With a limited budget (around $700) which is best for a workshop producing small items possibly some kitchen units a table saw or a radial arm saw. The radial arm saw seems to be very flexible and better at crosscutting. How are the recent models of radial saw as far as safety? Ripping is better done on a table saw, I am interested in opinions from experienced users.
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Replies
David,
I have both but if I could only have one it would be the table saw, no contest. My RAS is an old DeWalt which I made furniture and cabinets with till I got a TS. The table saw excels at ripping, the RS at crosscutting. But (with a TS sled) you can much easier, and safer, cross cut on a TS than you can rip on a RAS. One advantage of a RAS, though, is they can be placed against a wall, they don't take up as much floor space. GP
Spend your money on the best table saw you can afford.Build a sled for it and start work.Radial saws especially cheap ones are flexible.Thats their downfall they always need tuning
There was a long discussion about this in Knots last fall. Nearly everyone recommended a table saw. If you check the archives you can read the many reasons and compare them to your intended use.
David,
get a tablesaw.
it is always better to move the work through the machine than the machine through the work.
gk
start with a good table saw !! portable ones are fine with plastic saw horses. i have cut an old door to accept the saw in the past, when the portable saws first came out 30 years ago ,since then i have purchased the portable stand FOR MY FIRST SAW ( MAKITA 8 1/4" ) I WOULD PUT THE SAW AND STAND AGAINST MY DELTA UNI SAW FOR ACCURACY ANY DAY OF THE WEEK !! You will allso need a miter saw for crosscutting . You can also set it up using saw horses on a 2x 12 with a sub base so you can screw stops down if you have to gang cut material to the same dimension. whats your budget as far as dollars ? do you like the trade, how old are you ??
Tablesaw and it's not even close. I have yet to see a Radial Arm Saw that was anywhere near as accurate as a tablesaw with a good miter sled for cross cutting and they are down right dangerous for ripping. Give me a tablesaw and a router table and there isn't much I can't build. I would strongly recommend you invest in a Sawstop if you can, preferably 3hp, it's an investment that would last you a lifetime and has the benefit of being the safest option on the market. I've managed to stay relatively injury free in 45 years of Woodworking but I know many who haven't, including my own grandfather and I won't be handing my 30 year old Unisaw down to my kids that's for sure.
Table saw
You'll be better off replacing the radial arm with a sliding miter...
With your budget, you're going to be limited to Craigslist. Any new saw in that range will be garbage.
Cabinets can be built using a track saw and an MFT type table, which you can DIY.
The thread is 16 years old. The radial arm saw is probably driving around as part of a KIA by now.
Table saw, get the best you can afford, far more accurate that a RAS.
Does anyone even make a radial arm saw these days? I can't imagine ripping with a radial arm saw safely, or cutting miters either accurately or safely.
You can find some new ones on internet , they are large and made of cast iron and cast aluminum. I would gladly replace my 10 inch DeWalt of the 80's with one of those but not for ripping of course. They make excellent cross cut and miter saws.https://originalsaw.com/radialarmsaws/
These might be very nicely made, but even cross-cutting seems much more dangerous than with a sliding miter saw used properly (i.e., first pulling the saw all the way back towards you, then plunging and pushing forward to cut the wood). The limited experience I have with a radial arm saw quickly demonstrated for me that the blade has a tendency to climb towards the operator, especially if the structure isn't especially rigid.
Just made an offer on this one, wish me luck !
How many boats do you need anchors for?!?!
I already have a Rocna 30kg On the bow and a Danforth on the deck, this one will cut wood .
Heh. That's a lot of anchor. I serve as crew on an Allied Seawind 32. This season it stayed dry, my pal who owns it caught covid in april and decided not to drop it in.
I see no responses from the OP. I wonder if he got his answer?
Haaaaaa... this is a zombie thread, he got his answer in 2004 and now he's selling it to Gulfstar!
Interesting Gulfstar - not a big fan of RAS's in general but if I had to get one, and that's a big if, I'd get a DeWalt not unlike yours which to me looks like it was made when DeWalt made a darn good product.
Table saw, period. I want that blade in the same place every time.
A relative is trying to give me a beautiful DeWalt that he has had for 30 years and it has probably been turned on 3 times (he was in the wholesale tool business and gave me some other really nice things, such as an industrial grade Delta drill press that was 25 years old and the power cord had never been unwrapped!) But I keep passing on the radial saw as I just don't like the idea of that mobile blade.
The blade is not going to move sideways on my new 14 inch, 3hp DeWalt. Now I just need to figure how to bring that 800# monster home !
You're gonna need a bigger boat.
What's the line from Rocky 2 or 3, by Clubber Lang... 'be afraid, be very afraid...'.
Over 40 years ago I purchased a DeWalt RAS on the advise of a good friend whose company had made more tent pegs and posts than anyone. I set it at 90-90 and never change it once I got a track saw. Periodically I slide the fence over for a new zero. I use a track saw on a sheet of insulation or sawhorses if I am ripping panels. I use an Inca table saw a lot.
If I was to start over and have just one, I would get a track saw first. But TS vs RAS should be based on your greatest expected use. And a Ryoba saw will let you stay at the workbench for many cuts and a lot cheaper.
Although I am a Radial arm saw aficionados you should really get a table saw and a chop saw. I have a cheap Evolution miter saw that I use to cut metals, plastic piping, Dirty wood and even with a lot of care, perfect miter joints in walnut and mahogany, it often comes on sale for less than $200. Use the balance of your budget to buy a decent table saw, likely on the used market like a unisaw or a delta that with some tuning will beat the newer plastic machines.
I own an older 14” dewalt RAS that I have refurbished. I also own a 3HP Sawstop TS.
Hands down I would choose the TS if I had to choose one. The dewalt is a great tool. Solid as a rock and it stays set. But it’s limited and it’s definitely not something I would ever rip with. Too dangerous.
With your budget I would suggest a festool track saw with a medium sized rail and a really long rail.
As others have noted, a good TS is worth saving for. And in my mind the Sawstop is the only option. Your fingers are worth way more than the modest price differential and it’s an excellent saw in and of itself setting aside the unique safety features.
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