ON a roll: another piece of old iron
#11
Many of you will remember the 30 or so year old 16" jointer I recently bought from a woodworker in Michigan and John TenEyck's adventure in getting it off the truck and into my  Lewiston, NY, shop while I was basking in the warm Florida sunshine.  The last few weeks I have been helping a 45 year colleague who is in the hospital very ill with cancer.   He had a LOT of woodworking, machinist and mechanical tools and many multiples of everything.  One drawer that I opened had 45 Starrett micrometers, some like new in boxes and some well used.  Anyway it has been a challenge to get a handle on the situation.  His favorite woodworking tool is a 1960ish 14" Dewalt RAS (Several blades come with the saw and all are 12" and when I go to buy a 14" I imagine I will know why that is) .  He requested that I bring it back to NY with me and I am going to do that.  When I gave my last Craftsman RAS saw away about 12 years ago I never expected to own another one because I was totally frustrated trying to keep the thing in adjustment.  John TenEyck, who is a big fan of his old RAS kept telling me that the old Dewalts were a joy to use so now I will get the chance to see if that is so.  At over 500 pounds it certainly feels solid and there is no slop in any of the adjustments.  So how to get it 1200 miles north of here?  John, in the strongest terms, has recommended that I ship it rather than trying to triailer it home attached to my Subaru Outback.  So throwing reaon to the wind, my young neighbor is putting a hitch on the outback and I have reserved a open small trailer whose weight combined with the weight of the saw is considerably below the towing capacity of the car.  So wish me luck for my migration north in early April.  Here are a few pics to prove it is real.

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This is what is under the sacrificial table top.

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Thanks for looking.  Ken
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#12
Nice saw, Good Luck!
Thanks,  Curt
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"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
      -- Soren Kierkegaard
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#13
Once tuned you will wonder how you got along without it. Be sure to remove the blade, and then lower the motor firmly onto a wood block (scrap of 2x) for transport. The motor may need bearings (not really a big deal, and fairly cheap) and if you want some info on tuning it I have a couple of pdf files that have some really good info. Public domain, they are written by one of the Dewalt gurus over at the Dewalt RAS forum. He uses a 925 (much smaller saw) for the example, but most of it applies to all Dewalts...and he really has a killer tuning process. I can e mail them if you think you're interested.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#14
Thanks, Fred.   I would like to have the pdfs and will send you a PM with my email address.  I have removed the motor from the arm to take the strain off the arm during transport.  My friend went through the saw a three decades ago when he got the saw from the school board.  I don't recall that there was much wrong with it then.  It has had light use since then.  There is no play in the motor arbor bearings and none in the yoke to arm bearings.  The races in the arm are smooth and the bearings on the yoke appear to be in perfect shape.  It runs like a purring cat.  I love the sound of big motors and the more I listen to them the more I hate the sound of routers.  Ken
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#15
I don't know the towing capacity of the Outback, but I would get the smallest trailer that will hold the saw.  When you load the saw, put it as far forward as possible. You want to make sure you have 15 or 20% tongue weight. Light tongue weight will cause sway.
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#16
The towing capacity is 2700 pounds but I wouldn't want to go anywhere near that for a long trip.  I figure with the motor off the saw and in the car, the saw and maple table top will weigh about 500 pounds.  A 4 X 8' open U-haul trailer weighs 600 pounds so combined that is about 1100 pounds which is well shy of the weight where I would be required to have breaks on the trailer.  Ken
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#17
I've never liked radial arm saws for anything but cross cutting, but I do offer my respect for the preservation of old tools- and to your friend.
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#18
Ken,

Congrats on your new acquisition! And best of luck to your friend who's obviously going through a challenging time. 

That saw looks like a Dewalt GA, one of the more desireable models and heavy duty at that. There's lots of information about it over on the mothership at VintageMachinery. Do you plan on taking the motor assembly off of the arm before the trek? A few years ago I had my GA shipped over-the-road from Michigan to Montana with no damage whatsoever. Seller basically encased it in layers of bubble wrap and bolted it to a pallet. You should be fine with it in a trailer cinched down securely. Obviously, having John on the other end will be a huge help in unloading - master with the lifts, jacks, rigging, etc., he!

This one seems to be in great shape from your description and the pictures. The leg assembly looks good and it even has the original leveling bars on the table, a real plus!

Good luck on the trip and let us know how it goes!

Doug
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#19
Hi Tapper, it is indeed a GA 50.  I have already taken the motor yoke off the arm to diminish the stress on the arm during travel.  As far as I can tell it is complete and original except the table.  I have not checked any of the parameters here and won't until I get it back to Lewiston but I don't expect any problems tuning it up.  Ken
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#20
Ken, I may have a few new 14" crosscut blades I can send you.
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