Dado cuts on a RAS?

[LarryG]

Your comment about the "same relationship with the blade" I believe is different though. On a crosscut, you pull the blade into the stock and on a rip, you feed the stock into the back of the blade... with the pawls properly adjusted on the normal "front" of the saw.

We're saying exactly the same thing. Do note that I was saying that if the relationship between blade and workpiece ("relative direction of cut" might be a better way to describe it) for a rip cut is the same as a crosscut, that's wrong. If the workpiece is fed from the "handle" side of the carriage during a rip cut, as Thom wrote there a high risk of the workpiece being yanked into the blade, and the operator's hands right along with it. I was wondering if people doing this, unaware they're doing it wrong, is why the RAS has such a sullied reputation as a ripping saw.

One of those things that is crystal clear, mentally, but perhaps doesn't translate well to words.

[BigguyZ]

The only probelm I hate with doing dado cuts on a RAS is that the RAS isn't wide enough to do the project I'm currently working on. But for small to mid range projects it's slick. And I find it easier to get to the arbor than on the TS, that's for sure.

[scorrpio]

Lets just say that 'doing it right' on a RAS is as safe as on a TS. It is just that on a RAS, consequences of doing it wrong tend to be more disastrous.

[droc]

I see repeated references to radial arm saw climbing. If you have a negative hook blade and your saw climbs you have other issues with the machine and it shouldn't be used until addressed. I can run a dado half way through the lumber leave the saw running and walk away, come back and resume the cut where left. The saw should stop when you stop pulling and require almost 10 pounds of force to move the carriage. If your carriage rolls on its own you need to properly adjust your roller bearings.

[ironhat]

<snip>
The saw should stop when you stop pulling and require almost 10 pounds of force to move the carriage. If your carriage rolls on its own you need to properly adjust your roller bearings.

Another excellent point. People who operate my RAS insist that there's something wrong with it because I have set it with resistance to forward travel unassisted. I do recall well the pre-negative hook angle of saw blades and how these saws really liked to climb the cut. After a lot of years away from WWing I was amazed at the technology that has been developed in blade design.

[cabinetman]

A point not brought up about the safety of a RAS, is an automatic non-rebounding return of the motor carriage. In some areas it is required on commercially used RAS's.
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[BigguyZ]

[QUOTE=cabinetman;297529]A point not brought up about the safety of a RAS, is an automatic non-rebounding return of the motor carriage. In some areas it is required on commercially used RAS's.
.
QUOTE]

That's a great idea, but for $165 I'll pass.

[cabinetman]

That's a great idea, but for $165 I'll pass.

I've seen 'em for $140. But you can make one with two double pulleys and cable. You have to load the return to keep it from bouncing.

[cwsmith]

As I recall, there's been an "auto-return" listed on the Craftsman's RAS over the last year or so. I question this feature, as it leaves me wondering if, in some cases, it might present more of a problem.

There are a number of people who absolutely insist that the ONLY way to use the RAS is to pull the blade forward, place the stock behind it, and then "push" the blade back to make the cut. I've seen that opinion here and on other forums and I took sharp note of one "veteran" rep from Forrest saw blades, make such a statement on a video I saw on one of the Woodworking Channel's trade show programs. I've also met a few people who feel that way. While I'm absolutely certain that these folks are wrong, they are equally opinioned that using the "pull" method is wrong.

Personally, I would think it best to learn to use the RAS with the habit of always returning the carriage to behind the fence, turning off the motor, and only after the blade stops, do you release your grip on it.

While the auto-return feature may well compensate for one type of poor practice, and certainly guard against having the carriage roll forward, it can very well lead to serious injury in the case of other practices. Likewise, we need to ensure that our equipment is well maintained and properly setup, so that mechanisms do not move on their own.

CWS

[cabinetman]

As I recall, there's been an "auto-return" listed on the Craftsman's RAS over the last year or so. I question this feature, as it leaves me wondering if, in some cases, it might present more of a problem.

There are a number of people who absolutely insist that the ONLY way to use the RAS is to pull the blade forward, place the stock behind it, and then "push" the blade back to make the cut. I've seen that opinion here and on other forums and I took sharp note of one "veteran" rep from Forrest saw blades, make such a statement on a video I saw on one of the Woodworking Channel's trade show programs. I've also met a few people who feel that way. While I'm absolutely certain that these folks are wrong, they are equally opinioned that using the "pull" method is wrong.

I'm interested in hearing about how it might present a problem. What it does is to insure there is a return to the rear. The amount of pull incorporated in the action is not one of competing with the operator. I will say that even after an hour or so of use, there is no fatigue in operating the saw with a recoil.

As for what others do with their saws doesn't surprise me one bit. Some operators of machinery come up with their own methods that they find either comfortable, or proper. So, I say whatever floats their boat. I've been on jobsites with other subs watching trim "experts" push cutting on both RAS's and SCMS's. Believe me, the jobsite is not a place to start a discussion on that topic. In using the RAS, for onsey twosey cuts, the mark would have to be made on the front of the board to line up the cut, unless you have a tape measured stop on the fence. My measure is to the left of the blade, which is where I acclimate myself to the cut. Cuts on the right side are uncomfortable to me. I find the same difficulty in the right hand/left hand setup of circular saws that have the blade on the right. In making a cut, my usual position is my right hand pulls the saw, and the left hand holds the "saved" piece, and the right cutoff is the fall-off.

To pull out the arm, set the board, and then push cut, to me seems to be an unusual amount of movement. Since the hands shouldn't be anywhere near the line of cut, having an auto-return insures the saw will go back to its state of rest. It can be pushed back to the rear as if there was no recoil.