# Does your shop have a radial arm saw?



## gafftapegreenia (Jun 3, 2014)

So, on another forum I frequent, *gasp* , there is a debate going on between the table saw and the radial arm saw over which would be best for a "one saw garage". This, coupled with the fact that the only two places I've had a RAS was in college and now my current job, has gotten me curious. Who's still using a RAS in their scene shop? And if you are, do you ever do much with it besides cross cutting? They're impressive pieces of equipment, especially the older DeWalt models. While I've read that they can do all sorts of cool things, the two places I've used them just leave them set as perfect cross cutting saws. 


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## sk8rsdad (Jun 3, 2014)

We have both a table saw and a radial arm saw, as well as a sliding compound mitre saw. The table saw sees the most use. If we could only have one saw then it would be a table saw. Cutting sheet goods on a radial arm saw is pretty limiting unless you have one with a 24" arm. Our RAS is mostly used for cross cutting and the occasional dado or rabbet.


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## cmckeeman (Jun 3, 2014)

If you took my schools table saw we would be in some real big trouble for getting the sets together neat. if you took the RAS it might take a little longer to cross cut some stuff when we are busy.


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## MarshallPope (Jun 3, 2014)

We have a radial at both of my jobs - a college shop and a regional theatre. At the college, we use it for almost all cross-cutting, and it is almost always set at 90°. We have a miter saw that is almost only used for angles. At the regional theatre, the radial is almost exclusively used with a dado blade. A sliding compound miter is used for most everything else (unfortunately, in my opinion). Of course, both places also have table saws. 

Personally, I love the radial. As long as I had a circular saw as well, I would take it over a table saw any day. It is too easy to screw down a guide to sheet goods and get a perfect rip with a circ saw to merit losing the precision you can get with the radial - cross cutting, angles if you need to, relief cuts, whatever.


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## jhochb (Jun 3, 2014)

Good Morning all
I have a RAS at home, one of my first bench tools. I wouldn’t get rid of it.
Its more useful than a cross cut / miter saw IMO.
I use it for dados & rabbits but I also use my table for that.
I have used it for ripping & drilling
And a combination half lap / miter cut
I used it to make a mortise & tenon in a 4x6 & 2x6 Redwood for a pergola.
Nothing else would have worked.
You DO NEED to take care, it wants to eat wood & can jam


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## Vega (Jun 3, 2014)

Our shop has a table saw, a standard chop miter saw, a sliding miter saw, a band saw and a radial arm saw. We haven't done much of anything with the radial arm saw, we don't even have a sacrificial table for it, largely because it sat in a corner for quite a while, and then, in sept when we took over the old art rooms at school for our shop, the radial sat on a dolly in an alcove. The two most used saws in our shop are the table saw and the chop saw.


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## kicknargel (Jun 3, 2014)

If I were to have a "one-saw shop" I would get a table saw, then buy a cheap mitre saw and hope no one noticed. Mitre or RAS + circ saw would be another OK combo. If you're doing furniture work you could probably get away with one saw (but why bother?) As soon as you need to cut 2x4s and plywood, you'll be hating life without something that specializes in cross-cut and something else for ripping.

We have a chop saw that stays at 90 permanently in a long bench, several mobile mitre saws, a smallish RAS used primarily for dados, etc, and a large and small table saw.


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## JChenault (Jun 3, 2014)

Well 
I would opine that if you were only going to have one saw, a RAS would be the choice. It's just more flexible in that it can cross cut, rip, miter, dado, etc.

40 years ago when I learned how to build scenery out of lumber, we had a radial arm saw which got used all the tome, and a table saw that saw occasional use. This was before the advent of chop saws.

When I set up my first shop, we had a RAS, Tablr Saw and Panel saw. We probably used the panel saw more than the table saw. 

In the theatre I work with now ( not building scenery) they have a chop saw which will mitre, and a table saw.


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## techieman33 (Jun 4, 2014)

A radial arm saw can do lots of cool things, it's still not a replacement for a real table saw though. If I was equipping a new shop I would like to have one, but it would be pretty low on the list. 

IMO 
1. Table saw with a good sized table. There is nothing worse than a table saw without much of a table to work on.
2. Circular saw
3. Jig saw
4. Compound sliding miter saw
5. Reciprocating saw
6. Radial arm saw.


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## rsmentele (Jun 4, 2014)

I own a RAS as well, and wouldn't trade it for anything! 
It it a real versatile machine and the accessories you can get with it are endless! drill chucks, dado blades, planer disks exc...

I LOVE mine!

One word of caution however; IF you own one that was made pre 1992 they are mostly all recalled because of the poor blade guard design, you can go to this site: http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/
And register your saw. If it qualifies, they will send you a BRAND NEW guard AND top for your saw...


