Circular saw recommendations?

[HeyBub]

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Judging from the replies, everybody pretty much likes what they have.

Therefore, one conclusion is get the saw that has the most attractive paint job - you'll get used to it.

[dpb]

...

It'd take a hell of a bump to move the arm on my RAS16; you'll regret you hit it and learn not to do that again if you were to do so... :)

In the roughly 35 years I've not had it be an issue _ever_ so my conclusion is either there's something wrong in a shop that one would get hit so hard and often or it's simply too flimsy if a casual bump can knock it out of line.

I've seem the small DeWalts (Dad had one for 'round the farm) and I've also seen several various Craftsmans of similar lightweight construction; them I'll grant aren't much of a tool as far as sturdiness goes altho I used the one Dad had for the kitchen cabinets rather than drag mine from VA to KS and it was serviceable. I'd label it in the POS class, though, simply because it was so lightweight. It was also seriously under-powered for anything other than softwoods or at most

4-quarter hardwoods

Not so w/ the 16RAS; it weighs nearly 400 lb; I doubt the DeWalt weighed

100.

--

[Steve Turner]

it and learn

it's simply

cabinets rather

class, though,

anything other

I have a Craftsman 10" RAS that I use for 90-degree crosscuts ONLY, and I never adjust it away from that position. I could see how it could get knocked out of adjustment if got a good wack, and I do check it periodically but it never seems to do that of its own accord, so I'm happy with it. I would like to have a *serious* big-daddy RAS to replace it, but I'm slightly space constrained and I see no immediate reason to seek one out. If a professional quality RAS is as useless as a lot of people here would have us believe, I'd like to see what every home center and lumber yard would do if you tried to take theirs away.

[Leon]

Not all of them are crap, if you have one built like a tank and typically don't use it to its potential on a daily basis it is going to hold up.

Concerning the home center and or lumber yard monsters, if they were any less of a machine they would not hold up given the amount of idiot people using it. And FWIW I would never want to use the cut produced by one of those saws, every one I have seen has been used simply to cut lumber to rough length and square is not a goal nor is it achieved.

[Steve Turner]

don't use it to

of a machine

True; those saws are not typically set up for accuracy and the abuse they take is not conducive to accurate cuts, but I don't think such cuts are impossible. I'm sure with the proper care and feeding you could get near perfect results out of those saws.

[Leon]

Given the way most RAS's are set up, squaring that board might be a bit more diffident once you actually try that. IIRC the blade is approximately 30 inches from the end of the table so you have about 7

1/2 feet of board hanging off of the table. Clamping is not really going to be effective but having some one else or something to support the board would be needed. You have a 2.5 to 1 leverage ratio working against you. Not saying that you cannot do it, it is just not as straight forward as making a cut when the wood is not going to be working against you.

That is not going to be as big of a problem problem on a 50" capacity TS with a closer 1/1 leverage ratio. I squared 7, 8' 1x8 today with a miter gauge and did not give it a second thought.

Now if your RAS has a long table on one or both both sides you have over come one of the unique problems.

[Leon]

Absolutely, as with most any piece of equipment.

[Robatoy]

The usefulness of a RAS does not negate the fact that is proportionally easier to make a serious screw up than with any other power tool. A Big ol' beefy 12" Delta, from industrial yore, is a mighty fine piece of gear which will do things other devices won't. BUT, you best be really careful, be very alert, and make sure there's no hidden cuppage or twistage (suck on those two words, spelchucker) in your stock... or a know even. Now add the instability of the sheetmetal, stamped pieces of shit that Craftsman put out and you have amplified the danger by a large percentage. A sloppy arm with a wonky motor with crap bearings and a whirling, toothed wheel of death hanging, spinning in mid air over a work surface is just NOT my idea of a device that makes me all comfy-womfy in terms of safety.

BTW, all you proponents of the RAS... If you ever need to cut an end off a 12' x 1x6.. do what I do. A Swanson aluminum Speedsquare and a circular saw. I can get a pretty nice cut anywhere any time without first have to clean all the crap off the RAS table and move countless objects d'art so I can manoeuvre a hunk of lumber, through a shop just to do that simple operation on a very dangerous piece of crap.

[Robatoy]

The RAS at Home Despot has so many safety devices attached to it that you can hardly tell it is a RAS. Trap doors, sliding things.... I guess somehow, the industrial safety crowd thought it was dangerous 'as is'. They then felt compelled to deal with the morons and 'safety-ise' the bejeezus out of that RAS.

[Lew Hodgett]

----------------------------- Even works well with an 18VDC panel saw.

Lew

[J. Clarke]

Is easier with a Speed Square and a Skilsaw than with any stationary machine. If you need more precision you make a jig.

[Robatoy]

I am still quite fond of my Skil worm drive....although getting a tad heavier than I remember.

[Robatoy]

Brilliant idea!!

[-MIKE-]

I was just using mine and even though the settings are still dead on, it's just such a PITA to change the angles of the cuts. You have raise the height to change the angle (because of how the blade cuts into the table in order to make a through cut, then lower it back down. Every time you want to change either angle.

That's a big reason most guys use it only for crosscuts.

[Doug Winterburn]

You should use a sacrificial table in front of the fence, usually of

1/4" ply. This eliminates cutting into the main table. It also lets you adjust the saw for miter cuts without raising or lowering the arm by returning the motor/blade behind the fence, adjusting the miter and them making the miter cut while only cutting into the sacrificial table. You do have to raise/lower the arm for bevel cuts though.

I've never had to replace the main table on my RAS as it has never been touched by a blade. Fences OTOH are a disposable item. I make mine out of poplar. I use baltic birch for the sacricial table and they usually last 4-5 years.

[Lew Hodgett]

----------------------------- "Robatoy" wrote:

-------------------------------------- After somebody decided they needed my Mag housing 77, more than I did, I ended up with an 18VDC DeWalt panel saw as part of a drill/saw package.

I won't go back.

Not having to screw around with a cord was reason enough.

After that, it's a matter of weight.

Lew

[-MIKE-]

I use a sacrificial top. The original is virgin. I make a lot of bevels, which makes it a PITA imo.

[Leon]

Ai't it. LOL.. I often use my jig saw and speed square, with the right Bosch blade I get burnished smooth cuts with little to no tear out.

[krw]

The RAS wants to move the blade toward your fingers. The TS wants to throw everything away from the blade (assuming, of course, that your fingers are never behind the blade).

[Robatoy]

Those Bosch blades (the right one for the job) simply are the best.That's not to say that there aren't other good blades (Festool) but far be it for me to start a 'discussion' in here.