The New Shop!

[easterngray]

Well as I consider the final layout of my shop I have decided to get rid of the Dewalt RAS. There is nothing that it can do that the SS can't. I have decided to build just the movable bench, equipped with lockable casters. There is nothing in the shop that can't be moved - I think that sort of flexability will be appreciated in the long run. I'm going to take the money from the RAS sale (assuming it sells) and put it towards dust collection. Thanks again for all the feedback! Alec

[brown_hawk]

Alec,

I think that's a good decision. I was going to raise the point, but some of us are married to our tools!!;)

+1 on having everything mobile. Always remember the workshop space rule:

T + W + P + S = 3F

where: T = tools, W = wood, P = projects being worked on, S = working space, and F = actual square footage of the workshop.

Hawk

[Ed in Tampa]

Well as I consider the final layout of my shop I have decided to get rid of the Dewalt RAS. There is nothing that it can do that the SS can't. I have decided to build just the movable bench, equipped with lockable casters. There is nothing in the shop that can't be moved - I think that sort of flexability will be appreciated in the long run. I'm going to take the money from the RAS sale (assuming it sells) and put it towards dust collection. Thanks again for all the feedback! Alec

Alec
You may want to reconsider your decision. I have a RAS and grumble at it every time I have to work around it's size and how it intrudes into my work space. But when I need to knock off 6 inches from a 16 foot board I smile.

RAS are excellent for two things. Crosscutting long boards and cutting dado's across long boards.

In fact unless the board length is under 36 inches I usually use my RAS to make any cross cuts.

What I did and I think you can too, is to position the RAS so that if you do have a long board you can let it extend out the door of the shop while you make the cut. I put my RAS on wheels so I can roll it around and more than once I have actually had to roll it out on the drive way to cut down some really loooooooong boards.

I also have a compound mitre saw and yes everyone claims that it can substitute for a RAS ina lot less space. But in fact that is not a fact. Many many cuts I want to make can only be done on my RAS easily.

I know the money looks good but you may regret selling the RAS so really think about it.
Ed

[paulmcohen]

I also have a compound mitre saw and yes everyone claims that it can substitute for a RAS ina lot less space. But in fact that is not a fact. Many many cuts I want to make can only be done on my RAS easily.

I have a 12" Sliding Compound Mitre saw what cuts can a RAS do that my saw can't? I only issue I can think of is when boards are over 16" wide.

[Bruce]

I have a 12" Sliding Compound Mitre saw what cuts can a RAS do that my saw can't? I only issue I can think of is when boards are over 16" wide.

You can't rip boards with a SCMS. I don't have an RAS, but I know the power head will turn to allow ripping.

[paulmcohen]

You can't rip boards with a SCMS. I don't have an RAS, but I know the power head will turn to allow ripping.

There is a whole separate thread on that topic, I will just say NEVER for me!!!!!!

[easterngray]

Well, the RAS is a dandy tool to be sure - you can add a drum sander to it, a jig saw attachment, a shaper head, a dado blade - it indeed has some of the same multi-function abilities that the Shopsmith has. It is also cast iron and solid as a rock - though often suggested, there is really no comparing a RAS and a SCMS. That said, it does take alot of space because it cries out for long benches on either side to take full advantage of it's capabilities. In light of that, I am going to let it go - Ed I have struggled over this decision for all the reasons that you have suggested, but the idea of a totally portable shop - everything on casters - is just too appealing.

It pains me to let it go though...
On the other hand, the idea of a DC3300...

Alec

[Ed in Tampa]

I have a 12" Sliding Compound Mitre saw what cuts can a RAS do that my saw can't? I only issue I can think of is when boards are over 16" wide.

Paul
You named the first one crosscutting something wider than 16" which is fairly common in cabinetry.
Dado-ing RAS do an excellent job on Dadoes especially stopped Dados where you need to see the cut your making.

Also because the blade cut down from the top of the wood I often use my RAS where I don't want any splintering on the good surface but I need that surface to be first cut. Usually a stop cut for some purpose.

The RAS also serves as a sander, planer and even a very precise drill press. The aux shaft on my RAS turns at about 10,000-12,000 RPM so I can do moulding and shaping on it.

Mostly I use my compound mitre to do trim work, my Shopsmith as a main stay and the RAS to be the utility and crosscut saw.

Like I say everytime I think about remodeling my shop the first thing that enters my mind is all the room the RAS takes. But once I get past that, knowing the machine is bought and paid for over 35 years ago and everything I have made on it, it makes absolutely no sense to get rid of it.
Ed

[paulmcohen]

Paul
You named the first one crosscutting something wider than 16" which is fairly common in cabinetry.
Dado-ing RAS do an excellent job on Dadoes especially stopped Dados where you need to see the cut your making.

Also because the blade cut down from the top of the wood I often use my RAS where I don't want any splintering on the good surface but I need that surface to be first cut. Usually a stop cut for some purpose.

The RAS also serves as a sander, planer and even a very precise drill press. The aux shaft on my RAS turns at about 10,000-12,000 RPM so I can do moulding and shaping on it.

Mostly I use my compound mitre to do trim work, my Shopsmith as a main stay and the RAS to be the utility and crosscut saw.

Like I say everytime I think about remodeling my shop the first thing that enters my mind is all the room the RAS takes. But once I get past that, knowing the machine is bought and paid for over 35 years ago and everything I have made on it, it makes absolutely no sense to get rid of it.
Ed

My SCMS does dado cuts using its normal blade, not optimal but possible. I used a RAS in High School but they always scared me doing anything but a crosscut.

[a1gutterman]

You want to talk about scary saws? My BIL picked up an old saw he found. Anyone out there know what a swingarm saw is? Well, this one must have been about a hundred years old and the wood frame that it was mounted to was in need of repair, but the saw worked fine. He built cedar hot tubs from scratch, and that swingarm saw was perfect for cutting the dados in the boards that allowed a round floor to fit in. Yes; a curved dado. The swingarm was about equal in length to the radius of his hot tubs.

The saw itself, much like a RAS, hung from a long arm that was suspended, unlike a RAS, vertically, from a timber. Where it was attached to the timber, was a pivot that allowed the saw to swing like a pendulum, toward and away from the operator, who held onto a handle that was a part of the saw housing. The table adjusted up and down for depth of cut adjustment. I cut hundreds of dados in his cedar boards, and was extremely cautious. That is the only one of those saws that I have ever seen.

About the RAS; I plan to get one eventually. If I had one, I wood be keeping it.