Radial Arm Saw | A History

In this video, I give a brief history of the Radial Arm Saw. Its invention, how it rose to supremacy, and the criticisms that caused it to fall into obscurity.
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[@woodshopnerdery]

Great video Wayne! Are you familiar with the book "Magic of Your Radial Arm Saw?" Available in the used market and a very interesting read.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

I am! Thank you for mentioning it! You can also read it online on the Internet Archive, you just need to set up a free account to "check out" a copy. It's a really great resource.

[@chasferr]

Thank You for the info. Good Job. I own 3. Purchased my first one in 1974. Did everything with it. Made all the trim for a total remodel. Built out door furniture, jewelry boxes. Sawed firewood. Ripped, crosscut, molded, surface planned. But, you had to do it properly. Back then there wasn't any videos to watch, so it was trial and error. In fact there really wasn't much on the radial till the last few years. I've used table saws, chop saws, routers, jointers etc. And I've been fortunate to be injury free. Although, I feel the Radial Arm is much safer for ripping, and cross cutting. And if you only could afford 1 saw, it should be a Radial Arm Saw. It seems to me there is a resurgence in Radials. And that makes me happy. P.S. There are 61000 table saw accidents per year. And they've convened a safety panel to try to increase safety. They have decided that they must provide a mechanism that only allows a cut of 1/8 inch into the skin. Only thing like that is patented by Saw Stop Company. Look for saw companies to start going belly up. ...humm. 61000 accidents with all the safety equipment. And they gave the Radial Arm grief. Whay they should have done was have a safety commission to figure out why the Radial Was Causing less accidents.

[@thaboater1798]

Subscribed! Love your content man I’ve been doing construction for 9 years now and the past couple years I’ve really been invested into woodworking and learning everything I can about it. Thank you for producing such informative and honest content I hope you channel continues to grow and that you keep up the great work!

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it!

[@arbyars.chicksawdust]

My Dad had other saws, table, circular, etc.., and we had training on them as we grew up. I don't think Dad had any training on RAS. My family was building a house and Dad bought a RAS. When one of my brothers was using it, it had a kick back and the board hit my Mom in the face. We had no education on the saw and had know idea it would do that. Dad sold the RAS and declared that it was a very danger to use and sold it. We all learned about kickback on other saws and what to do to help prevent that, including where to stand and not stand. I would only buy one now only if it mostly fell in my lap. I think just like any other tool it has to be respected and learn how to do it. I LIKE THE VIDEO! Thanks BTW Mom healed and is okay at 88.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! It is very appreciated. You are exactly right, any tool needs to be respected and every effort made to learn proper practices and procedures to use them safely. I am very happy your Mom made a full recovery!

[@bradleymasson1777]

I've been a cabinetmaker for 38 years. In that time, I'm not aware of any injury due to the radial arm saw, or the chop saw for that matter. When I was a young boy in the 1960's, Montgomery Wards would put on demonstrations in their stores showing the versatility and capabilities of their RAS. I just picked up a Dewalt like you have in your shop. What a beautifully made machine.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! It is really appreciated! The Dewalt is an absolute tank. I have been keeping my eye out for a larger version of it for a while now, I would love to track down a 12 inch model.

[@Ryan-ui9vs]

The history of various woodworking tools/machines would be awesome.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! I think so too! I am already researching and scripting the next one!

[@DonHubin]

