Radial Arm Saw

[Steve Maskery]

My Haporth
I have (old)TS , (big)BS and RS. It's horses for courses. I prefer TS for speed and accuracy in ripping. I know you can rip on RAS but I wouldn't cos the TS is much better and I have that option. The biggest problem with my RAS is its propensity to move out of true. It's old and doesn't have stops, which doesn't help. It also takes up a lot of space. My mate Brian has just bought a SIPSliding Compound jobbie, and, for a fraction of the price of a RAS has similar capacities, accurate stops and it's easily moveable. But my RAS does get used quite regularly, but it needs setting up every time.
Bandsaw great for curved work, pain changing blades, ginormous footprint.
I think it boils down to what you like, what you feel comfortable with and what sort of work you do really. I just wish my dado set fitted my RAS instead of just my TS. But we won't go there, eh?

 

[Woodythepecker]

Aragorn the Leigh FMT heh, now thats a stylish looking jig. What is it like to use?
I know that it costs quite a few pennies but if the reviews i have read are anything to go by it seems to be worth the outlay.

Regards

Woody

 

[Alf]

Bandsaw...ginormous footprint.

Eh? Compared to a RAS or TS? Although even with the largest BS (and I think I know which BS you have, and it is a bit wasteful of floor space IMO) you get so much more versatility for your square footage.

For my money, with the advent of the SCMS which doesn't go out of square the moment you breathe on it, the RAS has rather lost its appeal. That and a bandsaw would be my ideal sawing team. But then I'm weird like that...

Cheers, Alf

 

[aldel]

Aragorn,
Thanks for the reply, just a note that I didn't take any offence!! Every one has their own preferences and I do enjoy a good discussion.
I have been woodworking as a hobby for many years now and am lucky enough now to own a table saw, two band saws, a chop saw, a Ras, two sanding machines, a morticer, a small kity p/t, an Axminster thicknesser, a WoodRat, a Leigh jig +extra templates, three other dovetail jigs, a router table, three routers, five drills plus all the other electical bits and bobs -- oh, of course all the hand tools. Oh my goodness, am I showing off??
I can find good and bad points in all of them. As regards saws I think my preference would be:-

Table saw + band saw
Ras + band saw
Chop saw + band saw
With this lot I think you can appreciate how space is some concern to me!!

Regards aldel

 

[Anonymous]

Aldel

How do you manage to make anything with so few tools :wink:

 

[Guest]

Aldel, was it your show I went to a few weeks ago?

 

[Aragorn]

Aragorn the Leigh FMT heh, now thats a stylish looking jig. What is it like to use?

Hi Woody
I did a mini review a while back.

Cheers Aldel - no wonder you are concerned about space. Leigh D4 and extra templates! Show-off. :wink: What are those weird bear-ear joints like?

The SCMS ... and a bandsaw would be my ideal sawing team

Presumably you mean ideal tailed sawing team :?: :wink:

 

[Alf]

The SCMS ... and a bandsaw would be my ideal sawing team

Presumably you mean ideal tailed sawing team :?: :wink:

<looks nervously from left to right to see if the coast is clear>

Actually, no.

I think sawing is one of the most boring and tiring hand tool chores and it's not for nothing that is was one of the first tasks that was mechanized.

Now s'cuse me while I go and fall on my rip saw in a fit of penance for betraying the neander code. (It's gonna be a slow death too; it needs sharpening...

)

Cheers, Alf

 

[Midnight]

and there was I patting myself on the back yesterday for some handraulic resawing........sheesh....

 

[devonwoody]

I've got something you lot haven't got:-


A black & Decker drill that has an acccessory to turn it into a circular saw, and the blade is around 25 years old.

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi DW

I've got something you lot haven't got:- A black & Decker drill that has an acccessory to turn it into a circular saw

That sounds like the dado of the circular saw world. :wink:

Well, I have a twenty-five year old B&D hammer drill, all I need is the attachment. :twisted:

Cheers
Neil

 

[UKTony]

Blimey, who needs to do any work on a Monday morning when you can read a thread like this, thouroughly enjoyed it

My 10 pence...this is why i love my Triton Table mode or overhead, safe accurate and easy to use

Tony

 

[Noel]

I've got something you lot haven't got:-


A black & Decker drill that has an acccessory to turn it into a circular saw, and the blade is around 25 years old.

Real up to date, cutting edge technology......

Noel, dust is optional......

 

[tim]

Now THAT is a mad bit of kit!! :shock:

I've been craning my head round to try to work out which way is up and which bit to run away from!!

T

 

[Philly]

Ah Noely,
You are indeed the "King Of Cast Iron"! :lol:
Cheers
Tin Philly

 

[Dewy]

I've got something you lot haven't got:-


A black & Decker drill that has an acccessory to turn it into a circular saw, and the blade is around 25 years old.

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

They're not that rare.
I have one as well and also a B&D accessory to convert it to a table saw.

 

[Midnight]

They're not that rare.
I have one as well and also a B&D accessory to convert it to a table saw.

now that brings back memories.. my first TS experience was on a rig exactly like that... built into an old tea chest..

<chucklin...

them were the days... if I remember righr I was ummmmm.... 9 or so... working under my uncle's supervision...

 

[Noel]

It was a big deal for me in those days. Must've been about 12 or 14, saw one of those little ads in Exchange and Mart. Think it was about £7 (that's 7 x 20 shillings....), 28 days delivery, after what seemed an eternity it turned up, with a free tablesaw!! Well, almost a tablesaw....A "U" shaped bracket to hold the drill and a steel plate about 8" x 8" and a totally carbide-less 5" blade. Screw the plate to a scrap of ply along with the drill, stick an "arbor" (actually an M8 bolt with a couple of nuts on it) to hold the blade and you're away. No silly nonsense like a fence or mitre gauge or crown guard. My first introduction to power tools.....
As time went on got the Jigsaw attachment(pictured above) for the drill along with the circular saw and sander attachments. Happy days.

Noel

 

[devonwoody]

I was still using my sander attachment for the B& D until about 2 months ago, when some gentleman on this forum told us about the orbital sander bargain from B & Q at £18.

I built three small boats originally with my old circular saw (sold two of the boats ) the jig saw's is around some where .

BUT

I have got the soft rubber sanding disk (really vicious) plus the lambswool mop, oh and the drill stand.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got something you lot haven't got:-


A black & Decker drill that has an acccessory to turn it into a circular saw, and the blade is around 25 years old.

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Just gave mine to a mate this very week together with the accessory which turns the circular saw accessory into a table saw and the bracket which attaches to a Workmate to hang the "table saw" from.