jgfore Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 I have been hearing a lot of woodworkers around talking about there Radial Arm Saws, and it has got me thinking if I need one. I can not really think of any applications that the RAS can do that my nice table saw can not. So, my question is: Is there any need to have a radial arm saw if I already have a Table Saw? Is there anything that a RAS will do that a TS can not? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhack Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bywc Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 nope plenty a table saw can do that a RAS cant do but nothing a RAS can do that a table saw cant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Some of the more esoteric RAS applications but never the less... Drill a hole in the center of a 24" wide board? Some shaping things you can do on a TS, some you probably can't. Many dado ops are easier on a RAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Brown Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 And cut dados across an 8 foot long board for things like shelves. Rather hard to move the board across the table saw. Easy to move the RAS across the board. But you can also do that with a router. See this thread for more discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have been hearing a lot of woodworkers around talking about there Radial Arm Saws, and it has got me thinking if I need one. I can not really think of any applications that the RAS can do that my nice table saw can not. So, my question is: Is there any need to have a radial arm saw if I already have a Table Saw? Is there anything that a RAS will do that a TS can not? Jeff You can turn a radial arm saw's blade parallel to the table allowing you to cut tenons very easily. It is a lot easier and frankly safer to do cross-cuts that are within the length of the arms travel on a radial arm saw then on an unassisted table saw. This because the wood stays put so it can't bind against the blade, thus the chance of knockback is essentially null. That being said, a cross-cut sled on a table saw replicates this same process. I however would not rip a board on a radial arm saw. You can, lots of folks do, but a table saw is a far superior device when it comes to ripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj2494 Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 if you real want one check out craigs list you can get them for like 50 bucks there irum sanders s a reason everyone is getting rid of them my theory is people that like new shinny things are ditching there saws for drum sanders they take about the same footprint in a shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.