Thanks for this video. It's interesting to me to see some other KZbinrs talk about radial arm saws as if they're strange antiques. (Maybe this is because I'm something of a strange antique myself.) I have two Sears Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saws--one I've had for about 40 years and one I picked up for $25 to keep in the basement of a rental property I own. I've never owned a table saw, though I recently inherited an old Shopsmith Mark V that I often use for the table saw function. I've use my radial arm saw mostly for crosscutting, miters, compound miters, but also for ripping. (I recently rebuilt the cedar lath fence in my front yard that required me to rip dozens of 1"x8"x8' boards to 1-1/4 slats.) I've used the planing attachment to rough plane a very uneven 4" slab of walnut that I used for a live-edge shelf for a television. I have a dado blade for it that I've used--one of those that wobbles to various widths that you set. Before I had a drill press, I used the radial arm saw as a drill a few times and I have a sanding disk and several sanding drums that I've used, too. I've also used it for molding edges with molding attachment. I don't understand the reputation that radial arm saws have gotten for not being safe. Of course, any saw is inherently dangerous but, in all the years I've used the saw, I've only once had anything I'd consider a mishap. While ripping, the saw threw a loose knot that I hadn't noticed back hard enough to break off a little bit of the saw blade guard. Without the guard set close to the board, as you're supposed to, it could have hit me if I'd been directly behind the blade. But I usually stand a bit to the side. For crosscuts, the blade is pushing the board back against the fence and I've never had a problem with the blade wanting to climb the board. This is probably because I keep a firm grip on the saw. (I've also sometimes done a cross cut from the front, pushing back against the wood.) I've seen Stumpy Nubs' original video that rightly calls out some of the initial hype about what radial arm saws can do (kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3m1qIFvbst6ebs). (One of the manuals shows guy in a dress shirt and tie cutting full sheet of plywood in half by having the saw blade turned outward and pushing the plywood in front of the saw. Sheeze!) I've also see the rebuttal videos by radial arm saw fans and Stumpy Nubs' clarification in which he makes it clear that he's not saying that radial arm saws can't be safe; he's just criticizing some of the unsafe uses of them (kzbin.info/www/bejne/inyvY6KlibSDoZo). If you want to learn more about radial arm saws from an old pro, check out videos by BigMike Tuna like this one (kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYeXpouqrdOCmsk) . (His saw is almost identical to mine, by the way.) If you want to see some terrific joinery done with a radial arm saw, check out videos by @dustylumberco. And here's an idea for an upgraded table for a radial arm saw: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJWvkn-dfKiki9E. There's an interesting historical promotional film from DeWalt about the use of the DeWalt radial arm saw's use in the WWII war program here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpqqeWOHqNpml80.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! I have seen the videos you link to, and remember seeing BigMike Tuna's video when it was first published. I agree with quite a bit of what he argues in his video. I saw Bud's video for his table and was very impressed, I haven't been able to bring myself to build something similar though, I accomplish most of the miters and such that he installs the T-Track for by just clamping a speed square or a sacrificial piece to the table.

[@monteglover4133]

Thank You. I’m am a serious hobby woodworker, with all my fingers. I now have my father’s RAS he purchased new in 1968 (I was 12) it was the first large power tool I used. I consider it to be an essential tool in my shop, making cuts that are near impossible with a table saw, or other tools. My sliding compound miter saw is used only for portable applications, usually just collecting dust. In a few years I’ll teach our grandkids how to do woodworking

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! I use my miter saw the same way, it certainly travels a lot easier than the RAS, but it is never my first choice for any cut.

[@ulrichfroehlich3542]

I think the key words as you eluded to are educate and respect all tools. That makes work safer.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Absolutely! Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@MakinSawdust]

Fantastic video!!! Thanks for the valuable information :)

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! It’s great to hear from you once again!

[@Rebel9668]

I started out my shop with a Skilsaw and a chop/miter saw, both of which will get the job done, but are by no means the best for great cutting unless you're building a house or a woodshed. Radial arm saws just weren't on my radar as you don't see them in stores anymore and I hadn't personally seen one since I was a teen back in the '80's. So naturally when I eventually wanted better cuts for finer work I went with a table saw, specifically a Rockwell Model 9 contractor saw as the vintage unisaw that I dreamed of always seemed to be a several hundred mile round trip, or if they were closer, the folks wanted an arm and a leg for. In the interim I eventually got a jigsaw, a scroll saw, a sawzall, a chainsaw and a 14" Delta bandsaw. Then one day a while back while perusing fb marketplace I happened upon a listing for a radial arm saw, and remembering dawned upon me of the one my buddy's dad had and all the uses they got out of it and I started studying up on them. And, as with any power tool, yeah, they can be dangerous, but no more so than any other tool in my shop and I decided on a mid 50's DeWalt MBF model I found on marketplace for $35 bucks. It was pretty rusty but sat on its original optional cabinet so naturally I rushed out and bought it from the guy. And after a lot of wire wheeling, sanding primer and paint it looked good as new. Made a new table for it from an old kimball desktop of laminated 1.5" MDF. Had to square up the blade, the fence, table, etc which took a couple of days. The bearings were good as it doesn't spin forever when ya turn it off, but the power cord was rotted to the point the outer cover was split wide open for a couple of feet and the insulated wires inside had insulation falling off and it's a wonder I didn't trip a breaker powering it on. I bought new 14-3 SJOOW power cord for it that looked identical to what the original cord would have when it was new, added a rubber booted strain relief and got a new toggle switch for it as the old one had a crack in the bakelite that busted wide open when I removed it. I've come to love using it and my old table saw now mostly collects dust and is more table than saw with assorted debris sitting on it. The RAS is just my "go-to" saw for about any cut I make nowadays. Wish I had bought one a long time ago now.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave a comment! My RAS is most likely the most used saw in my shop as well!

