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Attn: All Craftsman 12" Radial Arm Saw owners!

1K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  JayArr 
#1 ·
Look what I just got!

I bought a 12" saw on Craigslist and had the guy disassemble it and send me everything but the frame. Mostly I wanted the 220V motor as a spare but asked him to throw anything else he could easily pull into the box as well (handles, knobs etc)

I had no idea it even had a guard so imagine me picking my jaw off the floor when I unwrapped the bubble wrap and saw that the entire original lower guard is still in tact. It's not even cracked!

I think before I use it I'll dis-assemble it and trace out the shapes of the plexiglass and aluminum parts in case I have to recreate it later.

If anyone is interested in the plans LMK I can make full size copies and mail them out.

BTW - this is why the 12" Craftsman RAS's weren't included in the recall, they were all shipped with lower guards in the first place.
 

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#2 ·
Now that's a nice offer .......

I think the aluminum shapes could be made from Lexan as well as the entire unit. I'm not a fan of Plexiglas, it's brittle and cracks easily especially where the sections are not very wide. I scored some Lexan at a local sign company where they use large quantities of the stuff, but Ebay always has materials like that. I recently got some Kydex sheets and Delrin rods from Ebay as well.



Thanks for your generous offer Jay, I will take you up on it and I have sent a PM. :vs_cool:
 
#3 ·
JayArr, That is the same guard that I referred to in your other post. As I recall, the aluminum would catch on the edge of the wood being cut... marring that edge. Over time I ended up swinging the guard up and sticking a wedge in between the upper guard and the swing up assembly to hold it up. I finally quit using it and bought a table saw.
 
#4 ·
I'm intrigued by the aerodynamics, physics, and efficiency of dust extraction port positioning on the radial saw blade guard.


It appears that all earlier design radial arm saw blade covers positioned the dust extraction port approximately 190 - 260 degrees away from the cut contact point of dust creation. Hence, the dust port is on the operator end of the guard. This appears to be the case with other brands of legacy radial saws (ie, DeWalt), not just Emerson models built for Sears.


Newer radial saw blade covers (including the recall blade cover replacement) have the dust extraction port at the column end of the blade guard... approximately 100 - 135 degrees away from the cut contact point of dust creation.


Is the older design better at taking full advantage of the blade gullets hurtling dust within the upper blade shroud, like a shot putter spinning around to make a longer throw?


Is the newer design made solely to accommodate the mechanisms of the lower guard movement and actuation arms and levers... and not as effective at leveraging the spinning blade's contribution to providing a velocity to dust extraction that doesn't entirely rely on the suction power of a shop vac?


Discuss!


Inquiring minds wish to know!
 
#5 · (Edited)
I'm in the collect it sooner camp .......

I have several of the type that are closest to the operator. I use a separate shop vac on that port as well as a larger shop vac on the column side of the fence with a port on a dust collection box. I think the sooner you collect the dust the better and in this case the dust is being propelled upwards into the dust port immediately as the cut is made. I don't know how long it took engineers to figure that out ..... :sad2:I have one like that on my shop built panel saw;
 
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#6 ·
On the Craftsman saws the dust port on the guard only seems to collect what wasn't thrown straight back. I still get a pile at the back of the saw.


If I forget to turn on the dust collector (I'm still manual) the front table, from the fence forward, will be covered in sawdust at the end of the cutting but with the DC on it stays clean. I don't think it was ever intended to catch the bulk of the dust, I think it just keeps the front table clean.



Regarding being manual on DC - I haven't found an automatic box to turn on a 110V dust collector when a 220V saw is powered on, if anyone knows of one I'd love a link.
 
#9 ·
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
A "no weld" build!




Thanks Tim!


I didn't want to have any welds so it can be adjusted if need be, so all the bolt holes are a bit oversize, especially on the crosscut rail assembly. I just had a feeling that the "safety recall" blade guard I posted above wasn't currently on the saw ... sure enough! I had made my own and located the dust port near the front of the blade so dust was being shot upwards toward it and I made the dust port "shop vac" size rather than too small.


The top two photos should be rotated 90 degrees so the red rails are vertical .....


The orange at the top gizmo is a spring loaded counter tool counter balance to take the most of the weight off the saw carriage and the blue wire and pulley is an addition steel sliding weight to balance it out just right. The RAS carriage was used because it had positive stops at all 90 degree positions and the "v" groove rollers were used to slide on the 1/4" angles, no modifications needed, just sand them down smooooth.
:vs_cool:
 

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#10 ·
I am seeing all the radial arm saw blade guards here. They look nothing like the guard on the DeWalt radial arm saw that I used in the 1970s and 1980s.

The DeWalt guard was a thin, pot-metal semicircle, that's all. It hung down on the left side of the blade and covered just the teeth of the blade. The blade was exposed on the right side, but you would have to reach under or around the motor to touch it. It had a screw loose, so the guard could ride up and down as you cut the wood. So did I, for trusting that guard! :)

I feel fortunate to have survived that era with all ten intact.
 
#11 ·
I've seen those guards Tool Agnostic, it looked more like a legal requirement than a safety device.


This guard has plexi on both sides and that's going to be a pain because it means the guard has to go on before the blade.



No wonder people took the lowers off.
 
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