What to do with an Antique table saw.

[sscherin]

Over the weekend I was offered a few old power toold..
A Dewalt RAS, a Rockwell bandsaw and a table saw..

I gota take em all and to be honest RAS's scare the crap out me.
I plan to fix up the bandsaw for my FIL.

The table saw is one of those old cast iron bench top types that had motor mounted under the table, work surface the size of a postage stamp and safety was a four letter word when it was designed.

Anyone see a problem with using it as a disk sander? Just mount it sideways on the bench..
I can turn a backing plate for it on my friends big lathe or buy one commercially available.

[cabinetman]

Over the weekend I was offered a few old power toold..
A Dewalt RAS, a Rockwell bandsaw and a table saw..

Is the price right, or are they free?

I gota take em all and to be honest RAS's scare the crap out me.

I find RAS's a very valuable tool. I leave one set up just for 90 degree cross cuts. Learning how to use one should take some fear away, as well as keeping your fingers away from the line of cut.

The table saw is one of those old cast iron bench top types that had motor mounted under the table, work surface the size of a postage stamp and safety was a four letter word when it was designed.

Anyone see a problem with using it as a disk sander? Just mount it sideways on the bench..
I can turn a backing plate for it on my friends big lathe or buy one commercially available.

Not a bad idea, if you can gear it down with a pulley change to run a bit slower. Normal speeds for a table saw are a bit too fast for sanding IMO.

.

[LinuxRandal]

How big of blade on the table saw? If it is one of those 8" models, besides pulley's, could you find a different speed motor? A friend had one and kept it for just trim work. He did cutoff's and used a miter sled with it.

[BrazosJake]

If the ras is an old cast iron round top, I'd take it in a second, especially if it's a 3/4 or > hp
I think the ras rep for danger comes from users leaving the bearings and carriage way too loose. There should actually be a good bit resistance against the climb cut. That's not only safer, but more accurate.

[cork58]

This last year I was given a 1947 Delta table saw. It is in perfect condition and has a large surface area. Now since I married my BT3000's into a frankensaw I decide that I would turn the old girl into my dado saw. Works great and since I don't do allot of dado's it has a place in a corner out of the way. Since the table tilts and not the arbor I set it @ 90 degs and will forever leave it there!

[Shep]

This last year I was given a 1947 Delta table saw. It is in perfect condition and has a large surface area. Now since I married my BT3000's into a frankensaw I decide that I would turn the old girl into my dado saw. Works great and since I don't do allot of dado's it has a place in a corner out of the way. Since the table tilts and not the arbor I set it @ 90 degs and will forever leave it there!

My FIL has a SS saw where the table tilts. I'll never again use it for anything but a 90 degree cut. That is more dangerous than the RAS IMHO

[AlanWS]

Any tool will be dangerous if you are not sufficiently familiar with it to be able to predict what will happen in various circumstances. Reading a book or getting instruction from someone who's knowledgeable is a good idea before using any machine new to you.

A RAS does behave differently from some other tools, and you must make sure you always know where it will go to use it safely: the blade does move toward you, but it's like a train in that you know exactly where it's heading. If you use it in crosscut mode, the forces are readily recognized: cutting helps hold the work down against the fence, and helps pull the saw through the work; you want to make sure it does not pull too fast. That's the part that feels unusual at first.

Make sure your habits protect you, and think about what might go wrong. The worse the consequences of an error, the more important it is to set up your procedures so that more than one thing must fail for you to be hurt.

But once I'd tried cutting tenons on large parts with a RAS and dado blade, I knew I was keeping it.

[cwsmith]

I was taught to use the RAS in my last year of high school (1962) when I took advanced wood shop. At the time I was definitely afraid of table saws (story I've told probably too often) and was introduced to the RAS as a "safe saw".

While "safe" isn't ever a word I'd use to describe any "circular-type" saw, I guess there is something to be said for being able to see the blade as it's doing the cutting.

I bought my own RAS in 1973 and it is still my favorite tool, though I must admit to really loving my BT31001!

So, I totally agree with Alan's post.

In my shop, my RAS is dedicated to crosscuts and the whole shop is pretty much designed around that machine. I can't imagine approaching the task with any other tool. It's quite precise, easy, and a joy to work with once you understand the principles and the advantages of the RAS for that mode. IMHO, it would be tough to have a woodshop without one.

So, ask any questions you wish and/or express you concerns. The RAS is a great tool, not nearly as dangerous as most people think, but definitely something you need to know the negatives of.

CWS

[LCHIEN]

...
In my shop, my RAS is dedicated to crosscuts and the whole shop is pretty much designed around that machine. ...

CWS

to me, a major advantage of a RAS is that it doesn't have to be the center of your shop. It will mount up flush to the wall and doesn't need space behind the saw.

A table saw, to be fully utilized, must almost be positioned in or near the center of the shop, In an ideal setup you would probably have 8 feet on all sides of the blade (front, rear, left, and right) clear to make long rips and crosscut long pieces of wood.

[cwsmith]

Loring,

Completely agree... except that my basement shop consists of two, roughly 10 x 11 rooms with a double-wide doorway connecting them. (I should have explained that.) Hence, the RAS sits in one room, out from the wall and angled so the infeed (left side) is through the doorway. The drill press is opposite that position and also angled to allow longer pieces to pass through the doorway also, from the right side of the DP.

In the other room I have my Herc-U-Lift mounted BT, which I store against the wall and move into position ("sweet-spot" marked on the floor) to also utilize the doorway as needed.

Next summer I'm hoping to move out of the basement and into the garage, where the RAS will then go against the center of the wall and the BT will take it's place near the center of the shop.

Thanks,

CWS