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Got a free Crapsman radial arm saw from the inlaws… it’s 20yrs old, but in great shape. Needs a new wood tabletop though, since the last one someone made for it is warped from sitting in the basement for 6 years. If I had my druthers, I’d have opted for a SCMS instead, but free is free, and I want to get this think up and running.
Anyone got creative ideas for making a new top for it?
I’ve got some 3/4 CDX laying around, but I was thinking maybe 3/4 particleboard would be more stable (ie constistantly flat). Maybe MDF?
New RA saws come with a fence that’s only like 5/8 high off the tabletop. I was thinking about a higher fence like 2″ for ease of clamping stop blocks, etc..
Creative ideas about fence design? Materials? Integrated dust colletcion?
Thanks.
-Stray
Replies
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Stray,
I used to apply a sacrificial layer of Masonite over the 1" p.b. top on my 1981 Craftsman RAS, then replace when worn out. For the basic top, particle is fine, and 1" stays flatter than 3/4".
Bill
*I like UHMW polyethylene. Although I have done solid, a 1/2' sheet over 3/4 paricle board work fine. I usually make it up in several pieces joined with sliding dovetails so that I can replace the worn part without replacing the whole surface. Same material for the fence. From my experience, plywood makes a terrible top and straight particle board is so hard that the blade will actually try to follow a "rut" if you cut two angles very close together.
*Check to see what the deal is with the Blade guard recall from craftsman. I just recieved my kit and included with it is a new table top. Its made from MDF. My old top is also MDF and works fine.
*This one might sound a bit crazy, but it's pretty clever. A guy I used to work with replaced his with a 24" door. He skinned it with masonite which he'd replace from time to time when it got too scarred up. He got great stock support and would clamp in fences made from mdf. As I recall, he had a few different fences that were kerfed for different angles and such that he'd put in whenever he needed to, otherwise he'd replace the "regular" fence whenever it got too chewed up. Mike
*Stray,As others have mentioned, I put a piece of 1/4" masonite over the table and have not had to replace the itself. I'm not sure if my table is particle board or MDF. Be careful about putting on a higher fence. You may find that the blade guard will not ride over it. I make new fences out of 3/4" pine and bevel the back edge so that the blade guard moves over it easilly.
*Some good ideas, Thanks guys.Nigel, I hadn't heard anything about a recall. I'll contact the company today to see what's up. Thanks.Phil, Could you elaborate on what "UHMW poly" is? I hadn't thought about the hardness of PB being an issue. I was actually thinking about stepping up to Nova-ply, but sounds like that would compound the tracking problem you mentioned. Do you think MDF would have the same tracking issue?
*UHMW poly is the white polyethylene that's sold in sheets and that's very popular for making jigs and fences. It machines beautifully with most of your standard power tools; causes almost no blade-wear; is dimensionally stable; and takes screws very well.The Emerson replacement table I received with my new guard was particle board, just like the original (required because the new guard takes up more space and the fence has to move forward) and I think I'll use it with a 1/4" poly covering: a fresh, unmarked table is a great opportunity to do this. As to the tracking. I was bothered for quite a while by the fact that the Sears RAS wouldn't alway track true. After being more careful about noting when this problem struck, I noticed that there were two occurances: a) when making a compound cut (mitre and bevel) on an area of the table that hadn't been used before; and, b) when making a mitre cut very close to previous cut (e.g. making a 43º mitre for the first time after making lots of 45's). In the first instance, the blade was deflecting up off the table; in the second, the blade would try to follow the 45º kerf for the first couple of inches out from the fence, then "chatter" over to a fresh track (this also caused the carriage to want to speed up as the blade bit into table. After three or four cuts a new kerf would be established and the deflection stopped. I wasn't happy with the solution of making several "practise" cuts before actually cutting stock because that's another 6/10 feet of wear on the blade for every cut, was time-consuming, and on general principal (okay, maybe the last item was the most important). I'm of the opinion that MDF wouldn't be nearly as problematic as particle board, but I like the poly surface and will just stubbornly stick with it. Even if you don't use the poly for the table, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better fence material and the ability to make a sacrificial insert (the part where the blade always goes through) and join it into the centre of the fence with sliding dovetails is a plus for me.