[@thomasramsay4286]

I'm lucky to have a 20 foot back wall of my shop where I built a dedicated bench for it. I use it almost every time I'm working in my woodshop.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

That sounds amazing. I try to keep them located in areas where I can feed material right out the garage doors if I need to process larger pieces.

[@agjohnsonandson]

Wayne - this was an excellent video!! Ilea earned a great deal and appreciate you doing the research and sharing it. Unfortunately, I do not have space in my shop. If I did, I would add one for the reasons you stated. Your interjection of humor was spot on! Luckily, your wife didn’t walk in while you were giving the RAS a smooch 😊.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! It was a really interesting project, I had to try to balance between providing enough information while not getting lost completely in the weeds regarding the history of these saws- there is just so much out there. My wife would be completely unsurprised 🤣

[@psychedelicguitarartbyjima3850]

I have two radial arm saw that I use more than any other saw in my shop. I have a cross cut blade on one saw that I also use for ripping. Whenever I rip anything on the radial arm saw, I always use very long push sticks. The other radial arm saw I keep a dado blade on it for cross cut and ripping dados. I feel that as long as you are all awake and very safe, and take every precaution with push sticks and sometimes clamps, these tools are very safe.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! I am up to 3 RAS now and am in search of another small one that I can permanently install a fretting blade in.

[@dougfowler6898]

I have three, the same DeWalt and same Craftsman (that was my Dad's) , and a Ridgid (which is actually very good as well)! Ok, fine.....I have four as I am refurbishing a DeWalt 925 lol. Thanks so much for doing this and excellent job on this history of this saw, and dispelling lots of misinformation about them. I have a lot of the same tools as you in my shop and love to refub old saws.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! It is greatly appreciated. I think 4 Radial Arm Saws is a nice round number 🤣.

[@juniorjaw]

nice history, thanks and good luck

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave a comment!

[@johnalexander4780]

Great video!

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it!

[@williamtyree3896]

I have 2 and I love them both

[@MS-ig7ku]

Seems much safer for crosscutting than a table saw, hand saw, or band saw. And does not really seem more dangerous for ripping, use a push stick.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! This is especially true when dealing with larger stock. They can take some time to get dialed in, but once they are, they can be just as accurate as any other saw in the shop and can be used just as safely.

[@crossgrainwoodproductsltd9230]

Any powertool is dangerous if the operator is not familiar enough with them. Use inappropriate practices, and using them for other purposes than those intended for the tool. I am waiting for the older Dewalt 1950s model like yours. And I think that there is an increase in interest in used RAS's. How many woodworkers out there say these saw are dangerous, while they have removed the riving knife and hood on their TS's. When you purchase a RAS, read everything you can about the tool. Don't be so errogant to skip the manual part(like so many men do and just dive into it. I want to use mine for cutting dados and of course crosscuts.

[@BassadorWoodworking]

Thank you for watching and commenting! You are absolutely correct about proper safety practices; especially when it comes to a tool as complicated as a RAS or Table Saw. I would also agree that I have seen an uptick in interest in these old machines, which I am very happy about. I love when a good tool gets the appreciation it deserves!