And always wear safety goggles, since the saw has been known to jif out loose stock radial arm saw ripping jig an amazing rate. In addition some radial arm saws allow the blade to be turned parallel to the back fenceallowing a rip cut to be performed. So it became a market question and now radial arm saws are only made for industry. Since when this book was first published by Lee Valley Tools, it has been recognized as the bible for setting up and using radial arm riping in a precision fashion. What you want is flat with straight edges. I downloaded your book about a year ago, and I am now a fan of both the saw, radial arm saw ripping jig your work.

The fixed worktable over which the radial-arm saw is suspended has a fence at the rear for holding work firmly in place. On some models there are two fences one set behind the other for ripping work , while others have a single fence but two or more positions at which to locate it. An ideal position in a workshop for the radial-arm is against a long wall, more or less centered, with extension tables on either side of the saw. The fence should extend along the flanking tables, too.

Blade guards are essential: above and below and, when ripping, with adjustable antikickback fingers in place. Ripping is tricky and, if not done properly, can be dangerous on a radial-arm saw. If you use a molding or dado head, a shaper guard should also be in place.

A brake, too, should be in functioning order. The radial-arm saw can also be equipped with optional blades and accessories so that it can function as a drum or disk sander, router, or drill press. Even planer and jointer heads are available for some models. Check your manual or with the manufacturer of your saw to determine what options are available. Keep in mind that every change from one operation to another say, from sawing to sanding and back again requires setup time.

The more serious you are about your workshop and the projects you do, the more likely you are to want to acquire specialized tools. Radial-Arm Saw Safety. Jon - I purchased a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw in the late 's, but did not discover your book until about five years ago.

I bought a previously owned but nearly pristine copy through Amazon. My copy is now well marked with highlighter and marginal notes. I have found it very valuable in keeping my saw set up for precision as well as safety. I still have all of my "original equipment" body parts - something too many table saw users cannot say. I still have my original saw, and I am able to do better work with it now that I know much more than was in the original pitiful excuse for a manual.

Thank you for your work on that. And I really like the cover art as well, having been a fan of classical music most of my life. Mr Eakes, I am so pleased to be able to communicate with you. Fortunately, the move didn't require downsizing my shop. I am still getting my shop back into working shape and this week has me finally getting to the radial saw. Your book is once again proving to be invaluable.

Thank you and warmest regards, Tom. I've had this book for a few years now and I consider it to be on the same level of usefulness and relevance as Wally Kunkel's masterpiece. I bought your book right after getting my first DeWalt radial arm saw. I've since "collected" a couple more saws and find this work to be unmatched.

It's easy to understand, well presented and very thorough. I tuned a DeWalt R 5 years ago and it is as accurate today as it was then thanks to this book. Thanks for the compliments. It is really good to feel that I wrote an "evergreen" book. I'm trying to decide how best to extend the work area. The three options are: 1 build cabinets or tables and place them on either side of the RAS table, 2 build a single cabinet or table in such a way that the saw sits in the middle, with a one-piece table spanning the cabinet or table tops, or 3 removeable extensions on both sides of the saw.

In option 1, the adjustment might make the saw table out of plane with the cabinet or table tops. That leaves option 3. Page 91 of the book actually talks about table extensions, including one plan for a portable installation.

First realize that nothing is "impossible" to adjust. You want all the tables to be in the same plane, and the fence must be perpendicular to the travel of the saw in the cross cut position. So if wings are temporary, they must be adjustable, lining up with the saw work surface. If you have a single table, then the saw mounting must have a "pivot" to get the blade travel perpendicular to the fence. That could be as easy as one snug fit and three oversized holes for the column base mounting bolts.

Remember the critical fence is about two feet each side of the blade -- the rest is just support for weight. What you want is flat with straight edges. Then the final adjustments are made on the saw itself -- in fact that's what the book is all about. So the most important question you have is: Do you want to travel with your saw or not? Do you have 8 feet accessible on both sides of the saw at least a horizontal slot about 5" high -- above that you can have overhanging cupboards!

I saw a creative garage arrangement where the saw was very close to the driveway side of the garage. Then there was a large "mail slot" that could receive an extension wing that could be set-up in the driveway.

The whole thing could be advanced so that the fence cleared the door opening, allowing for ripping plywood. The core work surface and fence are critical -- the rest are just support. You can shim side supports to level and lock it all in, or have adjustment screws for both the wings and the extension fences. The fence directly on the work surface will be changed often either for function or too many cut points.

Don't dream of making it a perfect permanent 16 feet long. However, the arm has restricted movement when swung to the left, hard-stopping at around degrees, whereas when swinging to the right, it goes past 0 degrees to about before stopping.

