Any opinion about these tools?

[Coach James]

Hello,

I came into some used, but well cared for, power tools recently, and was wondering if you all had any opinion on them or experience with these. They were a gift from a relative so my cost was zero. I'm still doing some clean up, but they all work.

Also, any opinion on putting some of them on rollers or casters?

It's good to be participating in the forum again.

Thanks
Coach

 

[RTM]

The table saw seems to be the star of the bunch, with the cast iron wings. I am afraid of the Radial Arm Saw.

I think my neighbor has that router tabl, or it’s brother, and was fighting it for good adjustment and dust collection

the others are unknowns to me.

 

[tyyost]

Coach,

That seems like a nice haul, right out of an 80’s Bob Vila ad. They are all decent tools in their own right, with all of them being usable. None are best in class, but with sharp tooling there is a lot they can do. The table saw and radial arm saw will do what you ask with a sharp blade, set up is important, but they are easy to adjust to cut square. They may lack power for thick hardwood, but modern carbide blades will overcome most of that. Is there a fence for the table saw? Looking at the RAS, I’d immediately toss the blade and get a 0 degree blade so it doesn‘t want to jump at you. The blade on it looks like a ripping or coarse combo blade for a tablesaw.

The spindle sander is similar to the current Ryobi at the depot. It is a solid tool, but possibly underpowered for large work. The bandsaw is an infamous 3 wheel design delta copied from Inca, some felt it was hard on blades. Like the others, it is not a heavy duty saw, a bit underpowered, not a high tension blade system, but will scroll cut well with a good blade.

The router table is adequate, but limited. All tables in that style are compromises, good for edge work, but not much else. It appears to have a router so you can get the hang of it or simply pull the router out and use it handheld.

 

[tarmy]

What tyyost said…

except, for RAS use a negative hook blade specifically made for them.

 

[dnschmidt]

The oscillating spindle sander is a useful tool. The rest are meh. The radial arm saw is something I wouldn't get within ten feet of. I've always found that tool to be the worse with respect to safety.

 

[mv213]

Does anybody remember the details of the Craftsman RAS recall? I’m not sure if it implied they were all unsafe, or what. At any rate, these days you’d be better off with a 12” dual bevel miter saw for the precision and safety.

 

[JradM]

I think that's a pretty good haul. Unless you're about to start a commercial operation, there's a lot you can do with tools like that. They don't need to be top-of-the-line to be very useful. E.g. I'd rather have a weak spindle sander than no spindle sander. That bandsaw is an upgrade from the $149 Ryobi special, even if it's old.

The sentiment has already been expressed, but I'd be cautious around that radial arm saw. I don't like them and I might not use it if it were me. I find them hard to work with and unnerving. They often appear in classifieds as either cheap or free. But hey! comes with a nice big stand.

I wonder if someone could convert that into a belt sander... Probably equally unsafe - but that's something I would actually use!

 

[guitarbutt]

That's awesome, only a true idiot wouldn't be happy to get that haul. Enjoy

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Does anybody remember the details of the Craftsman RAS recall? I’m not sure if it implied they were all unsafe, or what. At any rate, these days you’d be better off with a 12” dual bevel miter saw for the precision and safety.

Do people still actually use RAS for miter saw work? The main appeal at least from my perception are the dedicated use of them for dados or rabbets, If I had enough space and I could find a small one I'd have one just for that.

 

[engineer2]

As said, the Craftsman cast iron table saw is desirable.
That's a nice big Delta band saw too. If the blade doesn't cut easily, buy a new blade. A dull blade on a band saw is dangerous.

 

[neophyte]

Since a Radial Arm Saw, or as GJ likes to call them, “Radio Arm Saw”.
Here are a couple videos.

The Jim Howard youtube channel has a bunch of good videos on Radial arm saws.

https://m.youtube.com/c/ifoundjim/search?query=Radial

Stumpy Nubs also has a couple videos on the Radial Arm Saws, but he’s talking about why they got a bad reputation.

