? Radial arm saw or Chopsaw? For general shop use

[JimD]

That blade has a relatively low tooth count and lots of positive rake. The low tooth count is not a problem if you are using it for general use and not fine furniture projects but the positive rake will make it want to feed itself - make it harder to control.

You may want to try out on scrap - something thick will show this clearest - and decide if you need a new blade.

No guard? Mine has a guard surrounding the blade that pivots out of the way as you cut. Especially with no guard, I would paint the area of the blade (on the table) red or something to make sure you remember to keep you hands out of that area.

Jim

 

[Sanders Fine Woodworking]

I vote for sliding compound miter saw. I had an old Craftsman RAS and it jumped a board and scared me to death. An old, refurbished DeWalt or other sturdy vintage machine will eventually wind it's way into my shop because the travel is longer (some up to 24"). I have a 12" chop and a 12" slider, both Dewalt and I use them almost every day that I'm in the shop. I use the chop for "construction" and the slider, with a very good blade, for precision.

 

[DaveD]

Good deal. Now the first thing you should do is to get the table set correctly. Otherwise you are going to cuss at it forever. You need to get the fence 90 degrees to the arm/saw/blade. Then you need to get the surface of the table in the same plane all over (if that makes sense).

I think the technique they recommend is to:
Unplug the saw
Take saw blade and guard off
Rotate motor so spindle is perpendicular to table
Loosen up the arm clamp so the arm can swivel left to right
Let the saw travel on the carriage too
Get a feeler gauge (thickness is not that important)
Crank saw down so spindle is thickness of feeler gauge away from the table
Now the challenge is to move the saw left/right, front/back, and get that same gap in all the corners by moving the table up/down..

The problem is as you move/beat on the table braces things tend to move out of alignment where you have previously set up a corner.

I welded up a extra set of angle iron braces (and bolted them underneath the original brackets) that had jack screws in them so I could just play with jack screws till I got it right and then clamped the original brackets down real good.

Both the jack screws and the original brackets hold the table in alignment. Nothing, short of bending the whole saw frame up, can make my table get out of alignment once it is set right.

I also made my own clamps for the back of the table to hold the fence and back piece of the table tight to the main table. Those ones that come with the saw tend to be too flimsy for me.

 

[JimmyC]

Gary,

Congratulations on the RAS, when you use it you will find that it grabs hard and pulls back to you fast (like others have said), this is due due to the positive angle of the blade. I put a Hitachi 10" blade #310878 (recommende by DaveO:icon_thum) on that is made for miter saws, it is a 40 tooth all purpose blade that gives smooth cuts. I got mine at Lowes for around $33, and have seen no reason to purchase a better blade, save the extra money for a good dado set (which is exactly where the RAS does great job).

Good luck with the saw, and you will probably still want to get a CMS.

OK so after much thought(and a great price) I decided to start with the RAS. Found it locally on CL the guy only used it to make several cuts over the years...still has original blade with no wear.....

:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

 

[NCTurner]

OK so who do I need to bribe, with what in the Raleigh/Cary area to help guide me through getting this cutting straight??? Anyone??:dontknow:

 

[JimD]

I am not nearby but I would start with getting a big draftsman's triangle. A good office supply store should have them. They are cheap, very accurate, and they will not ding the blade. Holding it against the fence, you want consistent drag on the edge of a tooth as you pull the blade towards you simulating a cut. If it is not consitent and wants to go into the triangle more at the front or the back, then you need to rotate the arm the motor glides on after loosening the clamp at the back. With the upper guard off, you can then use the same triangle to see if the blade is square up and down to the table. If not, then you tilt the motor in it's bracket to get it square.

Best to do the adjustments with the saw not plugged in.

Jim

 

[McRabbet]

Gary,

Two important pieces of advice for you concerning your new/old saw. #1 -- go to this website to see if your model is part of the Emerson/Sears recall for improved safety guards. #2 -- Do not use this saw for rip cuts -- unless you have extremely good hold downs and more guts than me -- IMHO, they are too dangerous for this type of cut.