Shopsmith Forums

On occasion I read where someone has acquired a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw and desires documentation. I sold my radial arm in the mid 1970's and recently discovered a book on the saw in a box. It was revised and printed in 1969. I am NOT interested in selling it but will to give it to someone who is willing to pay the postage. Jim

Oh! Pick me! Pick me!

I have a late 60's or early 70's Craftsman RAS, and could use a manual. Sure would be great to have the instructions on adjustment and tuning. If still available, I would be happy to pay the postage as you offer. What is the best method for coordinating this?

Thank you,
Seahawk

Very nice of Jim to make this offer!:)

For those of you looking for such things, I have found this site to be an excellent source for older machine owners manuals:

http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/de ... =false&fl=

For those of you that have a RAS and would like to tune it up as a precision saw, Jon Eakes has a book to show you how to do it. The book is titled "Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw" and I believe was originally published in 1987 by Lee Valley Tools. Currently, it's available on http://www.JonEakes.com as a download or in some libraries.

I have no affiliation with them but found the book to be useful in properly setting up my old Craftsman RAS. It is also good for old DeWalt, Rockwell, and Beaver/Delta saws. Hope this is useful info.

sailseahawk wrote:Oh! Pick me! Pick me!

I have a late 60's or early 70's Craftsman RAS, and could use a manual. Sure would be great to have the instructions on adjustment and tuning. If still available, I would be happy to pay the postage as you offer. What is the best method for coordinating this?

Thank you,
Seahawk

The manual was mailed last night. I hope it comes in handy. Jim

I just purchased Eakes' book and downloaded same. Thanks for the heads up. As soon as I finish the project I'm in the middle of I plan on doing much needed rearrangement of things in the shop along with maintenance on tools and general reorganization.

Not to step on too many toes... Isn't "fine tuning a radial arm saw" kind of an oxymoron?


.

[quote="robinson46176"]Not to step on too many toes... Isn't "fine tuning a radial arm saw" kind of an oxymoron? ]
Doing a fine tuning isn't too bad, it is the keeping it in tuned state that is the problem....

Has anyone else noticed it's HOT! Just 96 here but the humidity seems to think it is a substitute for rain. Sure would not want to have to tune a radial arm saw today.

Ed

Yep, one of the things he says in his book is it is useful for custom one at a time jobs but not tool of choice for repetitive duplicate cuts for multiple similar objects. It is good for fine tolerance trimming for the same type projects.

If you don't make any changes in the set-up, a radial arm saw stays in tune rather well. That's to say that if all you're doing is crosscutting boards, they work kind of well. It's when you switch over to ripping, then beveling, then miters, and then try to go back to the original setting you have problems with alighments.

While on the subject of radial arms saws, if you have a Craftsman saw, it may be the subject of a recall notice from Emerson, the manufacturer of the saw. Check out -- http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/ -- The recall covers saws made from the 50s to the early 90s. Either they'll give you a hundred bucks for returning the motor assembly, or you get a parts kit that includes a new saw guard and fiberboard table at no cost to you.