Dewalt Radial Arm Saw DW 720

[Linus]

A friend is clearing her late father's workshop where he had a variety of tools and equipments, some unused. Among these is a Dewalt DW720 RAS and my friend seems to think her father bought but probably never used it and it has been sitting there gathering dust. The saw seems to be all there but not guaranteed as her father had dementia and mislaid the odd thing. Anyway, the long and short of it is she has no idea what it may be worth so has asked me if I can find a suitable home for it. Has anyone experience with this beast and if so what might it's current value be to her mum if sold? I have never used one but it is in working order and looks pretty much in original condition (see pics) Any clues gratefully received and if anyone interested please let me know and I'll put you in contact. Can't post in For Sale as no idea of value!

Cheers

Lyn

 

[Jameshow]

Just looking on eBay £500?

One for £595 bin..

 

[DBC]

FYI. These are amazing machines. I’ve never seen one in a joinery shop in the UK but they had one in the company I did my time with in NZ: maybe they don’t meet the safety regs here? Someone will know. Anyway, you can cut compound bevels with them like a modern dropsaw but you can also rip timber, do coving cuts, fit a dado blade and my old boss also had some shaper heads for them for making mouldings. There are also attachments available that allow you to attach sanding drums and disks as well as router cutters. Although I personally haven’t operated one with these latter attachments. Great piece of machinery easily worth £500.

 

[Blister]

Price wise it is what someone is willing to pay for it , Does it have the 6 part wooden table ?
Looking on line these can date from around 2008 , Options are limited to a local purchase as they won't fit in a jiffy bag , You could try selling on f book market place as well.
Does it have a date on the dewalt label ?

A comprehensive setup video on the DW720

 

[Sandyn]

There is one on Facebook marketplace for £200, but built into a bench. That's a very good price!

 

[Linus]

Price wise it is what someone is willing to pay for it , Does it have the 6 part wooden table ?
Looking on line these can date from around 2008 , Options are limited to a local purchase as they won't fit in a jiffy bag , You could try selling on f book market place as well.
Does it have a date on the dewalt label ?

A comprehensive setup video on the DW720

I didn't count but the table pieces are there. The label says 2000.

 

[recipio]

The 720 has one advantage - it will crosscut up to 600 mm so great for panel boards etc. They are a beggar to set up and should be left alone if cutting accurate right angles. DeWalt used to market a premium dado blade but it will not fit the 720 - EU regulations - remember them.
I'd say that £500 is all the money but well worth it if you have the space.

 

[Bigegg]

Good machine.
Should fetch 400-500 any time.

Freud dado blades from the US will fit, but you have to ream out the centre bore from 5/8" to 16mm, and you're limited to 3/4" wide cut.

Agreed about the "once set up, don't mess with it".
It's much more accurate to add a miter fence than swivel the head.
The sanding/planing/moulding heads are fantastic: but first job should be to build extra fittings to guard the head.

As to ripping: that's a big fat NO! from me.
It's like trimming your fingernails with a router: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

[Alder]

One has just been sold at a H j Pugh auction £160.

 

[TominDales]

I have one. They cost ca £2000 new, looking at your friends, it should fetch upto £500 on ebay seen some of that vintage for about that price. However the technology is a bit dated so not a popular as before so she should not be disappointed above £350. Dont tell her the new price, no need to get upset about it.

I bought an older model on ebay for about £175 about 15 years ago it was lacking the table. I had used one in a summer job as a student in the early 1980s in a joiners shop and I loved it. He let me make myself a massive bookcase that covered an entire wall in my spare time, it did all the housings and cross cut beautifully, so when I started fitting out my garage it was the first power tool I bought, but have to say there are better ways of doing things these days.

It was an ideal one-stop-tool when it was the only tool one could afford as its so versatile. However ripping is quite hairy even with the hold down pawls, I've only done it a few times after initial set up and although it works, you feel its waiting for a kickback and sadly, modern, cheap chop saws are a bit more precise for mitres. setting up the table takes quite a bit of time to get everything level and square.
Its also taken a lot of fettling to improve the dust extraction - using two vac hoses.
I only really use it for wide cross cuts and when I need to have both the chops saw and the ras set up for a lot of workflow.
I don't think I'd recommend getting one these days for anything other than basic joinery if you were short of space. But there are better tools to be had these days.