craftsman radial arm saw question

[thesleeper]

i know before you tell me the radial arm saw is unsafe. i have used one for 22 of my 38 years without any injury. and i plain love it and there in lies my question. now occasionally when i turn it on, it sounds like it wants to turn but the blade kind of wavers back and forth. i shut it off and spin the arbor/blade a few times one way then the other and then it usually will then work. what could this be caused from? brushes? thanks for any comment.
frank

[LCHIEN]

i know before you tell me the radial arm saw is unsafe. i have used one for 22 of my 38 years without any injury. and i plain love it and there in lies my question. now occasionally when i turn it on, it sounds like it wants to turn but the blade kind of wavers back and forth. i shut it off and spin the arbor/blade a few times one way then the other and then it usually will then work. what could this be caused from? brushes? thanks for any comment.
frank

brushes...

I'm not going to say its unsafe, but you have heard about the RAS recalls. A google for
craftsman radial arm recall will prbably bring you all the info you need to make it safer and get some updated parts if you have an old one.l

[cwsmith]

You didn't mention the model number and perhaps it really doesn't matter. I may be mistaken, but any Craftsman RAS that I have seen was made by Emerson Electric (Ridgid's parent company) and was equipped with an induction motor (no brushes). I have a 1973/4 model that I bought new and I've never had a problem with it (my favorite tool). I'm not sure what would cause the back and forth movement that you described. It could be a bad capcitor, or a low voltage problem, or perhaps even a really dirty motor; but, I'm only guessing as I've not had that experience. It sounds like the motor stator isn't getting enough volts to properly induce the rotor to turn.

Have you ever taken the covering off to blow out the winding. I'd also check the capacitor to ensure that it isn't shorting. Be careful and make sure the power is disconnected and also remember that the capacitor may hold enough of a charge to give you a shock.

As far as "safe" is concerned... well, you've used one for long time, so I don't need to tell you about it. Personally, I highly respect any cicular saw. The RAS I'm fine with... it's the table saw that scares the heck out of me!

Hope this helps,

CWS

[sneezer17301]

something is wrong in the starting curcuit. the direction the current flows through the starting winding is what determines the direction of rotation. The blade is waivering because it is trying to start with only the run winding and doesn't know what direction to run. the contacts on the start switch could be dirty. the centrifugal switch could be stuck open. the capacitor could be bad. Or the start winding could be burnt up. which happens when the centri-switch fails to open and it stays in the curcuit as the run winding takes over.

[sweensdv]

In case you're interested, here is the Craftsman RAS recall web address; http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/