Page 2 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 64

Thread: Identifying a GOOD, used radial arm saw

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    The Hartland of Michigan
    Posts
    7,628
    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Hotchkin View Post
    John
    Look up Dewalt Radial Arm Saw forum on yahoo called delphi.
    Already posted up-thread.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Nashville,TN
    Posts
    86
    The Industrial Deltas are as good as the Industrial Dewalts. Some prefer the turret arm design and some do not. Delta still makes the 14"-18" saw in the USA and they are as well made as any RAS ever made. Almost constantly there is an 14" or larger Delta on ebay for less than 1k often much less. The 3 phase models are sold for little more than scrap metal prices. I bought a late 90s Delta 33-411 for less than $300. I had to do a little work on it, but it now looks and works like new. Most of the big RAS's weigh around 800lbs and do not lose adjustment unless you take a baseball bat to them, I looked at many before i bought mine and the Dewalts are awesome too. I find 16" blades are cheaper than 10" because of lack of demand. SCM saws look nice but none of them will crosscut 29" and cut 6" beams.

  3. #18
    Scroll to the lower 2/3s of this page: http://wooditis.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

    It's not mine, but I've got one of these. It was $400. 5Hp, 3 phase, including a converter.

    I couldn't be happier. It'll crosscut more than some table saws can rip. The two 45s and the 90 stop are individually adjustable. The beast weighs 742 lb, and is VERY sturdy.

    Edited to add that Keith's observations are the same as mine... (we were posting at the same time)!

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bloomington, IL
    Posts
    6,009
    My 16" 33-410 3hp 1ph Delta was 3X the cost of Mark's but I love it.



    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  5. #20
    The old dewalts are the very best you can buy. Make sure you look at unit carefully before buying. Run your hand down the inside of the rail where the bearings run. It should be smooth, no bumps or uneveness. This is expensive and requires machining to repair, $$$$$$. Wiggle the head, it should be firm, if there is play something needs fixing. Many times a simple adjustment of the idler bearing will fix it, be careful not to overtighten the bearings (This is common, it pays to bring tools when you go to look). If the bearings are overtightened the head will not roll smoothly. The bearings can be replaced, they are about $100/ea and there are 4 of them, so it is easier buy a saw that doesn't need bearings.

    DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT buy one of the ones with the CONCAVE bearings, they are no longer available and you will never be able to resell it.

    If you look around they can be had pretty cheap, and there are a lot of them. I would recommend a 3hp single phase model if you have 3 phase you can't beat the 5hp 16" models, I swear by them and have 5 of them. Expect to pay $500 or less for the smaller unit, and $700-1200 for the larger industrial units.
    Grothouse Lumber Company
    Andi Stratus Pro, ILS12.150, Solidworks 2012, AutoCad 2012, MasterCam X6, Coreldraw X6

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Paul, not trying to argue at all, but do you think they are better than an Original Saw 22" Super Duty or the OMGA 1100/7 like below?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hood Canal, Washington
    Posts
    1,039
    I doubt you'd be disappointed with a vintage DeWalt, Delta or newer OMGA. Chances are pretty good that you'd have to do some restoration work on an older saw. Untold numbers were manufactured in the '40s through '60s, and they are available for a song. You might have to replace some bearings and clean up some congealed grease, but no big deal.

    The important considerations IMO are horsepower and width of crosscut. The size and weight of a good RAS increases exponentially when it needs to make a longer/deeper cut. For instance, a RAS that makes a 12" crosscut weighs around 100lbs. An RAS that makes a 24" crosscut is something like 500lbs. Likewise, lots of the earlier saws for home shops had somewhat undersized motors, around .75 actual HP and can bog down in a heavy cut. The bigger saws often have 3+ HP and can cut through anything.

    Another consideration is whether you want your table saw blades (except the rip blades) to fit your RAS. Then you're looking at saws which have a 5/8" spindle, which narrows the field somewhat.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Bethesda, Maryland
    Posts
    228
    I'm possibly looking to bring in a good, used radial arm saw. How do I identify the good ones from the bad ones?
    ______________________________________

    I spent a lot of time searching for the same answer. And drove a gang of miles to see for myself before finding a truly "good" one. I collected a lot of information in quotes and photos from Sawmill Creek and other internet sites (Word files are available on request and an e-mail address). All this distilled down to a search for the big old Deltas and DeWalts. Eventually I found a 14" Delta (Rockwell/Delta) that seemed in good condition. But having taken a long trip to see a Craigslist DeWalt that turned out in obviously poor condition, I asked the seller to send a lot of high res photos--which he did and which revealed no defects. But it was only when I got it home and could spend some time with it that I could really tell it was ready to go without needing repairs of any kind.

    Some folks talk glibly about installing new bearings in a RAS but I consider this job fairly onerous and would seek one that doesn't need new bearings. (There is a school of thought that any old saw should have bearings replaced, but this is counterbalanced by the --if it ain't broke, don't fix it-- school.) Be sure to check the carriage rollers and bearings. Some RAS models are more problematical than others in this regard. Most Deltas have roller-rods in the carriage arm that are designed to be rotated to fresh surfaces should they become worn or pitted. When you go to look at a candidate RAS, take a flashlight so you can look up in the arm and assess those tracks and bearings.

