Another "it depends", but if it is in good condition don't price too low. I let one get away from me about 2-3 years ago that was priced at $375. But it was in excellent (like new) condition and it was bundled with quite a few accessories including the Craftsman shaper head and blades, a dado he ad, several decent regular and carbide blades. It had the metal base and t he top (cutting surface) was in pretty good condition. I "thought about it " 2-3 hours too long. The guy that bought it talked the seller down to $32
A lot of folks still like these older Craftsman machines and accessories th at were manufactured before Sears quality went to pieces.
If you want a radial arm saw, those older Craftsman saws are the ones to aim for. I have one that was in that recall for the blade guard. I got it around 1973 and it was probably 1969-70 vintage. When set up carefully and using a good blade (Freud rip) I could rip 2x so smoothly you could knock down the sharp edges and finish it. The cut was like it had been planed and, unless you screwed up and jammed something on a rip, it would stay that way. Plenty of cast iron where needed. The bastards would not make a retrofit kit for and instead offered owners $100 and shipping to send the power head back to take it out of service.
The new models I see all the time on Craigslist. If they are selling for more than $80, chances are they are still available. Nobody seems interested in them (likely for good reason as the newer ones were cheaply made)
I believe they were made right around the time that the Craftsman label was OFFICIALLY changed to Crapsman!
Unquestionably Confused wrote in news:562ac040$0 $31319$c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:
OK, just for curiousity, why would you want one? What would be the advantage of a radial arm saw over a compound miter saw, assuming you had a table saw for ripping?
20-odd years ago the consensus of rec.ww was that radial arm saws were potentially more dangerous in ripping operations, and were hard to keep in adjustment when switching between ripping and crosscutting (because of the weight of the motor at the end of a long lever arm). So it doesn't seem that, even if available at a very low cost, a radial arm saw would be the preferred solution for general woodworking.
Well, to answer (merely to satisfy your curiosity), you must consider the tools that were available to the homeowner ca 1973.
Starting in the following year I began doing remodeling and additions to our home, built cabinets and book cases, made molding and trim pieces (yeah, still have that scary molding head). At this point I don't honestly recall if, or of what quality, the miter saws were that were "homeowner" grade.
I have to agree with you - at least with regard to newer RAS - about the adjustment/alignment due to the arm. More of a problem (as I stated) with, say, post vintage 1975 RAS that the earlier ones. I'd wager that even today if you let me sharpen up that Freud rip blade and tweak the adjustment on the saw, I could rip down a 14' 2x12 leaving an edge as smooth as a baby's butt and do it ALONE or with the assistance of my wife at the outfeed end.
40+ years ago things were different. My remodelings, additions, cabinets and bookcases still stand and I defy you to tell me they'd have turned out any better or worse using Fein, Festool, Jet, Powermatic, etc.
And yes, I still have all my fingers, both eyes, and no holes poked in me by power tools. I also now have a cabinet saw, planer, jointer, drill press, 12" compound miter saw (this is number 2), stationery belt and disk sander and probably just about any other power hand tool one could want.
I made do with what I had available at the time as we all did/do.
Unquestionably Confused wrote in news:562b9404$0$25162$c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:
Ah, apologies, I was unclear. I meant why would someone want one now. Certainly in times past, before sliding compound miter saws and high-powered routers that could spin panel raising bits existed, the radial arm saw had many advantages.
I'm just not seeing why someone would want to go buy one today.
but again, that's my position based on the current crop of crap that's out there. If there existed today, the RAS of yesteryear, I would still recommend it as a multipurpose tool for non-idiots (fully realizing that they are not ideal if one doesn't know WTF one is doing )
Unquestionably Confused wrote in news:562be832$0$9299$c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:
If you've got the space, it can be a major asset in rare cases. A RAS does non-through crosscuts better than just about anything. Things like Dados and Rabbets. A table saw and sled will work, but a RAS is more convenient when things get to be rather long or heavy. (I bought mine to handle some dados on deck posts.)
Here's an interesting thought, though. Would an old DeWalt RAS be better at crosscuts than a similarly priced SCMS? I know my SCMS does can be easily pushed out of square, but maybe an old DeWalt would make that harder.
My money would be on the old DeWalt. Hell, the arm on those things weighs more than most high end SCMS.
Ran across an OLD 12" AMF DeWalt at an estate sale several years back. No room nor need of it then (or now for that matter) but I'll admit to considering it. Going to guess that it was probably very late 50's, maybe early 60's vintage as the arm was entirely cast iron and rounded at the operator end. Newer ones, IIRC, had some stamped trim.
This was in good condition and the type you used to see at lumber yards.
It went out the door for ~ $45 on the final day of the sale. Somebody deserved a "You Suck" award.
snipped-for-privacy@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote in news:_upXx.121$ snipped-for-privacy@fx03.iad:
Thanks to you and Leon both. None of those applications had occured to me (and, to be honest, I've never seen a RAS used except for the ancient monster the lumberyard uses for crosscuts).
Up until a few years ago I was involved in an activity that involved cutting steel plates, anywhere from 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Some of the plates were up to 12" wide.
Multiple (multiple) passes with an abrasive blade on a radial arm saw worked great. With the steel clamped securely to the table, I could make some very accurate cuts. I had jigs for some of the odd shaped pieces that I needed. Multiple slow, shallow cuts were the trick.
I tried my miter saw with an abrasive blade for some of the smaller items but the RAS did a much better job. I had much more control since the height adjustment of the RAS determined the depth of cut and the speed was determined by how fast I moved the blade across the material.
You just had to make sure that everything was secured properly. Keeping track of where the sparks flew was important too. ;-)
That's a use I'd not have thought of or, if I did, I'd worry like crazy about metal filings/dust winding up inside the motor. Did you take any precautions against this?
I tore the crap out of an homeowner grade Skillsaw removing some 90 year old maple flooring. Not sure if it was the ten coats of varnish and grit that got sucked in or the remnants of the occasional nail I'd hit.
Actually, I was lucky enough to use a friend's RAS so it wasn't a concern to me. ;-) I don't recall that he had modified the RAS in any way.
His garage was set up as a shop almost exclusively for working on Soap Box Derby cars. We worked together as a team, making parts for our kid's cars. This was back when fabricating parts was still allowed.
Here is the rear axle mounting system for my son's World Championship car:
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The 4 piece axle mount was bolted to the large steel plate which was bolted and epoxied to the wooden floorboard. (The axle itself is that 3/4" x 3/4" bar running horizontally through the mount.) All of the parts for the mount, including the large plate were cut on the RAS.
Here's a picture of the car itself. That little slit under the helmet is all that my son could see through. Unless you looked straight along the top of the car, you couldn't tell if he was in it or not.
Strange you should say that. The RAS can consistently cut at a certain height but if your material differs in thickness slightly so will your depth of cut. A TS will give you consistent depth control even with different thickness material.
Sometimes that's a problem but often a benefit. If you want to make a box of a certain size, indexing off the outside is a benefit. The problem with the RAS is that the arm is never rigid enough. There is a lot of torque on the arm and it doesn't take much to throw the depth off.
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