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Worth of a Craftsman RAS

Well for all those wondering, here you go.

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Now they will know!

Reply to
Markem
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Here's another sweet (sic) deal. It doesn't say if the motor works, but for $400 you can't beat this deal for salvage. I made an offer of $20 and got no reply..... yet!

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Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

At 4.5 to 6 cents a pound for cast iron you could make money at $20.

Reply to
Markem

If it weighs 200 lbs, at 6 cents the value is $12.... minus the time and fuel cost to go collect and sell it.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

Or get the welder out and some other c... scrap and call it art and put it up on Estsy.

Reply to
Markem

Posting was deleted.

What are the details?

Reply to
Hawk

A Craftsman RAS was offered for free.

Reply to
Sonny

Depending on which model that might have been 10 times or more what it was worth. The one I had was worse than useless - and dangerous. It was WAY to "flexible" or "loose" to be usefull for anything other than cutting up scrap wood.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

Mine works well enough as long as I don't push it too hard, but getting it back to square after I do an angle cut is a pain in the butt. One of these days it's going to be replaced with an SCMS. Radial Arm Saws were a wonderful idea but something got lost in the translation from idea to product. I know there _are_ good ones out there but they're hard to find in other than basket-case condition.

Reply to
J. Clarke

There are a lot of them if you're willing to spend the $$ for something that wasn't cheap to begin with ... the large Delta, Rockwell/Delta, OSC (Original Saw Company) are most common to show up at auction...

Even some of the Craftsman are marginally ok to pretty good for really old larger models.

Of the lighter 10" variety, the B&D I still have besides the old Delta

16" is fine for what it's heavy-enough for. I used it exclusively for almost everything when first got into w-working after graduating from uni and moving where hardwoods were plentiful instead of a thing that had to be imported from 400+ mi away until could afford the Powermatic Model 66 (picked up at the factory in McMinnville, TN).

I keep it for the occasional thing that's too awkward for the TS but not worth the behemoth and for nostalgia -- this one actually is the one like mine Dad bought when he got tired of the little Craftsman portable TS he got when redoing the house...and that I got enough of really quickly when building the kitchen cabinets for him... :) That was all

40 year ago now...
Reply to
dpb

My Craftsman RAS was my very first woodworking "machine". .. bought used ~ 1982 for $ 350. .. a little over-priced for the time - but it had the table extension and a real good 60 tooth carbide combination blade - nearly $ 100. back then. I used it for 25 years or so - no regrets. It's not a trim saw. I ripped full - 2 - inch straight cherry - feeding carefully - no problem. But short lengths only - ~ 5 - feet or so - - long lengths would be a problem - ergonomics. Ripping very grainy wood would usually mean some burning - a PITA - < softwood / hardwood didn't seem to matter much with this > Cleaning the blade made a huge difference ! .. a tiny bit of resin / burn deposit on the carbide teeth would greatly affect the cut ! ... big true. Just my 2 cents worth. John T.

Reply to
hubops

I've got one I'd sell for half that, I think. With an unopened safety recall package, to boot. I keep going back and forth whether I want to get it all back together. On one hand, I have it. On the other, what would I ever do with it? It takes space and I sure don't want to move it again.

Reply to
krw

I picked up a used Delta for $200 many years ago and use it frequently. In fact, just used it the other day. Been a good machine thus far.

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Reply to
Hawk

I got a couple those roller supports that actually work pretty well feeding long stock through it. Did that a few times and finally asked myself why I was asking to to do something that a cheap table saw would do more conveniently.

Reply to
J. Clarke

...

Set up in a long bench, they're _FAR_ more convenient than a TS for ripping long material. And no match for roughing out large stock.

In the garage/shop in TN, the 10" sat in an 8-ft table while the 16" was at a friends commercial shop in a 16-ft. Here on the farm it's along the barn alley in almost 20-ft run with the chop saw set along the run that clears the normal fence position...the TS is then able to do what is convenient to move on it. Not everybody has the space, granted, but if do...

Reply to
dpb

For sure - a solidly anchored RAS with nice solid infeed table will rip just fine - just check out the big units in the lumber yards. Mine was on its flimsy metal stand with a small folding extension table - not a good choice for ripping long stuff.. ... not impossible - but not great. John T.

Reply to
hubops

Definitely nothing wrong with a GOOD RAS properly set up - but my Crafsman was NOT a good RAS and it was impossible to "properly set up".

Accuracy on a good day was +/- twice the blade width - or about 3/16 inch

Reply to
Clare Snyder

A couple of things I noticed about mine--if a gnat makes a crashlanding on the table it gets knocked out of true, and the standard MDF table bows if I tighten the clamps even a tiny bit more than it likes.

There are fixes--make the table out of something that actually has structural integrity and change the table support from one that relies on friction to one that relies on the compressive strength of steel.

Reply to
J. Clarke

The traverse on the "gantry? was so sloppy 1/4 inch bow on the MDF table would have gotten "lost in the noise" It was a "round Rail" setup

Reply to
Clare Snyder

Back in my...err..I mean...my kid's Derby racing days, I spent a lot of time in front of an old Craftsman RAS cutting steel plates, up to

12" wide and 1/2" thick, into various shapes for floor weights, axle mounts, and other parts for the cars.

By taking numerous, numerous, tiny bites, we made parts that were pretty darn accurate. This is the rear axle mount, all parts of which were cut on the RAS. You are looking into the very rear of the car. The square stock running cross-ways is the axle, sticking through the sides of the fiberglass body.

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The 2 small cap screws with the heads pointing towards the front of the car were used to align the axle by changing the angle of the large block that butts up to the front of the axle.

For some more perspective, the mount was installed behind the driver in this car:

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

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