 

[ArcReactorKC]

Ugh, can nobody in here get it right. That is a radio arm saw... everybody on craigslist knows that.

 

[crguy]

There's a good reason why you see free radial arm saws on Craigslist & Marketplace frequently.

 

[Meursault74]

Also, any opinion on putting some of them on rollers or casters?

I'd put locking casters on anything that isn't going to have a dedicated spot. I have casters on all my woodworking tools (small table saw, band saw, router table, belt/disk sander). I can move them out of the way when not using. I also tend to roll them outside the garage when I use them as my dust management system is the "great outdoors".

 

[FMB4]

Hey, free is free, even if you give some of those tools away yourself. Meanwhile, I turned down a haul it away for free '50s vintage (?) 10" DeWalt Radial, sorry Radio, arm saw about 20 yrs ago (didn't think I had room for it). Have regretted doing so for a long time now.

 

[RTM]

Randomly Angry Saw for those in the know.

 

[Vwpower]

I would love to get all those for free but I don’t have room for all those woodworking tools. I guess if I had the room I’d already have them. Lol.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I've used a RAS for over 60 years. At one time as sawyer on large industrial projects. The smaller saws (110volt) lack power and as such are more dangerous. I use a narrow kerf blade on my dad's old DeWalt, but the negative hook teeth are the recommended ones. Consider all saws, table or radial arm as loaded guns, stay out of the line of fire. They can do fine work as well as construction. I have 12" rule, keep hands 12" away from any blade.

 

[PoorUB]

I have nothing against a radial arm saw, except I rarely use one. my dad had one so I used one a bunch growing up and I owned one for 25 years and sold it this spring. I have a table saw and if I can't do the cut with the table saw, in a few minutes I can rig up something else to do it. About the only thing I likes the RAS for was cutting dadoes in large boards, but I have also used a router and a shop made jig. Over the years I have built some furniture and cabinets and rarely used the RAS.

If space is tight I would sell the RAS and never look back. If you have the room, keep it until you decide if you use it or not.

 

[zendriver]

There's a good reason why you see free radial arm saws on Craigslist & Marketplace frequently.

Yes, the reason is there is really no good use for them, to justify taking up the floor space.

regarding safety I’ve probably seen a hundred of them nearly given away at estate auctions, none appeared to be spattered in blood

 

[neophyte]

Yes, the reason is there is really no good use for them, to justify taking up the floor space.

regarding safety I’ve probably seen a hundred of them nearly given away at estate auctions, none appeared to be spattered in blood

Home Depot buys brand new radial arm saws, I think from The Original Saw Co., for their stores to crosscut lumber.
The new saws are far from cheap.
Every limber yard i’ve been to has used a Radial Arm Saw as well, although maybe not for every type of cut.
Lumber yards may have trained employees, but a lot of Home Depot employees don’t know their *** from a hole in the ground, and I doubt Home Depot is giving the employees thorough instruction on how to use the saws.
Of the saws are useless, neither HD or Industrial shops and lumber yards would continue using the saws.
The average miter saw, and sliding miter saw has way less mass in the cutting head, and is therefore way more likely to have kickback.
Trying to slide large pieces of lumber over a table saw is a pain, especially if you need to do it precisely, which is the reason sliding table, tablesaws exist.
Radial Arm saws may not be a perfect design, but the saws are far from useless.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

A RAS cuts to length, very well. A TS cuts to width very well. Neither does what the other does worth a ........ For sheet goods, a track saw is much the easier way. A chop saw, referred to as a sliding compound miter saw needs to be expensive to be accurate. Try pricing good lineal bearings! I use my affordable one as construction tool only.

Cabinet shops have big TS with sliding tables.

 

[egdede]

My dad made a sled for his craftsman that worked well for 40 years! Here is Rockler's take on one:

Rockler Tablesaw CrossCut Sled

Cut precise miters and crosscuts while enjoying a spacious smooth-sliding table and large-easy-to-read scale.

www.rockler.com

 

[Aaron_W]

I have the same table saw, paid $50 for it. I have no complaints except it isn't a $3000 cabinet saw that I wouldn't have the room for anyway.

