Are radial arm saws not mainstream these days?

[Jelly]

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It sounds like the reason I'm a bit baffled is that I fit into the niche you just described. I don't have the space for multiple saws (as nice as a table and panel saw would be!), I've build an extraction hood for it, and I'm a hobbyist that dabbles on my own in a garage.

Exactly, I really liked my little Dewalt, and have designs on a Wadkin or Stromab RAS if I ever set up a workshop of my own again... Part of the reason I found it so handy was buying huge slabs of Douglas Fir straight from the mill... If I'd had a table saw I would have had to length it by hand, as crosscutting 50mm×400mm boards at 4.8m and 5.2m would have been impossible and dangerous. The few times I ripped panels down on it, It was demanding both to set it up just so, and to handle the boards in the best way, failing to do either invites a lot of danger with that particular machine too, so a panel saw would have beaten it hands down if I'd been doing that frequently.

Another factor in their fall from fashion is cost.
A DeWalt RAS now costs £2.5k+, few stores stock them and there seem to be no advertising for them.
When I bought mine over 25 years ago they were much cheaper in comparison with other tools and every magazine had adverts for them.

I suspect that it's far cheaper to make, and transport a really good SCMS, than it is an adequate RAS (no need to make 2 or 3 complex, stable iron castings, stress relieve them and then machine quite a lot of material back out of them), so the market that remains for RAS's is mainly industrial users who expect quality, durability and perfomance and will pay for it...

The factory I worked in had 2 brand new 450mm Stromab's, which would cut upto 150mm×1250mm, then an older Wadkin and new Dewalt set up for trenching and tennoning in the joiners shop, they all had to deal with working 16hrs a day, 6 days a week, and just work. Good as it was, I don't think my little Dewalt, or the other lower end saws like it could have kept that pace up.

 

[wallace]

The only issue with wadkin nowadays is they don't really build machines they restore older machines to original spec. My RAS cost me £160 and a bit of graft to pretty it up. I do have the big brother of mine the CC waiting patiently in the garden to get its make up put on. I believe it has a 22"blade and can accept a 16" trenching head. Its about 4th in the cue.

 

[Jelly]

The only issue with wadkin nowadays is they don't really build machines they restore older machines to original spec. My RAS cost me £160 and a bit of graft to pretty it up. I do have the big brother of mine the CC waiting patiently in the garden to get its make up put on. I believe it has a 22"blade and can accept a 16" trenching head. Its about 4th in the cue.

As I understood it, they're making a limited range of popular machines new to order, including a new model of panel saw. I need to go see them about some spares for a BAOS Planer in the near future so I'll try to find out more then.

 

[Doug B]

Ive had a couple of old RAS in my time the main problem I found is lack of depth of cut on the right hand side of the saw due to the motor, most chop saws I've used will cut the same depth both sides of the blade, I don't know if modern RAS have a different set up but my last RAS would only manage about 2" cut before the motor hit the timber.

 

[skipdiver]

I have a Dewalt RAS doing nothing in my workshop. Once i got my Makita chopsaw, i stopped using the RAS as it frees up space, although i do like a RAS and was using one daily in my first job, which is why i bought one originally. Think if i had a much bigger workshop, i'd still use it.

I ought to sell the RAS really, as i can't see it getting any use but................