    Someone has pointed out that you can still buy a new Delta as good as the old ones. But at a price. I was lucky to get one that qualified as a Sawmill Creek Gloat, and I must add, after a lot of looking and patience. I will attempt to add photos of my saw and the same model currently available.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by David Winer View Post
    Some folks talk glibly about installing new bearings in a RAS but I consider this job fairly onerous and would seek one that doesn't need new bearings. (There is a school of thought that any old saw should have bearings replaced, but this is counterbalanced by the --if it ain't broke, don't fix it-- school.) Be sure to check the carriage rollers and bearings. Some RAS models are more problematical than others in this regard. Most Deltas have roller-rods in the carriage arm that are designed to be rotated to fresh surfaces should they become worn or pitted. When you go to look at a candidate RAS, take a flashlight so you can look up in the arm and assess those tracks and bearings.
    The bearings in mine were seized (the ones in your third photo). Previous owners had liberally doused the track and bearings in lithium grease, which of course had hardened. Along with the sawdust etc. I got them out and freed them up, and they rotated fine. However, the outer races had some dents in them. This caused the carriage to ride roughly, and you could actually see the bottom of the blade deflect when one of the dents came round to the rod surface. I put new bearings in, and was lucky to get the bearings from Delta. They seem to come & go in availability. They were on back order for months. I got some from a new batch directly from Delta. I now see they're on back order again. However, the job itself was very simple indeed. Anyone with a socket set could do it. The rods cleaned up well, and I rotated them a few degrees. I think there's another couple of decades of life in them.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    4,973
    John

    I have had a 16" Delta turret saw and a 16" Dewalt, both industrial saws. I was never really happy with either, just too much play in the head. You could get good cuts, but not consistantly. I'm not talking much off, but just enough that it annoyed me.

    I now have a Omga 14", and as far as I am concerned there is no comparison. The Omga just cuts better. Instead of four bearings there are eight adjustable bearings in a cross pattern, the ways are stainless and are replaceable. The Delta bearing setup was just not that good. The action is smooth as silk, but there is absolutely no play in the head. I was in the cabinet business when I bought it and it has seen a lot of use, and it has not needed adjustment yet. The only problem I have had is I broke the plastic piece off of the front of the arm, and the cord relief spring broke off of the plastic cover on the top. Both were my fault and not fatal. It is considerably lighter than the old iron, the castings are aluminum, but it is more ridgid.

    Omga's on occasion sell in auctions for low prices, I suspect because so few people know what they are. I saw a new/used one go last year in St Louis for a grand, and I paid $4600 for mine new. Almost bought it anyway, but who needs two? Even if you found one with wear, surprisingly the parts are not that bad. Bearings and ways can be replaced, and when I bought mine I checked on the price of the propriatary 3ph motor, and it was just over $500, reasonable I thought.

    If you end up with a 16" let me know, I still have a couple of Leitz/Delta blades around brand new.

    Larry

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    1,884
    Larry-

    Interesting.

    Were all of these saws bought new ? Obviously, I ask because ... you're talking about commercial-type RAS's, so ... they may have had (equally OR unequally) very hard lives.

    I don't discount what you said, but ... I would be curious if they were all new, all used, or some of each.

    My brother has had about three Craftsman RAS's, and couldn't get/keep them aligned. I'm on my first DeWalt -- a 1956 -- and, after going through IT, mechanically, it's just happy being at spot-on.

    NOT a production shop machine, though. Maybe those should be LESS likely to ever come out of alignment, even with heavy use. Can't really say for sure.

    Tx.
    He's no fun. He fell right over !

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Mission Viejo, CA
    Posts
    271

    Ras

    I have a Craftsman RAS. It is a great saw for cross cutting wood that is less than 10" wide. My wood instructor was adamant that you never use a RAS for ripping. If I had it all to do over again I would buy a 12" DeWalt compound miter saw, and be done with it. Why DEWALT? Every contractor that comes to my house uses DEWALT tools. R/JFK

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
    Posts
    2,754
    Norfolk va craigslist has one: PostingID: 2843856194 could be a project though.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    6,670
    Project is the LAST thing I need!

    I examined the old Delta contractor saw tonight. It's direct drive and the whole thing pivots on this junky little pin for height adjustment. That's where the wobble is coming from. C'est la vie. No reasonable way to tighten it up.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    The Hartland of Michigan
    Posts
    7,628
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Ashmeade View Post
    and you could actually see the bottom of the blade deflect when one of the dents came round to the rod surface.
    And that is the most important thing to look at. As you move the carriage in and out, push sideways on the blade to see if there is ANY rocking in the carriage. Do this along the entire length of the arm. Can be very expensive to repair if grooves are worn out.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •