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leveling-radial-arm-saw-table-of-content Thanks so much for your postings related to RAS machines. Maybe tao gently on it periodically to break possible corrosion while the oil is soaking in. My radial and I work with six principles of precision. These are usually welded in place, but it might conten worth looking at. This can be a very tedious process. Have there been any issues with Craftsman RAS with the brake system to stop blade from spinning after power shut doen? Add to " Your Blog comments " at the leveling radial arm saw table of content of this page.

You want a stand that makes the table on your saw a comfortable height for working. Commercially made stands are also available. I like to have my saw away from the wall. For one thing, this allows me to hang blades and other fixtures on the back of the saw stand.

It also allows me to walk around to the back of the saw rather than reach over the table for some set up and service procedures. And, I want to be able to put pieces of lumber eight feet long onto the table and take them off of the table from both sides of the saw. Workshop space is somewhat limited. Moving the saw out from the wall allows me to pass lumber in front of my workbench when things like my vise would otherwise obstruct.

The saw base rests on the stand and adds stability to it by forming the side of a triangle. The base bolts to the stand. See the second photo. Tighten them firmly. This radial arm saw breaks down into three major pieces for moving. Each weighs about 60 pounds 27 kg. We recently moved to a different house, which makes it convenient to do this Instructable now, since I did not need to take down my saw just to make photos, but could wait until I needed to take it down for moving, anyway.

Each corner of the saw base has a mounting hole to be bolted down. Rub some motor oil on the column surface on the saw arm. Lift the saw arm and let the column slide into its receiver.

It also weighs about 60 pounds. Use the crank on the front of the saw base to bring the saw arm down a bit. At this point nothing holds the arm from rotating left or right.

See the second and third photos. Oil the shaft for the crank at both ends. The threaded shaft that raises and lowers the column needs some oil periodically, too. There is a hole on the arm above the column. Drip some oil into it now and then. In my hand I am holding the key for the column. This key keeps the column from turning left or right.

The key is shaped like an hour glass. It fits inside the orange circle. A set screw on each side of the column casting rear of the saw base holds the key with just the right tension on it. See the yellow arrows. The left side set screw pulls the key toward the column. The right set screw keeps the key from being pulled too far into the column. You want the key to be tight in the column's keyway, but not too tight. Several attempts at tightening the set screws may be necessary to achieve satisfactory adjustment.

The green arrow points to a screw that puts tension on a nylon button to add the right amount of drag on the column when it is cranked up or down. When you believe you have the key properly adjusted, grasp the knob on the end of the arm and try to move the arm right or left. There should be not discernible play between the column and its receiver.

Yet, the arm should raise smoothly when cranked and without too much effort. The photo shows the top of the motor yoke assembly. The lever that tightens the yoke to prevent left or right rotation during use is the chrome arm under the yellow arrow. Pull it toward the back of the saw to loosen the yoke so it can be rotated. A spring loaded release pin must also be raised and held. There is more about adjusting this release pin later in the discussion of removing heel.

Notice the two red lines. When the lever is tight, the lever should be behind the corner of the yoke by about the distance shown between the two red lines. As the saw wears, the lever will come closer and Leveling Radial Arm Saw Table File closer to the corner of the yoke when the yoke is tight. That can be adjusted. Notice the blue arrow. It points to a particular hole in a wheel full of holes. There is a locking screw in this hole. Remove it with an Allen wrench from beneath the yoke.

Turn the wheel with the holes clockwise one or two holes and insert the locking screw from below again. The handle should now lock the yoke with the proper amount of space before it is too close to the corner. Notice the four bearing rollers. The two marked with orange arrows have eccentric cams. As the mounting bolts are turned clockwise, the rollers move toward the center of the yoke assembly.

Those indicated by the green arrows simply bolt to the top of the yoke assembly without any eccentric cams. These roller support the yoke assembly on the recessed ways in the saw arm.

Note: On some slightly newer saws the bearing rollers are concave rather than convex. Instead of riding in recessed ways, they ride against round rods fastened to the sides of the saw arm. There is a large Allen screw under the arm at the end near the adjustment knob. See the first photo. This Allen screw keeps the yoke assembly from rolling off of the end of the arm.

Remove the Allen screw from the arm. Cradle the motor and yoke in both hands and guide the bearing rollers into the recessed ways on the arm. Put the Allen screw back in place and tighten it. Make the electrical connections for the switch and install its mount on the top of the saw arm. I use an aftermarket switch from Radio Shack on my saw because the original switch is no longer available from Sears.

See this Instructable for details. Tighten the roller bearings with the eccentric cams. The yoke assembly should slide back and forth on the rollers easily and with the same amount of drag over the length of the saw arm. Place a hand under the yoke assembly and pull upward with some force. There should be no sensation of looseness between the yoke assembly and the saw arm. While two wrenches are visible in the first photo, my hand is not on one of them in order for me to be able to hold the camera for the photo.

