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Radial Arm saw help

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scooter65 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scooter65 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Radial Arm saw help
    Posted: December/02/2009 at 07:14
I know several of you are woodworkers, by hobby or by trade.  I want to pickup a Radial Arm saw (yes, i saw the recent thread on this topic).  I would like to pickup and rebuild an old DeWalt or Delta... not the flimsy stuff you see today.  The industrial stuff today is out of my price range.  (maybe rebuilding one could be as well)
 
I will be doing all the fixing up myself, kinda a project for the winter. 
 
Has anyone done one of these?  Whats a fair price?  What year models should I stay away from?  Good place for parts?  Any and All advice would be most welcome.  Even if you say don't do it and why not too.
 
If need be, pm me for phone numbers etc.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Average Joe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/02/2009 at 07:31
Delta for build quality,bought to many new DeFaults only to return them.
 
All my corded and battery(28v) power tools are milwaukee.I am so biased towards Milwaukee after years of faultless use. 
Looking forward to seeing your write up and pictures, good Luck!
I'm classic shag nasty type.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scooter65 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/02/2009 at 08:46
Originally posted by Average Joe Average Joe wrote:

Delta for build quality,bought to many new DeFaults only to return them.
 
All my corded and battery(28v) power tools are milwaukee.I am so biased towards Milwaukee after years of faultless use. 
Looking forward to seeing your write up and pictures, good Luck!
 
What about Rockwells older stuff?  I will have to stay away from the phase 2/3 stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Average Joe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/02/2009 at 10:29
Rockwells i've not used.
 
The best of the best IMO after years of use in a joinery/carpenters shop is the Wadkin radial arm saw, sold in the USA under W W Thayer Company .
I'm classic shag nasty type.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/02/2009 at 11:07
I imagine the Deltas would be easiest to find parts for.
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/05/2009 at 13:56

Bosch, dewalt, milwaukee, makita, delta, ridged and others all make quality power tools.  I've tried almost all these makes in the last 10 years.  While I have my favorites, I haven't found any of them to be more reliable than the other.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/05/2009 at 17:17
Grizzly is the winner for "bang for the buck" repeatedly...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/05/2009 at 18:46
Hitachi also offers pretty decent inexpensive tools.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Robertson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/07/2009 at 12:00
Saw a Craftsman advertised in the paper once as a "radio alarm" saw...
If you don't know already, radial arm saws have a very strong tendency to dig their way towards the operator, which can be disconcerting until you get used to the effect.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/07/2009 at 17:01
Mine is a 14" Marvco/TOPS; it's the best radial arm saw I've ever used.
 It is a heavy monster though, and very expensive new. 


Edited by RONK - December/07/2009 at 17:06
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scooter65 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/08/2009 at 06:07
Originally posted by RONK RONK wrote:

Mine is a 14" Marvco/TOPS; it's the best radial arm saw I've ever used.
 It is a heavy monster though, and very expensive new. 
 
WOW, you've got one of those??  Thats some serious stuff.  I was looking at the Original Saw Co, they bought the patent to the original DeWalt.  They are a bit steep but you get into a better saw.  Not the calibar of the Marvco.  I've checked into many older models to rebuild and what worries me is parts.  You hit and miss on what you can find.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 16:51
Originally posted by scooter65 scooter65 wrote:

Originally posted by RONK RONK wrote:

Mine is a 14" Marvco/TOPS; it's the best radial arm saw I've ever used.
 It is a heavy monster though, and very expensive new. 
 
WOW, you've got one of those??  Thats some serious stuff.  I was looking at the Original Saw Co, they bought the patent to the original DeWalt.  They are a bit steep but you get into a better saw.  Not the calibar of the Marvco.  I've checked into many older models to rebuild and what worries me is parts.  You hit and miss on what you can find.
 Yes, I picked it up at a used equipment warehouse a few years ago. It had a few missing parts, but I was delighted to find that all parts are readily available and that the basic machine is still being manufactured new, with the new ones having more safety features, guards and automatic feed and carriage return controls, etc.  Mine is an older model and has no auto add-ons. It's pretty plane-jane, but smooth and solid. The tuning adjustments are precise and immovable once set.
 The best part is that it's a single-phase motor and runs on any 220 volt (clothes dryer)circuit! (Most of this industrial-type stuff is set up as 3-phase and thus useless to the normal homeowner.)
 
