Shopsmith Forums

Ed,

Please be careful if you choose to put your molding head on your radial arm saw. Like some of the other post, I too have a single bladed molding head. While (pre router table days) I used it alot on my radial arm saw, I wouldn't use it today on a bet.

First, ripping on a RAS is a dangerous operation. Add a molding head to that and it's really quick to throw wood.

My saw has actually been recalled as unsafe for ripping -- they will give me $100 if I send in the motor. Since I only use it to cross cut rough stock, I figure it's safe enough and worth more than the $100, but I'm not going to rip on it and I'm definitely not going to put a molding head on it.

douglasgsmith wrote:Ed,

Please be careful if you choose to put your molding head on your radial arm saw. Like some of the other post, I too have a single bladed molding head. While (pre router table days) I used it alot on my radial arm saw, I wouldn't use it today on a bet.

First, ripping on a RAS is a dangerous operation. Add a molding head to that and it's really quick to throw wood.

My saw has actually been recalled as unsafe for ripping -- they will give me $100 if I send in the motor. Since I only use it to cross cut rough stock, I figure it's safe enough and worth more than the $100, but I'm not going to rip on it and I'm definitely not going to put a molding head on it.

Doug
Thanks for the advice. You know the more I think about it the less likely I'm ever to use the molding head cutter again. You can not believe how it whipped that wood out of my grasp and flung it at me. One instant the wood was passing over the cutter the next the pusk block was being chewed up and in that same instant I felt something hit my ribs, even though I was standing to the left of the power head.

I shudder to think what may have happened had I not picked up the push block or had been standing more to my right. Like I said the more I think about it the less likely I am to ever mount the back on my SS.
Ed