And one last (?) craftsman RAS question...

[Toller]

I adjusted and squared everything. When I flip my pieces over and put them back together they fit perfectly. Except...

The table is flat, but when I move the arm to 45 degrees, both right and left, the blade is a sixteenth close to the blade then when it is at 90 degrees. This doesn't make any sense to me; it is like the arm droops a sixteenth when I turn it.

Any advice on what this is, or how to fix it. Or, does it even matter? Unless I am cutting a diagonal dado, it probably will never make a difference, and I have never cut a diagonal dado. Any other times it would affect the results?

Other than that, everything seems well in hand; I can't wait to see if it stays in adjustment. The guy I bought it from says he got rid of the riving knife and hold down because they are just a safety things and got in the way. Well, I don't expect to be ripping on it, so it isn't much of a loss; but they would be nice to have anyhow. Oh well.

No, there is one more question... A while back people recommended "Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw". What is in there worth $15 that is not in the instructions?

[squarei4dtoolguy]

Hi Toller,

I had a similar problem. Check the distance from the blade to the table when the saw is behind the fence and check again with the saw fully extended. If the saw is closer to the table in either position, the table needs to be shimmed up to even the the measurements out.

Or, Check the mounting points on the back corners of the table-to-the-stand for loose bolts or bending (flexing) metal. The weight transfers the weight into a pull or lift situation on the opposite side of the saw direction.

Don't want to buy the book? Go to a library and find the book. Copy anything you don't already know. .10-.20 per page isn't too expensive unless you find that you are not as smart as you imagine you are.

Tom in KY, imagining the world recognizing my genius IQ. HA-HA-HA-HO-HO-HEE-HEE-HOO!, Sorry, my wife was laughing so hard I typed it subconciously.

[Bugs]

I had one of those that I cursed for forty years. When I moved my shop I left it behind with my lawyer. He is very proud that he built a rustic porch for his cabin with it. We're both happier. The table won't stay leveled and there is no fine adjustment to set the angle locks true. It was also underpowered. Good riddance! Bugs

[dadiOH]

Did you mean that the blade is 1/16 closeer to the *table*? If so, then either the column is seriously out of whack or your table *isn't* flat and level - it is bowed downward in the middle.

I vote for the latter. The cure is to go through the saw alignment steps paying particular attention to the two recessed bolts in the table that allow differential "warping" of the table.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Unquestionably Confused]

Your table is not level. Flat? Maybe but not level.

IIRC (only have to go through this drill when I replace the table of the saw) remove the blade from the saw. Rotate the head so the arbor is pointed downward. Loosen (so they are just snug) all the metal brackets holding your MDF or plywood top to the RAS frame. Now, crank the arbor down until it just touches the top. Move it all around and level the top in this fashion. You'll likely find two (maybe more) set screws in the field of the table that allow for adjustment over the inner support members of the RAS frame. Adjust the table in this area in the same fashion using the screws to raise/lower the table.

Once everything is "level" tighten down the mounting bolts on the sides, etc.

[Leon]

The trouble with RAS's, is that they need to be adjusted in 10,489 different ways. Well not really.

If your blade is closer to the table when you rotate the arm in either direction it sounds like the front end of the table is low than the back side. Most RAS set up instructions cover using the motor arbor pointing down to check that the table is coplanar with the path of the arm. Also many tables have t nuts that help to take out sag when the table does sag.

[Art Greenberg]

Probably not flat.

I built a replacement table as described in the "Mr. Sawdust" book. Two layers of 3/4 Baltic Birch, with a few steel bars embedded in it. The table is very flat, and resists deflection when croscutting. Waaay better than the stock table.

[Toller]

I agree it is probably not flat, but my straight edge says it is. I have redone everything from scratch. One of the rails the table sides on was off by a hair. I fixed that, but the end result is the same.

So what is this Mr. Sawdust book? The table can certainly use an upgrade.

[Art Greenberg]

[Art Greenberg]

It is possible that the column is leaning under the weight of the carriage & motor. If that's the case, a prefectly flat table cannot be adjusted to keep a constand depth of cut at all possible blade locations. Have you tried tightening up the column? If your model is like mine, there are two bolts on the column that are a different color than the rest. Try tightening them just a little. Too tight, and the column will become very difficult to raise and lower.

[CW]

The table should have leveling screws. the table needs to be level to the swing of the arm.