just checking. is it me....

[toolguy1000]

or is this guy delusional:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/tls/4208261015.html

[JoeyGee]

That's funny. Even if the saw wasn't outrageous, that "custom saw table" is not worth nearly $375.

[Black wallnut]

Wow! He needs help. I'm thinking he left out a decimal and a zero. $57.50?

[lrr]

It is hard to tell which model DeWalt this is. If it had been fully restored, the price might not be out of line. If you watch patiently, these saws often pop less than $100 on Craigslist.

The Original Saw Company bought the molds from DeWalt, and still builds radial arm saws. Some are monsters, and sell for many thousands of dollars. And this is not one of them ...

I have an ancient Craftsman I bought almost 40 years ago. It has a solid cast iron column. It is my "Go To" saw for crosscuts, since it can crosscut about 17" with the fence in the "outer" position. With the fence moved back, it has a another 3+ inches of crosscut, but the blade will not fully clear the fence and will touch really thick stock.

Mine gets moved and bumped, so I align it maybe once a year. There are adjustment screws that make resetting its miter and bevel angles quite simple.

If you grew up in the era of radial arm saws, they are fantastic machines. Sadly, they turned to junk in the 70s (Sears morphed them into gimmicky tools and some even had digital elevation controls, but the quality was pretty marginal). They have pretty much disappeared from the mass market. I do not use mine for miters, since my compound miter saw is so much easier to use. But for big crosscuts, and crosscut dadoes on long boards, they are tough to beat.

[toolguy1000]

yea, i've known about RASs since i rehabbed a neighbor's cast off. for the ~ $60 in parts it took to refurb this 60s vintage CI RAS, i enjoy having it set up and ready to CC whenever needed. this video video demonstrates just how accurate these saws can be when set up properly and not jostled around:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8In_nKqW1DA

i just thought ~ $900 was an awful lot for a RAS similar to that of a neighbor (he was thinking of selling it for $100-200) and that table. but that must be his rock bottom, great deal price. after all, he's moving!

[LCHIEN]

That video is interesting. I guess the RAS spinning blade pushes the wood down and into the fence and so keeps it in place when being cut.

I don't think I have any saws, hand or power, that I can lay a piece of wood there and not hold it or clamp it or push it and then let the saw just cut it. Maybe the miter saw might work but I'd not prefer to try it.

Do you do that (not hold the wood when cutting)?

[toolguy1000]

....Do you do that (not hold the wood when cutting)?

no. i wanted to demonstrate, from start of cut to finish, how stable and accuarate the RAS can be. that work piece was also a little small, but larger than the blade kerf in the fence, so i knew it wouldn't move (i'd seen this done before online). i'd be hard pressed to try that on miter saw since the fence of a miter saw is usually in two pieces and the gap between them is almost always larger than the saw kerf. this would provide much more opportunity for the work pieces to moves towards the end of the cut and be picked up and thrown by the spinning blade.

[cwsmith]

Regarding the Craigs' listing. I think there are certain personalities that feel that because it is their tool, it somehow must have enhanced value for anyone else! I've seen this with tools, ham radio equipment, boats, etc. Somehow, that kind of person just knows HIS tool is uncommonly worth more.

I bought MY 1973 Craftsman RAS new in the late fall of that year. For me, that saw is priceless and I'll never sell it, for as long as I can use it. But still, I know it is worth less today than the roughly $250 I paid for it back then.

CWS

[Pappy]

It is hard to tell which model DeWalt this is. If it had been fully restored, the price might not be out of line.

That was what came to mind for me. Fully restored in pristine condition, and including the table, the price wouldn't be out of line. As is, the guy is dreaming, or looking for the sucker of the century!

[lrr]

That video is interesting. I guess the RAS spinning blade pushes the wood down and into the fence and so keeps it in place when being cut.

I don't think I have any saws, hand or power, that I can lay a piece of wood there and not hold it or clamp it or push it and then let the saw just cut it. Maybe the miter saw might work but I'd not prefer to try it.

Do you do that (not hold the wood when cutting)?

I've never tried that, but the video does not surprise me. My RAS has always felt very solid and stable to me, and making cuts on it gives me the reassurance that the blade's rotation is pushing the wood down into the table, and back against the fence, during a cut. Of course, after almost 40 years, I have become one with the saw ...

Like cwsmith, I could never sell my RAS. The $100 or so I might get for it would be of little importance. I have too much sentimental attachment to it. It was my first major power tool. I think I only had two other power tools -- a drill, and a sander. This purchase made me realize I now had the means to do some serious woodworking.