*Just for added information, UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight which is more important to Chem-E's and the likes than anyone else
*Thanks for the responses Phil et all...Did some quick phone calls around the greater Ithaca,NY area (read: sticksville) The UHMW isn't available locally and would require a 1/hr trip... wanted to build this thing tonight. Perhaps when I'm in the area I can pick some up, and retrofit at a later date. Defintely sounds like the cat's _ss. I'm gonna do MDF for now.Thanks all.-Stray
*I like to laminate a nice thick top made out of some kind of particle board. It is unlikely you will get any warping in your top if you do it this way. I cut the two or three pieces to size, glue them together and clamp them to the big , flat cast iron top on my table saw until it is dry. I never cut into the top itself. I lay a 1/4" sheet of particle board over the good top for all thru-cuts. When I need to make real accurate cuts (dados), I just remove the sheet and the work is laying on a nice flat surface. I use a piece of pine for a fence and slide it side to side depending on the job, so you have an accurate reference as to exactly where the blade is going to enter the workpiece when you place it on the table.The old radial arm still gets lots of use.
*you be careful of tampering with the height of the fence. Seems I remember a serious kickback when fence ht was increased. Radial saws have a much bigger grab than the scms. A good bench, at least to one side, that you don't put a bunch of stuff on is a pretty nice set up. Best of luck.
*Stray-Check with a local highway sign shop the laminated ply they use make incredible tops for everything in your shop. I got a buddy who gives me scraps some as big as 3'x6' great tops. Low friction, things slide well, really damn durable, fairly water resistant, and very dense low void. Might be able to pick some up cheap.
*WTN,I believe the product you are referring to is known as MDO plywood and in my area is available from the local lumberyard. And you're right about it being excellant for shop tops.Frank
*Thanks for the good info all. I did call the company about the recall and they are sending my new blade guard. Free, but they said it would take 10-12 weeks.Built a new top out of MDF and protected with masonite as sugggested. The fence I built is 1 3/4" high; but once the new blade guard comes I'll see if that's too much for smooth operation and rip it down if necessary.Thanks,Stray
*Stray, IMHO don't rip down the entire fence, just make a low part where the blade/guard passes through.
*Just wanted to say that it's good to see that some are still using their Radial Arm Saws. I guess Sears didn't make enough crappy ones (including the $25 in my basement) to turn everyone off them. If you ever get the chance, use a DeWalt, one of the REALLY old ones. The GW models (with the rounded arm) are best but the ones produced into the early 60's with the square arms are pretty good, too. For the DIY people (where setup time isn't gong to affect your next paycheck) they are the bee's knees.Mike Prisbylla Loving those RAS's
*Stray, In my experience, fence height and kickback aren't related. I make my fences as high as the motor will clear and still cut all the way through what your cutting. Just had the bearings replaced in my 10" Craftsman, and it's oh so smooth...And, I think the old DeWalts are the sweetest, and now made by Original?Oh yeah, take out some insurance before you rip with that thing...Holly
*Just to bring you up to date, The recall center where to blade guards are coming from had orders for 3 MIllION in january. So much for the sears saw being junk.
*Wow, 3 million, and weren't all of these saws built before the mid-80's ?
*Holly,I understand what you mean about the insurance policy before ripping with a RAS. Can be a scary proposition. Has anyone out there rigged up additional hold down arms, feeders, etc... to make this a bit less hair raising? I'm going to be ripping lots of 2X PT stock for a porch shed roof in a few weeks.Also, nobody bit on my question about integral dust collection in the table. I was thinking about a catch-box of sorts behyind the blade guard assembly...maybe with hose from the bottom and a "Y" fitting with one end attached to the dust port on the side of the blade guard and the other end in a shop vac...