Craftsman and Delta tools of that age (guessing 70s-80s?) are usually good enough for the average home workshop guy. Not top of the line but definitely not ****. I have my fair share of Delta and Craftsman power tools from the 50s to early 2000s in my shop.

As with many I was also raised with the idea that radial arm saws are the most dangerous tools ever devised and only a maniac would own one. There are people who love them, but I gather they are finicky and require some special sauce to use safely.
There was an interesting article about them posted a year or two ago talking about what wonderful tools they are and how generations of kids were brainwashed into believing radial arm saws were deadly by shop teachers who didn't know how to use them.

 

[tyyost]

There was an interesting article about them posted a year or two ago talking about what wonderful tools they are and how generations of kids were brainwashed into believing radial arm saws were deadly by shop teachers who didn't know how to use them.

That’s interesting, I must have missed that article.
For years I had a terrible little 8” craftsman table saw and a 1990 craftsman radial arm saw. Crosscutting to 12” before miter saw heads ever moved was great. I even ripped lumber with it.

I was in high school then, we had a 20” long arm DeWalt Radial Arm Saw in wood shop and I went to college to be a Tech Ed Teacher and was never scared off of using or having kids use the RAS. When I taught we used it for cutting to rough and finished length, and the industrial models are great tools. The right blades and workpiece support and they make great cuts without the screaming of a miter saw motor.

That said, I’d guess the RAS died off because a few reasons:

1. It was oversold to be a Swiss Army knife tool, it crosscuts and dadoes great, anything else is a huge compromise - this was effective a generation ago, but like Shopsmith’s we seem to prefer function today
2. Guarding the blade effectively is difficult, look at those crazy ones at Home Depot
3. Blade choice matters more than any other common woodworking machine, the wrong blade will want to self feed crosscutting making it very hard to use safely
4. Sliding Compound Miter saws evolved, adding mobility, better guards, and similar crosscut capacity for close to the same cost and occupy a similar footprint

 

[humpty]

Our scene shop here at work has a OMGA RAS. It is a beautiful beast of a machine.
I used it to cut to length my oak butcher block workbench top. 2.5" thick 30" deep. Cut through it like I was cutting a pine 2x4.
I thought I was going to have to clean it up after, but it left it super clean and smooth.

humpty

 

[JradM]

This RAS discussion is interesting. I don't believe they're so inherently dangerous that they can't be used safely. I also don't think they are as safe as the "regular" saws we normally uses these days. I probably wouldn't kick it to the curb unless I already had at least a mitre and table saw - and was struggling to find room for everything.

I've used an RAS before, but never owned one. I found it really awkward to work with. Who knows if that was just the particular model I was working with. I would be way faster working with a mitre and tablesaw.

 

[Coach James]

Here are three more tools that came with the others.

 

[Coach James]

Thanks for the responses. The information on saw blades is helpful. I'm not afraid of the RAS as I used one for 4 years when I worked at the building supply store. My main issue with it is space. I'm contemplating getting rid of the RAS saw and replacing it with a 10" sliding miter saw. I haven't decided yet as I am still moving my roll arounds and other things into the shop, and am waiting to see how much room I have after the other things are moved it.
Coach

 

[ecotec]

I would set the sanders up, to use, right away. It always comes down to space, but I would try all the tools out and see how I liked using them.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Those rods on most SCMS eat space too. Kind of a wash for space. Mine is at the end of a bench, so it gets use as a workbench as well. My SCMS is portable ??, stashed in the corner.

 

[pfaustus]

Randomly Angry Saw for those in the know.

Or 'Radical Harm Saw'

 

[rsanter]

First off is the question of do you plan to so any woodworking?

Assuming the answer is yes then most of that stuff is good or at least good enough.

Radial arm saw, unless you know how to use it and have a use for it then you are better off moving that down the road.

Scroll saw, some wood workers really use them and then other fairly or never do based on the type of work you will be doing.

All the rest are good basics to start with and go from there