bought mine brand new in the 90's. It"s still going strong never had a problem with it or any accident with it as long as you give it respect like any other tool you will be ok
+Scott Leach - They really are a great tool. My saw was used by a set designer in Toronto and got beat on. I have done some repair and tuning but it's not as smooth as it should be. All the same, it has given me years of trouble free service! Thanks for the comment!
Found a bunch of guys in my area selling radial arm saws pretty cheap. I'd love to set one up in my shop as a dedicated dado station. No more blade changes on the table saw. Some day. Nice video man.
Rob, Good video! I have 2 RAS's. A 9" and 12". Craftsman made dust catcher and vacuums for their saws. I have the plastic catcher. It works very well IF you have a 4" line and lots of suction. Shop vac won't cut it. Recently did a king size bed project and had to do 24 slats out of 1x4. Had 6 boards and cut them all with 5 pulls of the 12". Ripping plywood with two people is a breaker. Can do it by yourself safely with correct setup. Also made shelving with numerous 2x4 short pieces. Cut them 6 at a time. There is a WWII promotional video for Dewalt saws showing how they used 21 of them in a lineup to build 8 barracks a day. Very interesting to watch and get ideas on jigs to make work faster. Respectfully, Kevin
I had the Craftsman dust hood and the 4" 2 bag vac, but it stuck out too far for my small shop. I sold the vac (everything else had 2 1/2" ports) and changed to the set up in the video. The craftsman dust hood works the best overall for the saw in a multiple use capacity (except when you are ripping lumber). Thanks for your comment Kevin! I'd love to see your shop set up. I love the RAS comments because people have such a passion for the saws. I'll look for that promo video! Cheers! Rob
Rob's Garage Woodworking Sorry, I'm one that does not in any way want to be in pictures or videos. My shop is a disaster anyway. I get no thrill from setting up a shop or workspace. I enjoy building projects but more for turning wood. Retired right after heart attack Oct last year. Shop was too cold in winter then not feeling best, then too hot in summer. Now had two grand daughters in 11 days and another stent installed at the hospital. I have to re start again. Need the motivation to kick in!
I`m like you & use mine for crosscut so I used 3 inch PCV pipe about 10 in ling with a cap glued on 1 end . I drilled a hole in the cap to fit the hose to shop vac then clamped it to the back of the saw so when I shoved the saw blade back the blade sawed a slot in the pipe. this puts all the suction right behind the blade, works for me .
OUTSTANDING !!! VERY BASIC DESIGN !!! NOT A MAJOR PROJECT !!! K.I.S.!!!! R.A. SAW JUST FOR ROUGH CROSSCUTS !!! MITRE CUTS ON MITRE SAW !!! THANKS AND AS ALWAYS WORK SAFE !!!
Nice Rob. You might catch a little more of the dust at the rear by attaching a broom type shield between the cast aluminum blade shield and the dust collection box. However, it may be more work than it is worth.
Nice one, I've just been given a Ras by my dad, watching to learn how to setup a dust collector system to it, (vac), I'm wondering if starting again you would skip the back box and just use the front tunnel (with a back on it) then put the hoover hose to the top of the "tunnel box" fir same results? That's what I may try first. 👍
In the 70's made 40 bee hives using a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw - cross cut - ripped 3/4 spruce - used a planer attachment - did horizontal hole drilling - made dado blade grooves and rabbets. So versatile! My son the renovator just does not get how great these units are. Thank for your comments!!
They are awesome! They lost support for the accessories and I really couldn't find anything for them despite claims that the accessories were available. If you have a picture or two please add them to your comments. Many people would like to see them! Thanks for your comment. Cheers! Rob
Very nice video I like you used my radial arm as my primary saw until I got a shopsmith then a real table saw. I still use the radial arm but the dust has always been a problem. I recently installed a dust collection system and have been trying to figure out some kind of collection system for the saw I am going to try your set up. Thanks again for the ideas and video.
You're welcome! You should be able to get radial arm saws cheap and even free. Try to get one that has the guards on it. Blade guard, riving knife, anti kickback pawls. If you can't get the manual you should be able to find it online. You have to set them up every time you move the saw. Take your time and do it well and it will run well. Do a poor job and it will perform poorly. Good Luck! Cheers! Rob
The saw was made by Emerson Tool Co. and there was a recall on the older saws. You could send away for a new table top and blade cover and it was free! I think that was over years ago. You can find RAS with the newer blade guards for sale super cheap and maybe just upgrade that way. Personally I liked the old set up better, but it was less safe. Thanks for your comment! Cheers! Rob
The blade guard is supposed to be tilted almost touching the workpiece. It’s rarely adjusted in real life unless you are ripping. It’s more effective then but not by much 😉
Nice video! Subscribed. Any idea how this setup compares against the commercial "giant-funnel-behind-the-blade" system that came with some radial arm saws? My old $50 Craftsman saw came with the giant funnel. I admittedly haven't hooked up to any dust collection yet, but your concept seems like it would concentrate the suction better.
Yes I had that same one. It was horrible. Better than nothing, but not by much. The tunnel works great but it's limited to cross cuts only. To make miter cuts or compound miter cuts you need to remove it. A combination system would be ideal. The bonus is it's quick and easy to make and it's easily removed. I'd love to see what you come up with. Feel free to post a video of your set up here in the comments section. Thanks for the sub and your comment! Cheers! Rob
I love this design. I'll be doing this once my barn is framed. How did you build the PVC portion of this? Do the two shop vacs both suck from that one pipe?
I used central vac pvc tubing with "shop vac" blast gates (available online). I use 2 vacuums for the radial arm saw and that's why there are 2 black pipes and 2 pvc runs. Good Luck with your build Rob! Cheers! Rob
There was a recall on all the craftsman radial arm saws. They sent a new blade guard kit containing the blade guard and a new table top with different back stop spacing to accommodate it. Try looking up radial arm saw recall by emerson tools Good Luck! Rob
New to RU-vid, just bought a radial arm saw, looks just like yours in your dust collector video. Question, saw may have sat a while, no rust, no saw dust, having trouble getting the bevel adjustment to move. Is there a secondary lock I don't see or maybe just froze? Thanks for the video.
When you move the release levers you have to unlock them and then pull a little more to release them fully. Also you may have to push/pull on the assembly while you are doing it. Before you use your saw try to put it in a permanent place (they lose alignment when moved) and follow the set up guide to align everything. Without proper alignment the saw sucks. When properly set up it's a pleasure to use. Best of luck! Cheers! Rob
It was for the recall of the saws. They upgraded the blade guard because people were putting their hands in the saws. Oops... They are no longer available. You might have some luck if you search the internet. Good Luck! Rob