Hello Peter, What comes to mind is the possibility that the stop collar has rotated on the main shaft. These are usually welded in place, but it might be worth looking at. Hi Neil, Most people only used radial arm saws as a cut-off saw and when the sliding miter boxes came out with their extended reach, they filled that need easier and cheaper.

Few people ever learned to use a radial arm saw in a precise manner -- so they blamed the saw -- thinking that the table saw was easier to use. Actually the table saw is very complicated to use for complicated tasks because you are always moving the wood, not the saw. So it became a market question and now radial arm saws are only made for industry. Hello Jerry, Sorry, they have been out of print for years. It would be cheaper to get the PDF and print it. Hello Wayne, Cutting crown moulding using the fence is extremely simple for odd sized corners as you simply adjust the miter setting in either a miter saw or a radial arm saw.

The book does show jigs for working with the fence. Trying to do compound cuts flat on the table require having the actual corner, miter and bevel numbers. What the book does is get your saw accurate enough that they will actually cut specific angles.

Hi Jon I need some help to do crown moulding against the fence and laying down does your book show how to do this. As you know the corners of the rooms are not square.. My Craftsman 10" machine has never performed better. I used to enjoy the hilarious results when I would cut off the end of a 4x6 by rotating and never get a square end. Now the cuts line up. The new table is flat, the column adjustment is smooth, and roller head tracks are clean. But I have a new problem - when project parts don't fit together now, I can't blame the machine anymore.

What can we do about that? Thanks very much. The radial arm saw has to be one of my favorite of all shop woodworking tools.. Growing up with one,and being the first power saw I used as a teen my father had one always set up in the basement most likely had an impact on my opinion.

You can't beat the radial arm saw for precision dado's and crosscuts This book has to be one of the best books ever written, concerning any type of shop woodworking equipment Concisely written and complied to the utmost detail. The reader will understand all the adjustments on the machine, and most importantly, how these adjustments interact which each other This book has been on my library shelf for a few decades.. I liked it so much, I bought the hardcover version off Ebay a few years back Now I have two copies to look at Jon's 70's style mop haircut which graces the cover..!

Invented by Raymond DeWalt in , the radial arm saw was the primary tool used for cutting long pieces of stock to length until the introduction of the power miter saw in the s.

In Radial Arm Saw Ripping Jig Github addition to making length cuts, a radial arm saw may be configured with a dado blade to create cuts for dado , rabbet or half lap joints. In addition some radial arm saws allow the blade to be turned parallel to the back fence , allowing a rip cut to be performed.

Unlike most types of woodworking machinery, the radial arm saw has a clear genesis: it was invented by Raymond DeWalt of Leola, Pennsylvania. DeWalt applied for patents in , which were issued in US Patent 1,, A saw which combines the sliding and compound features is known as a sliding compound miter saw or SCMS. Before the advent of the radial arm saw, table saws and hand saws were most commonly used for crosscutting lumber.

Table saws can easily rip stock, but it is awkward to push a long piece of stock widthwise through a table saw blade. In contrast, when a radial arm saw is used for crosscutting , the stock remains stationary on the saw's table, and the blade is pulled through it. During the late s, the compound miter saw began to replace the radial arm saw, [3] but only for crosscuts and miter cuts since miter saws are unable to perform rip cuts. The radial arm saw can be less safe when used by an inexperienced or untrained operator, but is not as dangerous when used properly.

In the hands of an experienced operator, the radial arm saw can safely cut compound miters necessary for picture and door frames, rip lumber precisely to width, cut tongues and grooves, and make variable dadoes.

Like the compound miter saw, the radial arm saw can make these cuts with absolute precision, but is capable of making a wider variety of cuts, including more complex ones. In the home shop the radial arm saw is an alternative to the table saw. Both machines can rip, crosscut, do simple and compound miters, dado, mold or shape, make tenons, make open mortises, taper cut, and rabbet.

The radial arm saw requires less clearance or space in the shop to handle long stock, since it only requires clearance on the sides, whereas a table saw needs clearance to the sides, in front and at the back. The radial saw is perfectly effective backed up against a wall, whereas the table saw needs to be placed in the center of the shop to give all around clearance.

With some accessories the former can be used as a shaper, a disk or drum sander, a grinder, a surface planer, a router, a horizontal boring machine and even as a power unit for a lathe; whereas a table saw's secondary uses are limited to shaper and disk sander. The major shortcoming of most current radial arm saws for home-use is that, most radial arm saws that have been built after the early s are manufactured with stamped sheet metal parts and are machined to loose tolerances, hence they are not precise for doing accurate work without 'tuning'.

The saw tilts on all axes except vertical slope — see photo all points of rotation are not clear in photo.

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