I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck. Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
Sears has a special part for this. I purchased one years ago. Maybe I can find it, if I can I would be happy to send it to you, since once I found out the RAS motor does not rotate fast enough for routing, I ended up putting this away to gather dust.
I think my RAS motor speed is around 3400 rpm. I would not attempt to use a router below 10,000 rpm.
I recall a feature of a competitor was a much faster motor speed which would enable using this for practical routing.
Dave Paine.
I don't think you will find such a chuck for your saw. Most radial arm saw arbors (left-hand threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached to) rotate in the wrong direction for conventional router bits. Also, most such motors rotate at about 3450 rpm, which is about one third to one sixth of the speed router bits are designed for. Years ago, one manufacturer (PowerKraft?) made a RAS that could use router bits, but it used a geared shaft on the opposite side of the motor that ran at about 18,000 rpm.
Depending on your need, you may want to look for a molding head, guard, and knives with appropriate profiles. This can work well on a RAS. Or consider an affordable router.
My Craftsman RAS purchased in 1975 has a threaded shaft on the back side of the saw motor that will turn in the correct direction. I use my drill chuck to hold a small grinding wheel or drill bits before I got a drill press. I tried using it for a router, but you are right it doesn't work very well.
The chuck threads on to the right hand side of the motor, not the arbor side. I have one and used the RAS and chuck and drill bit as a horizontal boring machine.
Yup, I have one that I can probably put my hands on. If one of the previous responders can't find theirs, let me know. Remove the "mahalo" from my email. It's freeeeeeeeeeeeeee. mahalo, jo4hn
I just bought one for $5 and thought that was a great deal. But free!?!? Of course, I haven't found a need for it yet, which might be why you are giving it away...
You can get router collet chucks for your saw from Sears. As others said, the saw won't rout well at all so I wouldn't bother.
The RAS was my second power tool (after an ancient scroll saw), so I used it as a boring machine. Worked OK until I bought an actual drill press. I would like reimbursement for shipping charges unless anybody wants to drive up to paradise to collect it. smile, jo4hn
Thanks for all who responded for the info. I have a drill press, and a router and router table. I was just lazy about mounting the router in the table whenever I had to do some routing. I don't have a big shop. As a matter of fact, I don't have a shop at all, it's just a 12' x 16' shed that shares the space with everything else that will fit in there, including a tractor, other power equipment, and other lawn and garden tools. The shed is fed by a heavy duty extension cord from the garage next door. Whenever I have to use something, I have to move other stuff to get to it. The radial arm saw is the most accessible, doesn't have to be moved, and doesn't have a lot of stuff piled on it. :-)
Story of my life... ;-) At least the freezer finally died.
-- Mark
willshak wrote:[snip] Whenever I have to use something, I have to move other stuff
DAMHIKT but do NOT under any circumstances pile anything on the RAS table. That sucker has to be perpendicular to the blade at all times and readjusting it is a PITA. BTDT, jo4hn
I used the 1/2 in. chuck off my DeWalt 18 volt drill.
| I'm just an occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
I don't agree. Runout and bit retention could be problems with a cheap
3-jaw chuck. A collet holder would be a much better solution - but you won't find routing with the spindle speed limited to sawblade RPMs very satisfying.If you really want/need to do routing operations, you'll almost certainly get better results with an inexpensive router. Even for only occasional use, it'd be worth the money spent for the router.
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
I agree w/Morris, I have an old Craftsman (1972) RAS. It has a threaded shaft on the opposite end from the blade. I thought it was neat, but soon discovered that it is almost useless. I did use it for some small sander I had, but it is too slow for just about anything else.
I have a shaper attachment for mine along with a jig saw did not know there was a drill attachment
Al
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