Try to make the tension on both the front and the rear bearing rollers as nearly the same as possible. This saw can operate on or on volts. The plate on top of the motor tells which wires to connect in order to switch from one voltage to another. The saw draws 10 amps at volts, Leveling Radial Arm Saw Table 60 or 5 amps at volts. The connections are to be made under this cover. I have never run the saw on volts, but there are situations where that option would be an advantage.

There is also a reset button. I have had this saw 40 years. In that time I remember using the reset button once. I believe the blade bound up in something and the reset stopped the motor before I could reach the switch. Two rails support the saw table. It is important for dado cuts, etc. A high corner could destroy accuracy. Each rail is attached with two bolts, one near the front of the saw base and one near the rear. Loosening the bolts a little allows tapping the ends of the rails up or down just a little.

The photo demonstrates the recommended way to set the rails. Rotate the motor in the yoke assembly so the shaft is vertical. Rotate the arm and move the yoke assembly on the arm until the shaft is directly above one of the bolts. Raise or lower the saw arm until one of the wrenches used for attaching the saw blade slides between the end of the motor shaft and the top of the rail with just a little drag.

Lock down all adjustments to the motor yoke adjustment knob at the end of the arm and the stop on the motor carriage to eliminate possible error. Tighten the bolts on the rails when finished and check the position of the rails above each bolt again. Place the saw table onto the support rails. Align the four bolt holes and bolt the table to the rails. The saw table has some movement when the bolts are loose. That can be used to adjust the front of the saw table where the fence will be positioned so it is exactly 90 degrees to the travel of the motor and yoke on the saw arm.

See this Instructable where I added two blocks to the underside of the saw table and inserted screws through them to make alignment blocks. The tips of the screws ride against the frame of the saw base and allow instant, precise alignment once the screws in the blocks have been adjusted after initially adding the blocks.

Note: It can happen that one of the rails from the previous step is too far forward and the holes in the table do not align with the holes in one of the rails. It may be necessary to repeat the previous step while moving one rail forward or backward a little. It can also happen that someone acquires a radial arm saw, but the saw table is missing.

Here are the dimensions for a Sears Craftsman saw like mine. See the second graphic. After almost 40 years of cut marks I made a new table 48 inches wide.

Also drill into each hole to make a countersink for the bolt heads. This should be deep enough that the blade will not reach them during use. Set a square against the blade to see if it is square with the table when set at zero degrees. In the first photo you can see a gap at the top of the square. The four Allen screws visible need to be loosened. While you are waiting for your expert answer, I did some research on your model.

I was unable to locate information that would be helpful with regards to your question at this time. Your expert will answer within hours with detailed information. Thank you for using Manage My Life. Thank you for your question on the size of the table on the radial arm saw. Most of the saws measured from front to back 40 inches wide and 27 inches deep. Actual dimensions of tables: Front table is 40 inches wide by 16 inched deep.

Rear board 1 is 40 inches wide by 4 inches deep. The cut is ragged and your right arm is quickly exhausted not knowing if you should draw the saw forward or hold it back. When it is adjusted for "firm" travel you rarely have this problem. You must however clean the track several times a day exactly 23 seconds of work as the least bit of dust or even grime accumulation will block its movement and make drawing it forward firm but jerky.

We want firm and smooth. The column must move up and down smoothly and firmly in the base casting. Too much freedom here can cause the arm to pivot up or sideways or both. Too tight and it binds and becomes jerky in movement. Equally important is that when the wood moves, it too must move firmly and smoothly that is why I include hold-downs as part of the fine tuning of a radial arm saw.

Almost all adjustments on woodworking machines hold their positions by means of friction clamps; two surfaces that bind together relatively solidly by pressure alone.

Hand planes as well as power planers hold their blades by friction. Table saw depth adjustments are locked by friction. The radial arm saw relies on friction all over. Whereas bolts and pins lock things absolutely Leveling Radial Arm Saw Table Joint into position, friction clamps hold them "positively". This means that they should clamp sufficiently solidly to prevent the pressures that the saw will exert on them from moving their position, but at the same time they should not be over tightened to either harm the machine or tire your hands.

The prime example is the arm to column clamp the miter clamp. To try and tighten it so that it would be impossible to move would rapidly wear the cam parts or break a pivot somewhere along the linkage.

It must be set tightly enough to effectively resist the lateral forces of the cutting action of the saw. These forces are in fact rather minor except when ripping. People tend to tighten the bevel clamp so tightly that the handle eventually breaks and gets replaced by a pair of vice-grips. The use of sandpaper in certain circumstances can help to achieve positive clamping without undue pressure as is explained when considering the sandpaper miter fence and the wooden feather boards.

