Radial Arm Tool Tips & Modifications. (Example - Craftsman 10" Radial Arm Saw)

Radial Arm Tool Tips & Modifications. - Get more out of your Radial Arm Saw and create a safer environment.

A few ideas I have implemented on my old Craftsman 10 Radial Arm Saw. It's gotten a lot of use since I purchased it back in the mid-seventies. I've had to replace the carriage bearings and some other wear items which brought it back to life after extensive use. In the past I've used the radial arm saw to do about everything; I used the sanding drum attachment, the molding cutter, dado, etc. Because of a miter saw, I really don't use the radial arm saw for angle cuts anymore. I have several different fences for different applications, but the newest addition is something I think will add to the usefulness of the RAS.

There are a few basics that will make a difference just in case you haven't already utilized them. Always use the correct saw blades. My primary blades consist of two blades for cutting hard orr softwood. SInce my RAS is only 2 1/2 Horsepower I like using thin kerf blades since they require less wood removal than normal blades and require less resources to cut. For crosscutting I use the Fued Freud LU83R010 10'' x 50T Thin Kerf Combination Blade. For ripping hard or soft woods I use the Freud LU87R Thin Kerf Rip Blade. I change blades accordingly everytime as it is a simple proceedure and the results are worth it. There are many good blades out there, some more expensive than others. I highly recommend using specific application blades for both ripping and crosscuts and others for veneers, etc. Blade selection is an important aspect of RAS use.

Recently, I was making some cabinets and visiting a local woodworking tool store (Rocklers). They had a sale on a T-Track and after using my router table for some cabinet facing work I got an idea of incorporating some aspects of the router table into my Radial Arm Saw setup. I bought two 48" T-Tracks and use one in the fence and the other one in the tabletop. There have been many instances in the past that required setting up jigs to suppot wood when cutting thin strips, deep thin strips, etc. When using my router table to cut rails & and stiles I would use the featherboards to keep the wook pieces from sliding out of place while making my passes with my wood cuts. The featherboards kept the wood in place without unecessary shifting which when shifting did occur it would undermine the proceedure and you might end up destroying the wood piece.. With that in mind I thought that featherboard use with the RAS would be not only beneficial but would make the RAS safer to use.

Hear are a few more suggestions/modifications to get more out of your RAS:

If you have room, attach an extended table to the saw table. This will make sawing longer pieces of lumber much easier and make for more precise cuts.

(My RAS setup)

The normal process for ripping involves measuring the width of the lumber and then lowering your saw blade down into the cutting surface of the tabletop. After a while you end up with a whole lot of cuts in the table some deeper than others. My remedy was to start with a new tabletop and then slide the saw blade across the tabletop cutting one groove all across the table. Now after measuring the width of lumber to be cut you simply lock the saw, lower the blade into the grove (with saw turned off) till the blade touches the bottom of the groove and then raise the saw blade slightly. This way you are not continuously cutting deeper and deeper grooves into the tabletop.

Make your main tabletop larger, my main (front) tabletop is 2' x 4' and then plan on making some modifications to accept the T-Track. Cut a dado into the tabletop and install one of the T-Tracks (see picture below). You need to grind out the top portion of the T-Track where the saw blade would recess into the tabletop groove when ripping so the saw blade can be lowered without any obstruction from the T-Track. I left the bottom part of the T-Track in place so the track remains strong.

Cut the fence so it is just slightly lower than the bottom of the saw when it passes for a crosscut. Cut a dado about 1/4" below the top edge of the fence into the fence and install the other T-Track. You will also need to cut out a portion of the T-Track so the saw blade doesn't hit it when crosscutting which can be seen here.

Now you can use the featherboards, hold downs, and any other useful T-Track accessories with your RAS. Although this image doesn't show the blade in the ripping position, the setup really allows for excellent control when ripping small or thin peices of wood. It is also very useful when cutting dados expecially when the depth of the dado cut is important as it doesn't allow the wood to rise up from the table which of course would cause excess wood to be removed in the process. There are so many applications that can be used with the RAS, and most are similar to router table use.