Certainly not. Any mathematical theorem has two parts, the hypothesis and the conclusion. To reach the conclusion, one would be required to prove the hypothesis.Originally Posted by Chip Lindley
And what is a hypothesis? A guess, of course.
Kirk
Member
Certainly not. Any mathematical theorem has two parts, the hypothesis and the conclusion. To reach the conclusion, one would be required to prove the hypothesis.
And what is a hypothesis? A guess, of course.
Kirk
Friend of the Creek
LOL... unless you count every single one of something, it's always a guess to some extent or another. I'm reminded of that every time I play Black Jack and lose, or some bozo across the table from me draws what he needs to an inside straight...
Boy, I sure hope this thread doesn't end up making me want one of these RAS, I totally don't have room for it, but my willpower is growing weak... must...check... CraigsList ....
Thread on "How do I pickup/move XXX Saw?" http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=597898
Compilation of "Which Band Saw to buy?" threads http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...028#post692028
Member
Don't look if you really don't want to know.
http://www.shanewhitlock.com/photo/v...geViewsIndex=2
Oh, and this one's a little less conventional:
Kirk
Last edited by Kirk Poore; 10-26-2010 at 10:50 PM.
Member
My first shop was so small that I had to make a choice of 1 machine. And that was for a table saw. With a 10" slider miter on a bench for easy quick crosscuts. My new shop is about 3x bigger. One of the first things I did is get a Craftsman RAS. It was more of a convient tool than a need to have tool. At first, my plans were for using it for rough work. I figured a RAS is not that accurate and a Craftsman being a low priced tool would not be that accurate. After a few ah-ha moments, I have come to trust the saw for accurate cuts. First when I assembled it I took my time to align everything very well. And 3 years later I have not had to readjust anything yet. Second thing was buying a RAS blade. This made a big difference in controlling the saw. And the Third thing that made an improvement was eventually trying what I thought was a gimmic on the saw. And it turns out its a good option. My saw came with what I think they call Cut Control System. It's basically just an electric winch that controls the outfeed of the saw carriage. I thought it was a gimmic. But now I am a believer. It works very well. It controls how fast the saw carriage can extend out (crosscutting). It is vairable speed so you can select how fast it allows the carriage to move. I believe this allows for better more accurate cuts as you no longer have to tense up your arm prepared to hold back the saw if its starts to climb. You can just easily pull the trigger (to activate the cut control). And just easily pull the carriage through the cut. You impart no sideways force to the saw. Allowing it to slide out straighter.
The table saw gets the most use. But I am using the RAS on just about every project as well. If you have the room and funds to get one. I would say its worth it.
Member
What would you do with a RAS that you can't do today with your other equipment? Seriously, with your tool collection, you must be an experienced woodworker. What purpose would it serve?
Member
I wonder if I'll get a RPC big enough to run the 14", 5HP Dewalt RAS I have sitting in the garage before this thread ends?
Rich
Member
I recently bought a 13 year old 16" Delta RAS. It had some rust and rough bearings but after about 40 hours of enjoyable rehab I am getting close to firing it up. It weighs about 800 lbs and is defintely the highest quality power tool I own. It is in a totally different league from my Jet cabinet tablesaw(which I love). I do not believe blade climbing would be possible there is zero play in the turret. The blade, guard, and motor weigh at least 150 lbs and it is smooth as silk when you pull it. Of course, this tool cost about as much new as all my other power tools combined. I don't have a space limitation and I am really looking forward to 25+ inches of crosscut. I must admit though, that I hadn't thought seriously about getting an RAS until I saw it on craigslist. I couldn't pass it up for $225.
Member
Sorry for coming late to the party, but I didn't see this challenged anywhere else in the thread. While certainly a SCMS can be made to climb cut, I've never had to do that - pull saw carriage towards you, start motor, lower saw, push saw towards fence. What operations require climb cutting with a SCMS?
Add me to the list of "don't need a RAS". My dad had one that I used as a kid, and now that I have a SCMS, I've never looked back.
