Woodworker's Journal 2006-30-2, страница 55

Do They Make the Cut?

With loads of capability and power; radial arm saws can still impress — even in the miter saw generation.

Tool Review continues on page 56 ...

radial arm saws are enough to keep ihe category alive. After testing three 12" machines recently, I think there's still a viable place for these old reliables in our shops.

Radial Arm Crash Course

If you normally use a miter saw, radial arm saws take some getting used to. Think of things in reverse: Miter saws cut by plunging the blade down or down and forward into the work, against the blade's rotation. On a radial arm, the saw's motor is suspended on a yoke that moves forward and backward on an arm. Instead of cutting on the blade's back edge and upstroke, you use the blade's front edge and downstroke. Cutting happens by pulling the saw carriage forward through the workpiece, with the blade's rotation.

I*ulling the blade into the cut feels like climb-cutting with a router. There's less of that familiar resistance of blade against wood, and the blade actually helps pull itself through the cut. It's a little unnerving at first, but once you get used to it, confidence builds pretty quickly. The safe approach is to feed slowly and evenly.

Radial arm saws get their name because the arm pivots radially to the left and right for making miter cuts. The motor also rotates on its

Crosscutting wide stock is child's play lor a full-sized radial arm saw. Its capacity will surpass even the biggest sliding compound miter saw.

a radial arm saw. you might ask? Good question these days. Up until the mid 1980s, these workhorses were mainstays in home shops, cabinet shops and on the job site. Then, in 1986, Hitachi introduced the first compound miter saw. It gave contractors a more portable alternative to the radial arm, without sacrificing much crosscutting capability. That development drove the first nails in die casket for the venerable radial arm saw. Since then, compound and sliding compound miter saws have become hugely popular, and

the demand for home-shop radial arm saws has dropped off sharply.

Radial arm saws don't get much attention anymore, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be blown away by the winds of change. If you need a saw that can make wide crosscuts, cut dadoes all day long and rip sheet goods with ease, a radial arm saw might just be the machine you've been looking for. It beats a miter saw for versatility and will stili give any table saw out there a good run for the money.

There's no doubt that miter saws are here to stay, but a few great