First posting - not the last! Recently ripping a board with my Craftsman RAS the blade bound, moaned in a constipated way, then stopped; no drama, no black smoke, just stopped. Even after pressing the overload protection button it wont restart. Is there a fuse or something I should replace? Talk to me, someone! Ron.
Craftsman Radial Arm Saw
- Thread starter boswell
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Hi Ron, welcome to the forum. Sorry I don't know anything about radial arm saws, I assume you have checked fuses etc. Can you tell if power is still getting to the motor? There are a few forum regulars who know a fair bit about motors, I'm sure they will be along soon with some advice.
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Pajaro Petes
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Goodness Boswell, what type of wood were you cutting. I have a 20 year old Craftsman RAS. Never had it bog down that much. But the RAS is not really designed for ripping. It's kind of a dangerous operation at best. I don't Think there is a fuse, but you might check the brushes, could be worn out and not making contact with the armature.
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Lee Brubaker
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I agree with MDF HAKA in that I have never had a kickback while ripping with my RAS. I bought mine new in 1958. It is DeWalt manufactured by American Machine & Foundry. It has a 1hp motor & uses a 9" blade which are getting kind of scarce these days. It also has a reset button which is usually triggered by heat & it takes a little time before pressing the reset for the saw to restart. If heat was not the problem then check to make certain the saw is getting power ie: tripped circuit breaker. When you do get it going I suggest that you purchase a book that details proper, safe, operation of an RAS along with how to maintain the saw. You will need the latter because later vintage RAS's are known to need regular attention to stay in tune including the DeWalt now owned by Black & Decker who for the last 20 years at least are not known for original thought when it comes to woodworking machinery.
Lee
Lee
Hello chaps. Thanks for your replies. This is a repeat of my message which I sent yesterday which didn't get through. My problem occurred several days ago so the machine has had plenty of time to recover spontaneously if it is going to. I already had checked the power supply and found it to be still functioning okay. I've had my Craftsman RAS for over twenty years and and found it to be an extremely useful and versatile bit of kit. The users guide makes it very clear how safely to use the ripping facility though kick-back is always a possibility and needs to be guarded against. Also, Bob, have you heard about the recall problem in 2000? - which I did only yesterday. Go to www.radialarmsawrecall.com for full details. I phoned them yesterday and they immediately agreed to send a new safer guard to me in England (I'm in france at the moment)! Salut! Ron.
Hi Bob. The spam checker did a bit of surgery to my last post. The reference radialarmsawrecall should be preceded by the three double-'u's and followed by dot com. Their phone number (in Pennsylvania) is 001 800 511 2628 - even after 7 years the recall system is still operating. They are sending me - free! - a replacement fence AND TABLE TOP. By God, that's service with knobs on! Salut, Ron.
Hi Boswell,im afraid i beat you to it! 
I found out about in December last year ,i ordered it on the 2nd of January and after several emails asking them where it was,it arrived almost 3 months later in a 4ft OSB crate ,altogether with contents weighing 128lbs. You get the mdf tables ,guard,bag of fixings for the table including new clamps for the table.Also a new aluminium handle with a built in bar at the back that engages with the lower guard so that it lifts the guard above the fence when crosscutting.I think the guards a big improvement ,though havent tried ripping with it yet as the riving knife seems to pull to slightly to one side everytime you tighten it.
MY model was 113.197731,its the 1 1/2 HP model with 10" blade.
I,ll post some photos of the new guard in place later.
p.s expect to pay some customs duty on the shipment when it finally arrives by UPS.
I found out about in December last year ,i ordered it on the 2nd of January and after several emails asking them where it was,it arrived almost 3 months later in a 4ft OSB crate ,altogether with contents weighing 128lbs. You get the mdf tables ,guard,bag of fixings for the table including new clamps for the table.Also a new aluminium handle with a built in bar at the back that engages with the lower guard so that it lifts the guard above the fence when crosscutting.I think the guards a big improvement ,though havent tried ripping with it yet as the riving knife seems to pull to slightly to one side everytime you tighten it.MY model was 113.197731,its the 1 1/2 HP model with 10" blade.
I,ll post some photos of the new guard in place later.
p.s expect to pay some customs duty on the shipment when it finally arrives by UPS.
Well well well. I'm torching my workshop and taking up knitting. Woolly jumper anyone? On probing further I discovered I hadn't pressed the protection button hard enough and, lo and behold, take off! At least I discovered this site and acquired a new fence and worktop. Thanks everyone. Salut, Ron.
Heres a pic of the new guard,followed by the old one.Then theres a pic of the new handle with the old one for comparison.The dust extraction is at the back on the new guard which i think is an improvement also.
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