit.

I've cut stair risers and treads, quartered Cedar 4"X4"'s for deck rail balusters..Done everything but stir paint with it and might even try to do that someday!

And to top it off this was at the TOP of that recall list and I still have all my digits! It's called "CAUTIONERY USE"!

I don't think you could do all these operations on any brand SCMS..

I don't use it as much now I did before I got the 15 yr old Griz G1023 cabinet saw, now it's my primary dust maker!

But the old Dog will spring to life if I toggle the power switch! The only thing that ever went wrong with it was the brake died on it and it spirals down awfully slow.

HACKLES DOWN NOW!!!

[Roland Chung]

What kind of projects do you think you will be working on mainly?

I have both. For most woodworking, I head for the scms. I set it up with the msuv from Rigid and the stop system from Kreg. You can't beat it for miters and bevel cuts. I even consider moving out the RAS to make a more permanent miter station for the scms.

The RAS does have some saving graces. You can crosscut about 15.5", it's more quiet, mine is set up with some decent dust collection. I only use it for 90 degree cuts - if I start trying to use it for angles, it won't be square when I need it - and I would have to check the angles. A better RAS might solve some of these problems - mine is a Craftsman, an expensive one, but still not as good as some of the other brands out there.

If I had to start with one, it would be a nice SCMS. They weren't making them when I bought the RAS.

Good luck!

RC

[Chris Barnett]

The old 12-inch Craftsman RAS has a brake???? Mine never worked but it really likes the 12-inch 60 tooth WW I blade I just bought on Amazon for $44 after discounts . My new 1023 has a brake ... never knew a blade could stop so fast!
RAS very versatile but will not stay in adjustment (at least the CM will not) but I can't pitch it out. Built a lot of uh.... stuff with it.

[Bill Bryant]

I finished my 1300 sq. ft. basement using an 8-1/2" Hitachi SCMS and a 14.4-volt Milwaukee cordless drill as my only power tools. I don't think I'll go back to a RAS (dadoes will be done from now on with a Bosch router and an Accurate Guide).

[Steve Clardy]

I have both.

Radial arm is used for rough off cuts only.
Not reliable for good cuts.




Daily driver is my dewalt 708 12" SCMS.


And if I ever get time to build a cabinet for the other, 3 year old, unopened dewalt 708 slider................








The radial arm saw will be turned into a boat anchor.

[Simon Dupay]

A RAS for me, I don't get why people say their inaccurate or dangerous they must have not read their manuals on how to aligne them! A RAS con be just as accurate as a SCMS when set up right. I'd look for an old craftsmen (older then 1975), a delta, De Walt, or a Northfield (a nice saw but a bit uncomfortable to use.)

[Rob Will]

I have two Craftsman RAS's sitting in the corner collecting dust.

IMHO, the new belt-driven CMS and SCMS have much more capacity than plain old "chop saws". I find myself using the CMS all the time and my RAS's are becoming obsolete.

I'll probably keep a RAS around though.

Rob

[Pat Germain]

I'm glad to see some people here like and actually use their RAS. Growing up, it seemed every garage in my neighborhood had a Craftsman RAS collecting dust and piled with junk. Never, not once, did I see anybody ever use their RAS.

My take is: if you have a TS, a SCMS would be a great compliment! If you don't have a TS, the RAS can provide accurate cuts for wider stock.

Disclaimer: I've never owned a RAS. I have used one, a very nice example, at a military wood hobby shop. I really don't like using a RAS, but to each his own.

[Mike Harrison]

I also have both, and like Simon I don't understand why people think the RAS is such a pitiful stepchild. Set up correctly, they will stay put and are accurate. Not nearly as fast on its feet as a SCMS, but absolutely more versatile.

My SCMS and RAS are next to one another sharing a common table and fence. The setup is very handy because you can often leave one set up for a particular operation and the other can still do cutoffs.

[Randal Stevenson]

I also have both, and like Simon I don't understand why people think the RAS is such a pitiful stepchild. Set up correctly, they will stay put and are accurate. Not nearly as fast on its feet as a SCMS, but absolutely more versatile.

My SCMS and RAS are next to one another sharing a common table and fence. The setup is very handy because you can often leave one set up for a particular operation and the other can still do cutoffs.

Mike, you need to contact the moderators, as a rule on this forum is it requires your real name.

I have an old DeWalt, and while it is wonderful in the shop, it isn't portable, but it requires less space behind a bench, has greater crosscut, and can dado.
It is all a trade off, and you need to decide your types of projects.