RAS Terror

[twistsol]

My dad gave me his RAS a few months ago and I did a little shopping and found a book on eBay. The following is an excerpt from the 1956 Book “Easy Ways to Expert Woodworking” and in part may explain why the RAS has a reputation as an extremely dangerous machine.

Crosscutting Wide Boards and Panels
To cut a board wider than the capacity of the machine, cut to the limit, then turn it over and complete the cut. Large pieces of plywood can be cut with ease by using the method shown in Fig. 2-23. The motor is placed in a horizontal rip position, and then the radial arm is swung to approximately a 30-degree left- hand miter. The motor is fully extended on the arm, allowing the blade to overhang the front edge of the work table. With the arm in this position, the blade overhang will extend beyond the plywood to be cut. Such an arrangement allows the panel to be pushed from right to left through the moving blade.
To support the large panel while cutting and to assure a square cut, a slotted two-by-four is placed on the floor to serve as a lower guide, while the front edge of the worktable supports the top of the panel. The groove in the lower guide should be parallel and perpendicular with the front edge and can be cut as described on page 39. The lower guide can also be fastened to the front of the workbench for small panels.

[pelligrini]

That's nuts!

[LinuxRandal]

Kinda looks like some of the people I've seen, feeding a tablesaw, without a blade guard.

[Richard in Smithville]

That's nuts!

Or soon to missing said anatomy.

[chopnhack]

At the level of the blade it is clearly indicated why this man had no family!

[Bill in Buena Park]

I didn't think my RAS would achieve that position - which requires rotation of the blade to rip position, then 90 degrees bevel (who needs 90 degrees bevel?) - I had to go check, and son of a gun it sure does! Made me wonder though - capability for 90 degree bevel had to be specifically designed for this sheet cutting capability, otherwise I'd have to consider the mechanics of trying to feed stock into a nearly horizontal spinning blade for bevels over 45 degrees... almost as bad as that plywood ripping/crosscutting!

[Pappy]

kick back!!!!!!!

[Mr__Bill]

I didn't think my RAS would achieve that position - which requires rotation of the blade to rip position, then 90 degrees bevel (who needs 90 degrees bevel?) - I had to go check, and son of a gun it sure does! Made me wonder though - capability for 90 degree bevel had to be specifically designed for this sheet cutting capability, otherwise I'd have to consider the mechanics of trying to feed stock into a nearly horizontal spinning blade for bevels over 45 degrees... almost as bad as that plywood ripping/crosscutting!

Don't forget that you could get a router bit chuck for these. In that position you could rip a groove in a long board using a router bit, or do some dados.

Used with some care and common sense the RAS was truly a versatile saw and was all the tool necessary for many carpenters. I know a few people who built houses with only a RAS. Now most of the time the buggers scared the heck out of me, my propensity for doing stupid things and a saw that gave no quarter was not a smart combination. In the theater shops I taught people how to use them and lectured on safety and then stayed away from them.

Bill
a good day is a day that ends and you have the same number of body parts as when you got up.

[phi1l]

Isn't that sort of thing done by a guy in a tuxedo & top hat to a scantily clad beauty in a black box?

[Hoakie]

(who needs 90 degrees bevel?) - I had to go check, and son of a gun it sure does! Made me wonder though - capability for 90 degree bevel had to be specifically designed for this sheet cutting capability

I guess you could make large biscuit joints with it in this position as well

[cwsmith]

As a long-time RAS user/fan, I must admit that there is a cut that I haven't tried yet (and like many other suggested uses, NEVER WILL!!).

I love some of these old books on woodworking, but they often contain tips that are simply insane.

It often leaves me thinking that the "greatest generation (those born in and around between 1915 and 1925) went through so much, like the great depression and WWII, that abosolutely nothing phased them. This was also the generation that saw the first homeowner power tools. A stout-hearted lot for sure, but also a bunch of really "wild and crazy guys" who left behind a lot of appendages I'm sure. I suppose we need to thank these pioneer home craftsman for paving the way to much of our safety awareness.

CWS

[cabinetman]

I'm really surprised that someone thought that one out, and to document it. It doesn't leave the halves much of a safe place to go.
.

[Dutchman46]

I must admit that I have seen it used that way,many years ago before I had any tools of My own. I think that I seen it at My high school. I graduated in 1964, so it's been a while. It was neat to watch. My Father was a Carpenter, and He only used hand tools at home. It went slick. I can' remember, There wasn't a lot of ply used then. I think they were using it for forms. And also to keep people from walking in there when they were working.One guy was cutting the wood by sliding along the floor fence, and, they had something on the table to hold it on the table, once it was cut. Another fella was carring the piece. Has any one seen it, or tried it?

[cwsmith]

I graduated in 1962 and in that final year (starting in 1961), my "Advanced Woodshop" teacher was extremely strict about shop safety. After discovering my "saw apprehension" (from witnessing my father's table saw accident) this shop teacher introduced me to the RAS, "as a safer saw". If he had ever seen anything like this subject photo, he would have freaked-out for sure. (He later went on to teach future shop teachers at SUNY Binghamton.)

In this particular shop class, we didn't make individual projects. Instead we built "products". After visiting a local furniture manufacturer, we designed and produced some 200 or so desks for the home office. Three drawers, turned legs and stained and varnished in a variety of woodtones, the desks were mostly veneered plywood.

At the start of the 2nd semester, we toured "National Homes" which used to be a manufacturer of "ready-built" housing kits. That was the prelude to our winter/spring project which was to fabricate a small home, from a double garage plan a previous class had done. We designed and built the truss rafters and wall sections in the shop and erected the building over a three day period in early June. That was 1962 and in our area, at least (NY's Southern Tier), plywood was a major building and project material.

CWS

[pacwind3]

surely that had to be discovered in a "gee dad, look what I can do!" moment.