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## jmdesper (Jun 4, 2014)

rsmentele said:


> I own a RAS as well, and wouldn't trade it for anything!
> It it a real versatile machine and the accessories you can get with it are endless! drill chucks, dado blades, planer disks exc...
> 
> I LOVE mine!
> ...



We did this exact thing at my last job. We had received an old Craftsman Radial Arm saw as a donation. Did the recall and received a new table top and blade guard. Spent a little money to get a rolling base for it, added a stacked dado head set to 3/4", and had a nice time with it. This was in addition to the indestructible DeWalt RAS that was permanently mounted in the work bench.

Now, I only have a sliding compound miter saw. There are definitely times that I miss having the radial arm saw, but they are rare. Mostly, I miss having two cross-cutting saws so I can have one set up with whatever stops I need and the other free to use.


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## TheaterEd (Jun 4, 2014)

I currently only have a cheapo miter saw and a circular saw. Whenever we need to rip something, we either walk the material around the school to the shop class and use their table saw, or we try our luck with the circular saw (working with high school kids, a straight line with a circ saw definitely qualifies as Luck). I have never worked with a Radial Arm Saw before, but I feel like it might be perfect for my shop as it wouldn't take up as much space as a table saw, and I still have the table saw over in the shop if I need it. I will definitely be learning more about Radial Arm Saws.


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## StradivariusBone (Jun 4, 2014)

Neat video going over the merits and detractors:



We have a compound miter, a table and a frame and trim saw as well as a pair of circulars. I recently acquired a couple band saws through our now defunct woodworking shop. They proved their worth during our build of Anything Goes with all the dadgum curved pieces. I still tore through a ton of jigsaw blades for the bigger 3/4" ply stuff, but the band saws were indispensable. Don't know if the cost is justified if you can't just claim it from another department though.


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## TheaterEd (Jun 4, 2014)

StradivariusBone said:


>



Yeah I just watched that after posting my last message. Seeing one in action makes me think that a portable table saw might be the better option for me. Anyone have one they like? Last one I worked with was very prone to tipping over, so I've been a little wary of them ever since.


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## StradivariusBone (Jun 4, 2014)

Our's is a portable one, Hitachi, but the legs will accept a couple 40# arbor weights and that helps with the tipping. The cut fence behind the blade gets out of alignment every once and awhile and it binds against the rip fence which gets exciting. All told, I'd buy a permanent one and bolt it to the floor, but this one works for now. 

I did look on Craigslist for RAS after watching the video and did find a bunch under $100. It seems like a better deal than rolling the dice on Harbor Freight or blowing the bank at the box stores. At least for my own garage.


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## cmckeeman (Jun 4, 2014)

TheaterEd said:


> I currently only have a cheapo miter saw and a circular saw. Whenever we need to rip something, we either walk the material around the school to the shop class and use their table saw, or we try our luck with the circular saw (working with high school kids, a straight line with a circ saw definitely qualifies as Luck). I have never worked with a Radial Arm Saw before, but I feel like it might be perfect for my shop as it wouldn't take up as much space as a table saw, and I still have the table saw over in the shop if I need it. I will definitely be learning more about Radial Arm Saws.



Have you ever thought of making a rip fence?


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## BrianWolfe (Jun 5, 2014)

I love my radial arm saw and have had one in every shop I have worked. Mostly use for quick crosscuts and dado slots.


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## Dionysus (Jun 5, 2014)

I haven't seen a radial arm saw in action in a long time, perhaps even since high school. We had one in the wood shop, used only for simple cross cutting. But I believe it has been removed for a "safer" mitre saw.
Really cool to see some of the things a RAS can do, and how versatile. 
But it's true for the most part they are replaced with "safer" alternatives.


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## josh88 (Jun 5, 2014)

Had one in college that was used all the time for any repetitive cross cuts with a stop block. Next highest use was for dados. I have one in a shop in Ohio that I'll inherit when I finally buy a house with space and I'm already looking forward to it.


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## kicknargel (Jun 7, 2014)

A few people have mentioned them, but I have nostalgia for those old Dewalt 14" monsters like they had in the shop where I came up. Not super safe - no guards and no brake and they were so heavy that if you were moving fast you could take off a limb before you noticed the pain. But man they melted though 2x4 like no other.


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## MikeJ (Jun 28, 2014)

The concept of Radial arm saws being unsafe has been created by people using table saw blades on arm saws. THIS IS WRONG! You need to look up the specs of blades, they are often not on the package. If you use an arm saw that wants to "pull itself" through the wood, than you probably have the wrong blade.

An Arm saw is great for your personal garage when there is no room for a table saw, but in a real shop, I want both. Arm for mostly 90 degree cross cuts. Set up with a good fence, you can go to town and cut 100 2x4's to length and only need to measure once when you start.


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