I am considering buying a 12″ radial arm saw and found a company called Wolfe Machinery that reconditions and sells DeWalt saws. Has anyone purchased a saw from this company and what has been your impressions of the saw and the company.
Thanks
Tony
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Never heard of them, but, what are you going to use this saw for?
There are millions of used 10" Sears to be had from $50 up to (do they still sell them) new?
Joe H
right!
Millions with only a couple of hours use sitting in garages covered with junk.
Somebody had to have one of those "one tool does it all" units and loved it until he almost lost a hand or got thrumped in the gut by kickback, and then forgot he ever bought it.....
Excellence is its own reward!
I'm going to use the saw for general woodworking although I think that a radial arm works well for dado and rabbit cutting when building cabinetsand that would be the majority of my use. A 12" 2.5 HP saw from this company is $1,600 compared to the same for a new 2 hp Delta but I thought that if the DeWalt was no frills and the cost went to the accuracy and solid build of the saw the investment would be worth it.
Thanks
Put the $1600 into a good cabinet model table saw. I have a RAS sitting in my shop, much as Piffen described. My 3hp Delta unisaw is the workhorse for cabinets and counter tops I build.
Dave
Don't expect very accurate results from a RA saw. Exception would be a counter top saw and they are 14 inch to clear the 5" backsplash.
There are millions of $39.95 Sears routers floating around. Can probably buy all you want for $5 at garage sales.
I wonder why anyone would spend $150-300 for a Porter Cable, DeWalt, Boosch, etc.
http://www.wolfemachinery.com/12dewaltw.htm
And new ones are being made
http://www.originalsaw.com/12_contractor.htm
Wolfe machinery sells excellent tools. My choice for a new radial arm saw would be the Iowa company Original Saw Co. Great saws.
I own a 1948 DeWalt Radial Arm saw that is cast iron and built
like a brick s h i t house.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Edited 12/3/2003 2:25:53 PM ET by Boris Yeltsin
Bill, Depending on his use, one of those used Sears saws might have been the best answer.
Now that he has added to the original post, I can guess that he is probably familiar with Sears saws and has a real use for a real tool.
On the other hand, most of what a RAS saw does can be done better with some other tool.
I have one of those Sears saws I bought new 30 years ago. It still works, and I even used it for a couple hours last year, but I'd never recommend anyone else buy one new.
Joe H
"I have one of those Sears saws I bought new 30 years ago. It still works, and I even used it for a couple hours last year, but I'd never recommend anyone else buy one new."
Ditto on all parts.
But when I saw that he was looking from a unit from Wolfe I knew that it was a completely different animal.
If you are anywhere near Indianapolis, IN , I've got 4-5 DeWalts and 1 OLD Porter Cable RAS. I only need one RAS so I'll sell a few. We used to send RAS out with the framing crews in the 70's so we've accumulated a few.
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
http://www.lazarobuilders.com
For me, Wolfe is a local company.... The merits of buying a RAS aside, they are a solid company.
Their core business has been selling & refurbishng Dewalt RAS's for lumberyards and other industrial uses...
View Image
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are lion or a gazelle:
When the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
Realy , the guy was talking about a tool and Joe was telling him to buy a (dangerous)toy . Sears has not made good wood shop tools in decades. I think thy were trying to compete with the crap that B&D started producing in the early seventys.
??? where does Sears come in...regarding Wolfe?
As far as the merits of RAS's........$1600 could be better spent in a small to medium shop, imo
View Image
"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are lion or a gazelle:
When the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
Don, I did not know why he wanted a RAS. I know I could buy a used Dewalt 12" for $300 or less in the next two weeks if I'm patient. There are plenty of those around here too, tract builders all have a couple somewhere and they come up for sale in the paper frequently.
As to the Sears being a dangerous toy, I'd say all those saws are dangerous.
I will agree with whoever said the Unisaw is the way to go. My Unisaw does what I thought the RAS would do when I was a kid. That was over 30 years ago, and any quality saw was way beyond my budget.
I also have a 8" Delta Sawbuck that's a kinda halfassed RAS SCMS combo. Another tool I wouldn't recommend unless used and cheap. Time has passed both of these tools by.
I don't think a RAS would be my choice for what he wants to do, but he does. When I responded to him I had no idea why he wanted one, and figured that ignorance of what they were was why he was considering one.
Joe H
Why even recomend a sears ? they are so flimsy. with hardly any way to adjust for wear. I have an old rockwell Delta RAS that I use for cross cuting stock to length . I think that is the best use for that tool and all i use mine for . Ohmy gosh you got a sawbuck ? mine is only 7" Did they make a bigger one? I wish that the SCMS had the big turn table and the built in stand /with wheels like the sawbuck .
As I have mentioned before, lots of big old RAS come up at various auctions around the Portland area. Usually really cheap - on occasion they can't even give them away. If you are not in a hurry, check the classifieds in your area for an auction.
table saw or CMS
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Thanks for everyone's input. I think I will take the suggestion to be patient and buy a second hand name brand RAS thru the want ads. My use for the tool would be occasional so $1,600 is probably better spent on other tools. As far as Sears tools go, the quality of any stationary tools they sold was lost probably 25 years ago. I'm sorry to say that the loss of quality scenerio is creeping into others as well. I think Delta is on the fast trak to poor quality on several of their more inexpensive saws. That was my reason for the appeal of a reconditioned older tool that originally was a quality machine. Thanks again.
Tony
I just recently discussed this very topic in this form and on knots. I will tell you my conculsion was I just purchased a Sears 10" Radial Arm Saw with laser trac for $521 + tax. For my limited use this was the best investment for my money. I refuse to pay $1700 for a 12" Delta at this time.
By the way it also weighs 40lbs more than the Delta 10" RAS. It also has a twin capacitor motor too. Delta may have some ups in certain areas on this machine but, I checked both out thoroughly and for about $150 less than Delta's 10" it made more sense to go with Sears who has been making RAS for a long time also.
Delta's 10" is made in the USA, Sears in Tiawan. (but so is just about everyone elses machines.)
As we speak I am assembling and adjusting the machine.
The Sicilian
Back to this still.........
In the local Recycler this Thursday is a 12" Dewalt RAS $195 -- Delta Unisaw $350 -- another DeWalt 12" ras $950
Couple shopsmiths, $200 & $350.
Bunch of Sears, Dewalt, Delta, Rockwell 10 contractor saws $100 to $500
B&D 10" RAS $75
Stuffs cheap used.
Joe H
I bought an old Sears RAS in the late 80's and it served me well for many years. It got a lot of use, along with a Sears tilting arbor table saw, a Sears circular saw, two
Sears drills, etc. But I agree that you can get the older, better built stuff at yard sales and in the Pennysaver for under $100 most any week.
I don't think that Sears ever built any of it. Most of it's Chinese now.