*I had the Sears "dust-box" on my machine for a while - wasn't impressed. I now have a catch-box I made from sheet metal (the kind they make duct-work from) with a 3" port at the bottom. This has about 1' of 3" pipe down to a wye with a 2" verticle pipe that's reduced to 1.25" about 1' above table height and a flex hose goes from there to the dust-port on the guard. At the bottom of the wye is a reducer that takes the diameter up to 4" for connection to my 1200cfm dust-collector. A friend just has one of those portable dust-ports (4" x 12" square funnel that sits on a stand and attachs directly to the dust-collector) he positions just behine the saw: can't say for sure; but, that portable dust-port looks like it works just as well as the rig I built, for about the same cost, and didn't take a couple of days to fabricate.
*Stray, get a table saw, I know I'd feel better about your safety.You're not biting, I'll bet. Ok, I have some "Yellow Wheels" that only rotate one way and hold the stock down and to the fence, this is especially helpful when you're running moulding...on to the dust collection...I don't bevel with my saw, so I get away with a box a little larger than my non-replaceable guard, right behind the blade when it stops traveling... In my case, I hooked the central vac up through the bottom. When I have the energy to turn the vac on, it works pretty well. I, unlike other incredibly opinionated but otherwise funloving dickheads, like radial arm saws, and have done some pretty weird things with them.And though I thoroughly dismiss any of my methods as safe, I'd be glad to email you some experiences...
*Stray-I used to do a lot of ripping on my RAS. I put together a dedicated fence that I'd use whenever ripping. Made it a few inches high and put in a couple of pieces of t-track and used featherboards with it. Also clamped featherboards to the table. Used the same basic setup on a different fence for use with a moulding head. Had pretty decent luck with both. Admittedly, ripping on the RAS has never been what I would describe as a relaxing experience, even with the safety precautions. Never had any bad experiences, fortunately. Even though now I leave the ripping to the table saw, it's good to know the RAS is there. I'll second Holly's take on the RAS. I think they're great tools that allow for some very interesting approaches. Before I bought a table saw, all I had was the RAS I inherited from my father. I don't think I even began to scratch the surface of what could be done with it, but did enough to appreciate it's flexibility. Never did throw down for the yellow wheels like Holly, but always thought they seemed worthy of checking out. Dust collection is a tough one. I ended up making a frame out of 1x stock and skinned it with masonite. It basically encapsulates the back of the saw, leaving enough space to swing the arm in either direction. It angles away from the top of the saw allowing the dust to be redirected towards the bottom where it gets funneled into the collection port. It looks like I stood a stove vent hood up on end and connected a hose to it. It seems to work pretty well. Mike
*Thanks to all for the great ideas and experiences...Holly, I am biting on the table saw idea actually. There's a thread here about a couple used Inca's but I think that's above my budget. I'm looking for a used Uni or even delta contractor model.... but I have to rip some wood with the RAS before I'll find a table saw...All was well until my father retired and moved his complete cabinet shop to the next state (maybe I was playing with his toys too much!. Now have to bit the bullet and amass my own playground.Mike, Like the idea about the higher fence and feather boards. I'll try that one before I head for the yellow wheels.Stray
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Got a free Crapsman radial arm saw from the inlaws... it's 20yrs old, but in great shape. Needs a new wood tabletop though, since the last one someone made for it is warped from sitting in the basement for 6 years. If I had my druthers, I'd have opted for a SCMS instead, but free is free, and I want to get this think up and running.
Anyone got creative ideas for making a new top for it?
I've got some 3/4 CDX laying around, but I was thinking maybe 3/4 particleboard would be more stable (ie constistantly flat). Maybe MDF?
New RA saws come with a fence that's only like 5/8 high off the tabletop. I was thinking about a higher fence like 2" for ease of clamping stop blocks, etc..
Creative ideas about fence design? Materials? Integrated dust colletcion?
Thanks.
-Stray