Radial Arm Saw Dilemma

[Rick Christopherson]

I too have a boat anchor such as yours in my old shed.

....................

And for those who might own a Ryobi 8.25 inch radial arm saw (like me)

Umm, Peter, that's not a boat anchor, that's a dingy anchor, and is not in the same class as the saws mentioned above.  [big grin]

 

[harry_]

does that mean that there is some hope for repair parts?!?!?!

 

[tburritt]

I have to thank you guys for starting this thread! I purchased a Sears RAS and Boise Crane saw off CL a moth ago for a few hundred bucks and it was a deal but the RAS needed work.  Well looking into this recall and the link Peter included I found that my saw is included......I placed my order on line and I should have my kit in a few weeks hopefully  [smile]  It comes with most of the parts the saw I purchased was missing.  And it will be safer they say.  I have been using these type saws for years and years ago safety guards and safety devises where optional.  As most of you know if you use power tools properly and as they are intended they are safe to use!  Anyway thanks for the link Peter! [thumbs up]

[thanks]

 

[peter halle]

I too have a boat anchor such as yours in my old shed.

....................

And for those who might own a Ryobi 8.25 inch radial arm saw (like me)

Umm, Peter, that's not a boat anchor, that's a dingy anchor, and is not in the same class as the saws mentioned above.  [big grin]

My old craftsman radial arm saw dates back to the late 1970's.  I bought it used from a cabinet shop.  It does have the cast iron carriage.

My Ryobi Dingy anchor predates compound miter boxes as we know them today at a time when the Delta Sawbuck was the top dog.

 

[GreenGA]

That's interesting...  I'll have a look-see this week. 

This is from the era when Craftsman meant something.  [cool]  This thing is a beast of a saw and runout, last time I checked was almost nonexistent.

I have a similar dilemma, except that mine came from Montgomery-Ward.

Radial arm saws have a bad reputation due to the number of crappy ones out there, especially with Sears flooding the market with crappy model Craftsmans. I don't know if the original poster's Craftsman saw was made by DeWalt, but I do know that Harry's was. If it has the Montgomery Ward name on it, then it is the old Powercraft from DeWalt. If the original poster's saw has a cast iron carriage, then it too is likely one of the old DeWalt saws.

These are hard to find, and you guys are talking about throwing them away?  [scared]

When people say that a miter saw is better than a radial arm saw, they are drawing this conclusion because they are comparing a low-end radial arm saw to a high-end miter saw (or worse, have never bothered to calibrate either type). The difference between a good radial arm saw and any miter saw is the ability to calibrate all axis of motion to a very fine degree. With saws that are approaching 30, 40, 50 years old, you need to go through and adjust them to achieve their true potential. There are those that claim their radial arm saws won't hold their adjustment. Well that's because they didn't know there was more to adjust, such as the column gibs and carriage eccentric rollers.

Miter saws were created to be a portable version of a radial arm saw, so comparing the two is like comparing a cabinet tablesaw to a benchtop tablesaw.