RAS advice needed please

[Froggy]

Hi I'm thinking about buying my first RAS and want one that will take a dado. I only have a small budget, so at the moment I'm looking at second hand DEWALT DW110 and Eumenia M50L 300. Will either of these take a dado blade and of the two which would you chose?

Thanks in advance Froggy.

 

[Froggy]

Eh come on guys...I really could do with some help here. Anything to stop me tossing a coin :roll: Someone must have a bit of knowledge of one or both machines :?:

 

[jimi43]

Don't know if this one has gone yet Froggy....

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38370

NICE!!

Jim

 

[Froggy]

Yes it is nice Jim, but it's also in Cambridge and I need something in the north of England. I actually live in France now, but have family and friends in the north who could collect locally. I could have it courried but then we are going over my budget. There is a 300 version of the Eumania on eBay (at the moment quite cheap and cheap postage)and a DW110 in the north, and what I want to know is which one to go for?

Thanks for the response Jim.

 

[jimi43]

I think NMA's excellent response regarding spares might be the deciding factor mate...but don't know about the DeWalt...I guess the spares are still available for it.

My mate has one and he swears by it but I think it looks lethal to me so I will stick to my sliding chop saw and table saw....

Anyway..just in case you didn't see that one...the fence alone is gorgeous!

Cheers mate and good luck!

Jim

 

[misterfish]

There's usually a constant stream of DW RAS's on Ebay, along with spares like bearings and switches. I bought a 1251 a few years and and have no regrets about my purchase. It came with a variety of attachments thrown it - dado set, drum sander, disk sander and small router bracket. I have no regrets about this purchase and would go down the same route to get a replacement if the need arose. The only thing I would look out for is one with a longer arm (1551 or 1751).

The Eumenia looks interesting - I remeber John Revel raving about it when he set up his workshop (Sky real Time). However, when he made stuff I never saw him using it. I don't think this is designed to be used with a dado set but uses a wobble washer that menatmna nicely describes as ""WankNutts" in Eumenian Austrian".

RAS's require quite a lot of set up to get everything straight and square and need to be regularly checked.

Misterfish

 

[Froggy]

Thanks Jim and Misterfish, not sure I'm any nearer to choosing now, but at least I've got something to work on now.

 

[petermillard]

Hi there. FWIW I have a DW110 - sorry, no idea if it will take a dado head or not, but don't see why not - albeit with guards removed, which would be scary. And messy. Unbraked as well, of course :shock:

Re. the spares situation, the DW110 is conspicuous by its absence at Miles Tools & Machinery - usually my first port of call for any odds and ends - though many other DW models are listed.

Don't know how big your workshop is but bear in mind that a RAS takes up a big chunk of space. Also remember that models of this vintage were built long before the concept of 'dust extraction' was taken seriously.

Cuts nicely though

Cheers, Pete.

 

[9fingers]

I don't know the DW110 but I have the DW1751 which I 'think' uses the same head. With careful modification a dado can be fitted and the guard replaced.

DW also made dado kits for the 1751/1753 and I would imaging they would have done it for the whole range.

The combination of the driven flange and the short spindle will NOT take a dado safely without either modification (metal turning needed) or using the DW Dado conversion.

Bob

 

[Froggy]

Thanks for the info guys, but I've come to an agreement with Dibs for a DW RAS. For a number of reasons it was an offer I couldn't refuse :wink:

Froggy

 

[misterfish]

You can get a Dewalt dado backing flange from http://www.powertoolspares.com/parts2.php?model_ID=2809 and no doubt other places - this fits any of the 16mm arbour DW RAS. I got one of these ages ago and use a modified DW moulding head guard to add protection when using a dado set.

Misterfish