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There are a number of ways to achieve a level foundation and mudsill.
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That just screams "Severed Limb" to me.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Captain America! I command you to... WANK!
<That just screams "Severed Limb" to me>
LOL! Belongs in the quotes.
Forrest
I can't understand why you think that. It would normally be used with the saw blade in contact with the table - just like any other radial arm saw.George Patterson
Edited 8/4/2007 10:48 pm ET by grpphoto
Can someone explain to me how that saw can function with the guard in place the way it is in the pictures? That is the first time I have ever seen a radial arm with a blade guard that shielded the bottom edge of the blade."Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Can someone explain to me how that saw can function with the guard in place the way it is in the pictures?
Just guessing but don't you think it's probably because, on this old model, you're supposed to push it through the work rather than pull it, as you would with other radial arm saws?
Edited 8/6/2007 11:29 am ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
I learned quite awhile ago, that is a better way to cut with a RAS anyway, pull the head frwd, slide the wood behind and push cut.
"pull the head frwd, slide the wood behind and push cut."Yep. When I was in college in the scene shop where I worked, I watched a girl on a RAS slice her hand deep and almost sever her fingers. She was cutting on the pull, blade was dull and the stock was not up against the fence properly. That blade caught in a bind and zippity-do-dah.
Always cut on the push.Had me a RAS for years and truthfully I never used it much. They're wild, delicate, and need adjusting a lot.
Gave it to a fellow carpenter bud when I moved here.
it is also a good idea to keep hands out of the travel path of any saw, whether pushing or pulling
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Ahh, the joys of the Scene Shop. Barely functional hungover students working off a debt of a 1 hour class credit...
< BZZZZ poik poik poik ZZZZZ>
OW! Hey, if you don't stop poking me with your fingers, I won't give them back next time!
The Scene Shop was where I learned what cooked human flesh smelt like - my own - and let me tell you, I smell delicious!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Captain America! I command you to... WANK!
I learned quite awhile ago, that is a better way to cut with a RAS anyway, pull the head frwd, slide the wood behind and push cut.
I think it's easier to line up the cut when you pull the blade through, particularly on larger pieces. In any case, I've never owned one nor had much opportunity to use them in other people's shops. It's always been a shop tool in my mind and I've never had that much of a shop.
"that is a better way to cut with a RAS anyway, pull the head frwd, slide the wood behind and push cut."
Hey, Sphere -- You're ALWAYS right! Well, except this one time. ;-)
Pushing a RAS back through the piece is a recipe for, let's say, "excitment". If you put the workpiece tight up against the fence and pull the saw through (hands out of the danger zone), the RAS is as safe as they come. The saw blade's rotation pushes the workpiece DOWN and back against the fence. If instead you push it back through the piece, although the blade's rotation does indeed push it back against the fence, it also tends to lift the front edge UP, which can toss the piece violently back -- the equivalent of kickback on a table saw. Makes quite a "bang", and lots of splinters. (DAMHIKT.)
I hate pushing the saw back.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
How does Norm at the New Yankee Workshop use the RAS? Push or pull? He is using a RAS for almost every project he builds.Martin
O.K., I gotta admit it -- I never paid that much attention to how "Nahm" uses his RAS.
Now Frank Klaus, he uses his by pulling, that's fer certain. I did pay attention to that. (He also paints a red "no-go" zone near the blade path -- nice touch!) Does that count, or do I lose my membership card? ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
pushes front to back...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
What I know about cutting with radial arms is only what I was taught.
Place the stock tight against the fence and pull the saw through it. Starting the cut at the fence works because the blade will help force the stock against the fence and the saw has much less chance of lifting the stock up off the table as the blade enters the cut. The blade not only forces the stock against the fence it forces it down onto the table. I used RA's for years and owned a 16" diameter blade Comet for jobsite work as well as two other Comets (12" ands 6")used in my cabinet shop. Reaching behind the blade to set the stock into position for the cut would be slow, and would make it more difficult to align the cut IMO. Not to even mention you really don't want that 16" blade being spun by a 3 HP motor grabbing the stock and lifting it up off the table . That would be dangerous! Here is a scan from an old Craftsman RA instruction book. It shows the saw being drawn back through the wood just as I said and for the exact reasons. I am actually wondering if the saw in the first posters pic isn't someones adaption of an old Skil RA that had a more traditional motor mounted on it like the DeWalts, Comets Craftman etc. Link to a site with pics of other Skil RA saws showing the more traditional motor and mounting.
http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/Detail.asp?Tab=PhotoIndex&ID=756"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Edited 8/5/2007 11:25 am by dovetail97128
Thank you for the link the more i think about this one the more im thinking it was a homemade deal
Yea, It looks to me as if some individual figured out a way to take an old Skil worm drive and bolt it into the yoke that held the original motor. Any chance Junkman or Luka were the previous owners?"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
He ain't real proud of his truck..........
Must be a __________!
Joe H
Where the hell is Homer Mich?
Edited 8/4/2007 3:28 pm by JoeH
Interesting.
The actual radial arm and stand look exactly like an old Comet Radial Saw stand and arm. I wonder if Skill didn't partner up with Comet for awhile to make those.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Man, I could go for that! Looks stronger and safer than a typical RAS
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Thats located about 30 minutes from my house, I might look into it.
Looks like it might be handy.
Matt
I would get it, but I love old odd industrial power tools. Just got this 3/4" drill off ebay.
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190132955124&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=009
It's under $140 if I remember right, a wormdrive alone costs more than that.
I have to go to the sellers town soon so I might take a look if it's still around.
Matt