Uses for radial arm saw

[Bob Vaughan]

What other machine surface can you pile junk on?
I've got a tricked out Hammond Glider for 90% of my crosscuts but when I need the RAS, its there for me.  Before the Hammond, the RAS did almost all of my crosscuts.  The table saw with sliding jigs were good for some special things but very limited in length of stock.

[kurt18947]

What other machine surface can you pile junk on?

Sad but true, at least in my shop.

[toolmiser]

What other machine surface can you pile junk on?
I've got a tricked out Hammond Glider for 90% of my crosscuts but when I need the RAS, its there for me.  Before the Hammond, the RAS did almost all of my crosscuts.  The table saw with sliding jigs were good for some special things but very limited in length of stock.

I had that same issue, sold mine this summer.  Can't find the whole it left though.

[jcclark]

  I don't know of anything it does that I can't do with my table saw, safer and more accurately.

Try cutting a couple inches off the end of a 12' long board.
Every tool has its place.

[jcclark]

There is not a tool in my shop that I would want to do without.
Every one makes my life easier and some safer.
But to argue which ones you need is ridiculous, everyone's needs are different
and when you think about it, you can do without most any one of them.
But why would you want to. Not me. I use every one of them daily.

[Tapper]

There is not a tool in my shop that I would want to do without.
Every one makes my life easier and some safer.
But to argue which ones you need is ridiculous, everyone's needs are different
and when you think about it, you can do without most any one of them.
But why would you want to. Not me. I use every one of them daily.

Dittos this! 

Don't use all mine daily but when you need ________ (fill in the blank) nothing else will do. I'm near the end of refurbishing a Dewalt GA and can't wait to use it. Had an old Craftsman RAS back in the day, and while not perfect it was an extremely handy tool. 

Doug

[iublue]

Try cutting a couple inches off the end of a 12' long board.
Every tool has its place.

I am glad that you and others like and use your RAS but I have no use for one.

My sliding compound MS would easily do the job your described and honestly my table saw would too since it has a sliding table on it.  12' wouldn't be ideal but I also don't think it would be much of a problem using my table saw, sliding table, out rig support and hold down that it has.  If it needed to be a precise cut, I would use it instead of my MS.  As a matter of fact, not long ago I used the table saw to precisely end cut some treated 6x6's that were 10' long.  I would cut a little over half way through and then flip them to finish the cut.  My customer was amazed at how smooth the cut ended up.  There was a line where the two cuts overlapped but also no lip from the two cuts.

Different strokes for different folks.

[EdL]

A turret type ras (Delta) will cut angles a cms or table saw can only dream of...

Ed

[Bob Vaughan]

A turret type ras (Delta) will cut angles a cms or table saw can only dream of...

Ed

Of course it will.  It's an industrial machine.  What is known these days as a sliding compound miter saw is a lightweight plastic, aluminum, and steel jobsite substitute for a radial arm saw.  Modern materials and engineering give us this lightweight substitute for job site work.  In the 1950s, a radial arm saw on a trailer was the job site crosscut saw.  The world says good riddance to such heavy and awkward machinery.  
In a fixed woodworking shop things are different.  To get a 15" crosscut capacity like even the Sears 10" saws had, one would have to have their SCMS far away from the wall because the track bars slide back behind the base.  Some radial arm saws had this design also so the user either had to move the crosscut table way out in the floor or knock a hole in the wall for the track.  (I've seen this on professional shops)

There's nothing 'wrong' with using job site equipment in a fixed woodworking shop, its just that there are better choices.

[Stwood_]

Make sure it has the correct blade on it, one for a radial arm saw.
I had a c-man for years, bought it new. Found out real quick it would not stay square for long.
So it sat up against the middle of the back wall by my lumber rack. I built 8' extension tables on both ends and used it for rough cutting to length the lumber than came from the rack.
Thats where my wood processing started when building kitchen cabinets.