Replies

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Sep 18, 2003 08:58am | #1

   JM

      Unless I had a cabinet shop (which I would add the radial to TS and SCMS) the slider is the ticket I would buy. I have one and it has increased my capabilities ten-fold.

   sarge..jt

1. 
   JMartinsky | Sep 18, 2003 02:36pm | #3

   Why would you add a RAS to a cabinet shop if you already had a slider?

   Thanks!

   John

1. 
   IMERC | Sep 18, 2003 04:48pm | #4

   Capacity.

   Dadoes.

   Production.

    

   Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....

1. 
   goldhiller | Sep 22, 2003 04:44am | #15

   "Capacity.

   Dadoes.

   Production."

   That = HHCS

   (hand-held chainsaw) <G>

   Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.

1. 
   Biscardi | Sep 23, 2003 04:27am | #16

   I have really tried to get my 1990 Craftsman RAS set up correctly. It cuts lousy dados with inconsistent depths across the cut. It really isn't too bad for crosscuts and mitered cuts.

   You either have to be out of your mind, drunk or unimaginative to rip anything on it. Who needs Freedy vs. Jason. If you want terror, rip a piece of 1/4 inch hardwood on a RAS.

   I have grown accoustomed to it . It has a corner of its own in the shop. You have to know its limitations.

   Frank

   PS. A friend recently cut off a finger trying to rip a board on a sliding miter saw. Please don't ask me what he was thinking. I guess you shouldn"t ask a tool to do something it wasn't meant to do.

2. 
   RANGERP75R | Sep 18, 2003 06:31pm | #8

   JM

      Simply to have set up on a wall with extention tables for cross-cutting long stock associated with quantities and lengths usually bought in quantities with a commercial venture.

      I would only use the radial as a cross-cutter. That's it best forte. That's why it would be a thrid choice to me. In my own non-commercial shop, it's not even a alternative. Too much space taken up to cross-cut and I already have a TS with skider and SCMS that does that admirably. We won't even go into safety. ha..ha..

   sarge..jt

2. 
   robkress | Sep 18, 2003 02:34pm | #2

   Radial arms freak me out too.  I always feel like at any moment it could catch on something and come running forward and cut my arm off.

   I have the makita slider and loud is not one of the words that I would use for it.  Very smooth and quiet is how I would describe it.  One of the best tools I own.

   Good luck

   Rob Kress

3. 
   Upraiser | Sep 18, 2003 05:02pm | #5

   John

   I have a Radial Arm Saw, its well set up, has an excellent blade and I have not used it it 7 years.

   I have a Dewalt 12" sliding miter saw and love it, feel safe with it.

   As far as dadoes, rabbits, find my table saw, router and even the Dewalt handles it quite well.

   Curt

4. 
   notDusty | Sep 18, 2003 05:39pm | #6

              J.M.

           I would tend to agree with the Sarge's line of thinking : I do have a cabinet shop and use a 12" Rockwell ras with a 10" blade because I have so many of them. The main advantage is I can crosscut about 16". I cut all my face frame stock on it and box parts for anything under 16". I own a Makita 10" sliding saw and love it and would not want to live without either one , but they get used for different tasks. It may boil down to which tool works best for your needs.In my shop they get used for completely different tasks.I personally use my ts and ras every day, I only use the sliding saw for particular cuts , maybe weeks without using it.We are all creatures of habit.              good luck               dusty

1. 
   Doc | Sep 18, 2003 05:55pm | #7

   I have access to a free, yes, free radial arm saw from my buddy that doesn't want it.  Would it be worth having it set up for just dadoes?  I have not used a RAS for dadoes, but wondering if it is as accurate or makes as clean a cut as a table saw.  Just seems like it would be much handier for cutting multiple dadoes when making book cases and things that require multiple dadoes in long boards.  I guess I feel more comfortable with a RAS than I do with a router and guide board.  Any thoughts?

1. 
   Robin | Sep 18, 2003 06:32pm | #9

   As I am just getting started doing woodworking at home, I'll throw a couple of questions into this one.  BTW - I do have electricity to my shop now BG :) and as I got a sweet deal on a whole shop full of equipment I hope to be able to use most of the stuff I got, including the RAS.

   1) When I took my two woodworking classes at U of Memphis we used two radial arm saws - one a HUGE one that had been donated to the school by the Ford Motor Company (prob 60 years old or maybe more) and another newer (80's??) Craftsman saw.  I never felt unsafe using either saw.  The big one really had no blade cover of any sort but the way we were taught to use it your arm would never be in harms way (BTW - both RAS were only allowed to be used for cross cuts due to a years earlier incident during ripping that sent a board through a concrete block wall.)  I don't intend to use it for ripping but should I be "afraid" of it as opposed to "respectful" of it???

   2) My brother is bringing his SCMS to add to my shop as he wants to use the shop also.  They had one in the class I took but I never used it and it was really not something they talked a lot about.  Some of the men in the class who had already been doing some woodworking used it instead of the RAS.  I guess I'm glad he's bringing it for both of us to use and I can see the application in ease of cutting angles and such but I guess I'm leaning more to the SCMS being something I pull out and set up as opposed to having a dedicated station for it?It's football time in Tennessee!  Go Vols!!!!

2. 
   Jeff | Sep 19, 2003 12:02am | #11

   Doc

   I have 2 RAS set up next to each other (one acts as the table extension for the other) with one set up for cross-cuts the other for dados.

   When building cabinets, this works great.  No playing around as their always set to go.

   Take the free saw, it costs you nothing.  You can try it and if it works for you, great.

   I also have 2 table saws and a Miter saw.  They all have their uses.

   Jeff

5. 
   thiggy1 | Sep 18, 2003 08:42pm | #10

   I have owned a RAS for about 25 years.  It has been used for cross-cut, rip and dado over and over with no harrowing experiences.  I didn't even know until the last 3 or 4 years that it was supposed to be so hazardous.  That said, it has not seen much use in the last 5 or so years since I purchased a good floor saw.

1. 
   EdHarrow | Sep 19, 2003 01:57am | #12

   Hey, no harowing talk here, LOL.

1. 
   thiggy1 | Sep 19, 2003 02:20pm | #13

   Oops, I'll try to select less controversial words in future posts.

6. 
   blindau | Sep 20, 2003 04:25am | #14

   I have a Maggi Junior set up in between my lumber racks to cut rough stock to length. It has a 26" cross cut and can take a dado head, but mostly it's for cutting rough lumber that doesn't lay nice and flat on the table, to length. As it cuts through this uneven timber,the wood often pinches the blade and it wants to race ahead(a good straight arm works well here), sometimes getting stuck in the wood and has to be beaten back away from the blade.  I use my scms for delicate work, precise angles cut in wood that is dressed and lays flat on the bench.

   Bill