John Blair wrote...
> My dad has a Craftsman cast iron table saw that he bought
> back when I born - 1948. We've used it for all kinds of jobs,
The old cast iron Craftsman saws, built by King-Seeley Co., were real
workhorses, as stable as you can expect from a small table saw. My dad and
I also did lots of good work with them. Then in about 1980 Dad bought a 10"
Delta Unisaw - what a revelation. Compared to the Craftsman, it felt like a
laser. Smooth, stable, and rock-solid. Dad's been gone for 15 years and I
still have the Unisaw. I'd like to upgrade the fence if I had room and were
using the saw more, but as is (standard Delta fence) it's great.
> I haven't heard anyone talk about using a radial arm saw nor just a hand
held
> "skill" saw.
I also have a Craftsman radial arm saw - the old, cast-iron-column model
bought nearly new from a neighbor when Jill and I had our first house. Even
though I always complained about wanting a table saw, while the radial arm
was all I had, I did lots of good work with it. The main problem with this
or any other light-weight radial arm saw is squareness. It gets out of
square at the drop of a hat - if you're doing an important project, you need
to go through the whole squaring process before the first cut, and maybe
check it occasionally while working. I now have the Craftsman cabinet base,
and extension tables hanging right off the sides. It's versatile, but it
takes a while to level it once you have it rolled to where you want to use
it. I made a heavy top from 1-1/4" particle board, which helps stability a
little, but it's no miracle cure.
> So their must be some things that the radial arm saw is better at than the
> table saw, and vise versa? Just wonedring what the differences if useage
> is between the 2 saws?
Basically, a table saw is for ripping, and a radial arm saw is for
crosscutting. That said, you can do either one with either saw, within
limitations. Crosscutting really long pieces on a table saw is just silly -
mostly you can do that better with a circular saw (Skilsaw, etc.) if you
have no other alternative. A radial arm saw can only rip a width less than
its throat depth. Within that limitation, the radial arm can still be a
good rip saw, especially with long infeed and outfeed tables. The radial
arm seems more versatile, and a good one probably is. But that means a 12"
or 16" DeWalt, and used ones of those are almost always 3-phase, out for
homeowners.
The old saying that "When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to
look like a nail" applies here. You can accomplish most common operations
with either saw. If you're really into woodworking, you'll probably want a
GOOD one of each. Another option is a compound miter saw, which gives you
most of the cross-cut capability of a small radial-arm saw in a compact
package.
Personally, if I were starting out again, I'd buy a good table saw first.
10" is enough, and basically as big as you'll get in a small, portable saw.
For a stationary table saw, 12" would be nice. Then I'd add a 12" compound
miter saw, and skip the radial arm all together.
Karl Vacek
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