 My problem is that I really don't have room for it anymore.  Sad
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 21:09
Originally posted by RONK RONK wrote:

Originally posted by scooter65 scooter65 wrote:

Originally posted by RONK RONK wrote:

Mine is a 14" Marvco/TOPS; it's the best radial arm saw I've ever used.
 It is a heavy monster though, and very expensive new. 
 
WOW, you've got one of those??  Thats some serious stuff.  I was looking at the Original Saw Co, they bought the patent to the original DeWalt.  They are a bit steep but you get into a better saw.  Not the calibar of the Marvco.  I've checked into many older models to rebuild and what worries me is parts.  You hit and miss on what you can find.
 Yes, I picked it up at a used equipment warehouse a few years ago. It had a few missing parts, but I was delighted to find that all parts are readily available and that the basic machine is still being manufactured new, with the new ones having more safety features, guards and automatic feed and carriage return controls, etc.  Mine is an older model and has no auto add-ons. It's pretty plane-jane, but smooth and solid. The tuning adjustments are precise and immovable once set.
 The best part is that it's a single-phase motor and runs on any 220 volt (clothes dryer)circuit! (Most of this industrial-type stuff is set up as 3-phase and thus useless to the normal homeowner.)
 
 My problem is that I really don't have room for it anymore.  Sad
 
?????
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 21:37
 Well, many years ago I used to have a modest cabinet shop in which I and one of my brothers eked out a meager living by building fancy custom cabinets for wealthy people.
 I was a great cabinetmaker but a terrible businessman and realized that I needed to get a real job, (with health insurance!) after I got married.
The home we own now has no outbuildings other than a one-car garage that has a lot of my other stuff in it, and is too crowded to do any practical woodworking of the scale I'm used to. A radial arm saw or miter saw really needs pretty much an entire wall for long stock and offcuts to both sides of the blade. I just don't have such an area anymore, and the original shop building is almost an hour away, so it would collect dust if I moved it out there.
 
Anybody care to make an offer? Thinking
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 21:45
 To tell the truth, I really don't know what I was thinking when I bought it; I just knew it was a great piece of equipment that just needed a little TLC, and I got it for a pretty good price. Cleaning it up made for a fun winter project. I guess I had hoped that in a few years, I'd be able to build a new shed or shop for that sort of thing, but only as a hobby this time around.
  Doesn't look like things are heading that way right now...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 21:59
I have no idea what it is worth, no basis to make an offer...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/10/2009 at 22:09
 I don't either.
 I haven't really thought about selling it until this thread got me to thinking about how little I use it in the cramped garage.
 I'll probably end up trading it to one of my friends for a couple guns or a well-used pickup truck or something...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scooter65 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/11/2009 at 13:50
Originally posted by RONK RONK wrote:

 I don't either.
 I haven't really thought about selling it until this thread got me to thinking about how little I use it in the cramped garage.
 I'll probably end up trading it to one of my friends for a couple guns or a well-used pickup truck or something...
 
You should consider putting it up on Craigs list.  I have been watching for one in my area.  That one you have is quite the industrial monster and are considered the tippy top of the line, probably would cost more to ship it than buy it.  I wish you were close by!!!  If Dan is interested there are a few websites devoted to old tools, I have the url somewhere.  He might or you find a value for it. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/11/2009 at 20:19
 Heck, you're only the next state over! (Except for that big dumb Lake Michigan, but that should be freezing over pretty soon, not?  When it does, just drive on over and pick it up!)
 I'll send along a free PFD and a couple ice picks for the return trip, just in case you encounter thin ice. (With the extra weight in the back of your truck, you really can't be too careful!!!)
 
 Seriously though, I'd give a heck of a deal to anybody who would pick it up here. Give it some thought. It's really in nice shape. Breaks down into kind of heavy but "carryable" parts pretty easily, too.
 Loooong drive for Dan, (but he'd get a really special deal on it for bringing his .458 Lott along and letting me shoot it a couple times!)
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/08/2010 at 22:15
DRILL PRESS :
A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it

WIRE WHEEL :
Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh, sh*t!"

SKILL SAW :
A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS:
Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER :
An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW :
One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS :
Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand

OXYACETYLENE TORCH:
Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW :
A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK :
Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the  bumper.

BAND SAW:
A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST :
A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER :
Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT (Flathead) SCREWDRIVER :
A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR :
A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER :
A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER :
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE :
Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

Son of a bitch TOOL :
Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "Son of a bitch" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.
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