Member
I have both SCMS & RAS on the same wall of my shop. I have the room so I choose to have both having used both for years.
The SCMS is easier to change angles and is my go to tool for a quick cut or 2. When I have a couple dozen drawer sides to cut to the same exact length the RAS is the tool. Easier & more natural arm motion for production use, motor runs continuously, better dust collection, larger table makes it easier to slide things around while staying away from the spinning blade, etc.
So to answer the question asked "Is it necessary" - no. Does it do some things better than any other tool - yes.
could you get use out of one enough to justify the space (used ones cost basically nothing) depends entirely on how much production stuff you do IMO.
Contributor
Sold my Craftsman RAS on CL, bought a Festool SCMS. Couldn't be happier with my decision.
YMMV.
Member
It will cut wide stuff, and when I first started they were in regular use it was a good combo tool for ripping crosscutting miters etc. I've moved way past that now, and I have a kapex SCMS for that purpose and a cabinet saw so she's been in the garage as a glorified table for several years now. I've tried selling it on craigs list and no go. I've offered it as low as 150 bucks to cover my forrest blade on it, and still no takers.
Member
Or not.I believe that if only folks who actually owned a radial arm saw, at least for a while, were allowed to respond to questions like this, you would see a lot less negative comments. At the very least folks should be required to start their post with;
> From personal experience ...
With these guidelines, I believe the ras would be seen in a better light.
From personal experience. . . . I once owned a Craftsman Radial Arm saw. It was nice for crosscutting. Super for cross cut dados. And lousy for all the other things it was supposed to do. Even better, it had no guard at all on the lower half of the blade. Not the slightest anything to warn your hand at least "Danger Will Robinson!" It would in fact do a ripping operation but no where near as well as a table saw.
But it just wouldn't stay in alignment. check, recheck and check again. I'd get a little time with it being o.k. but then something happens. set it to miter and then return to zero. No, uh, uh, out of alignment.
It was the lack of a guard that got me. It cut off the end of my pinky finger on the left hand right after a ripping operation.
So I sold it and got a table saw. Which is probably the tool I should have had in the first place for what I liked to do. Quite a while after that I bought a CMS. 'Cuz cross cutting of large boards on the TS is a bear.
After selling it there was that recall Sears had for those saws. So it would have gone anyway.
Member
Is a tablesaw a necessary piece of shop equipment? Many Festool users don't think so. I'm a hedger, so I have all four (RAS; Tablesaw; Panelsaw; Festtool )! None are necessary as long as I have my hand saws, but they sure are convenient!
Contributor
No, you're right. I was mistaken.
Member
Wally Kunkel, AKA Mr. Sawdust, wrote:
"Most of the trouble stems from: Table-saw vs. Radial-Arm
saw.
Almost anybody can operate a tablesaw because he understands one thing: HE will have to PUSH the board for
every cut he makes. This also means that he is completely
responsible for the results he gets. If his cross-cuts are a little off-square or his miters have a little gap between them, he
has no one to blame but himself! The machine, of course, could have done it perfectly — if only he were more professional.
And he accepts that as a fact. Not so with a radial-saw. That machine is always assumed to be at fault — never the operator. Oddly enough, this is not far from the truth. But the real
truth is that the operator knows too little about his machine. And, over the past 30 years (specifically, since B&D bought it), there were too few places for him to go for knowledgeable help.
Long gone are the days when machine and tool manufacturers vied for position and acceptance in front of the public — in an actual win-or-lose struggle. Virtually gone is the dealer who can professionally demonstrate a radial-saw (even a table saw!), professionally align it, and guide the customer toward the satisfaction for which he is paying. Equally unfortunate
is the fact that over 20 different makes of radial-saws have come and gone (or should go!) — each one sucking up little or large portions of the market — and few of them deserving of a crumb.
The abilities of a DeWalt (and I speak only of DeWalts throughout this book) are almost unbelievable.."
continued at: http://www.mrsawdust.com/pdf/Sawdust_Chap1.pdf
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