Surprisingly enough, even chipping on the bottom side of the cut can be eliminated. It's a question of clean back-up and eliminating vibration between the wood and the table as with my "fence hold-down" jig. Ignoring slack in screw drives and indexing pins leads to sloppy results. You must take up the slack right to its end point to maintain precision.

The arm to column indexing pin must have some slack in its adjustment or the pin simply will not pivot in and out of its indexing slots. In fact many people find it hard to get the same result twice. I seat the pin into the column and before clamping it tight I shove the arm to the right until it comes to a full stop against the indexed pin.

When a screw drive is used in any machine there is always slack between the screw threads and the nut threads. If turning is done only in one direction you will be sitting firmly on the end point of slack all the way and depth adjustments can easily be made to th of an inch if the column is sliding smoothly and firmly by simply watching the crank handle position.

With the blade in the horizontal position this allows for cutting surprisingly accurate box joints without either measuring or marking the wood. Too often instructions say to square the saw up to the table rails or some other reference point that is not the same surface that will be holding the wood. Even lining up the table and then attaching a covering can change the angle of the cut in the wood.

It is the final table surface and the final fence that should serve as reference points for alignment of the saw. If temporary tables or fence additions are added, the actual angle of cut in the wood should be verified before trying to produce accurate results, since the precision of your machine may have been compromised by inaccuracies in your temporary additions or their installation.

It doesn't matter if a jointer, for example, looks good. What counts is that it produces straight square boards and this is always the final test of alignment. There are two reasons for using wood cuts, not metal squares, as the fine tuning instruments for a radial arm saw.

Firstly, by using manipulation tricks when cutting wood, you can adjust the saw square to the table for a 6 inch depth and square from the fence for a 26 inch cut -- twice the actual cutting capacity of the machine.

This means that within its actual cutting capacities it will be twice as precise as can possibly be measured with metal squares. Secondly, the end product is really what counts so I don't care if something may look out of line on the machine as long as the results of the blade passing through wood gives me the perfection I demand.

This difference in apparent alignment and actual cutting results can be due to the fact that the metal square by necessity gives a static picture of the machine's alignment. The blade engaged in wood gives a dynamic measurement identical to actual working conditions. We often scratch up the edge of a piece of wood or create considerable scrap trying to determine exactly where the point of entry will be for a cutting edge.

Whether a drill press or a table saw, we are used to a lot of trial and error. The fence on a radial arm saw is usually a sorry looking chopped up mess, often hiding down below the wood to be cut.

The gaping hole in the vicinity of where the blade passes through provides no backup against splinters on the back side of the cut and certainly is useless in guessing where the blade will strike the work piece. You must get used to the idea that the fence can be shifted an inch or two to the right or the left without really affecting its function at all as a back stop.

This shifting allows you to put it in its normal position during line-up and general work, and then, when you want to get down to the business of precision, slide the fence over to a clean spot and make a nice fresh kerf cut through. This new cut defines quite precisely both sides of the cuts you are about to make and backs up against splintering on the backside of the work piece at the same time.

See the graphic. Unfortunately there is no precision guide for ripping so the final check on a rip setting is to actually cut a piece of wood and verify the results before putting the real work piece to the blade. Can you please recommend a saw blade for a 10" DeWalt radial arm saw. The saw is mainly used to cross and rip cut softer and ply woods.

For general purpose work, I use a carbide tipped combination blade -- the one with 4 little cross cut teeth then one large rip tooth with its large dust gully, and that set of teeth repeated all around the blade.

It is not a perfect rip nor a perfect cross cut blade, but it does both well. For rough ripping Oak I have an old 4 tooth 10" blade, yup, only 4 teeth, but it rips oak like butter. For clean cross cutting you might use a blade with from 40 to 90 teeth! For speciality cuts, see the learning curve on Speciality Blades.

I wanna have this book printed out but what's with all the blank pages with nothing but a page number and all the pages where there's only writing on one tiny bit of tue page? Out of pages 8 have nothing but page numbers. Why have a page 0? And a whole lot more only have writing on a tiny like 3x3 spacing or at most half the page. Lots of waste there.

On page 8 of the book, page 10 of the PDF , you will find the answers to your questions about printing. In fact, if you select the ringed binder layout in Word you will have space for the binder punches on the right side of even numbered pages, and on the left side of odd numbered pages. Then the photos and text that were designed to read across an open book will still read easily. Jon - I purchased a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw in the late 's, but did not discover your book until about five years ago.

I bought a previously owned but nearly pristine copy through Amazon. My copy is now well marked with highlighter and marginal notes. I have found it very valuable in keeping my saw set up for precision as well as safety. I still have all of my "original equipment" body parts - something too many table saw users cannot say. I still have my original saw, and I am able to do better work with it now that I know much more than was in the original pitiful excuse for a manual.

Thank you for your work on that.

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