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There are times when a pin router would be handy, and a radial arm saw provides a handy platform with its arm adjustable for height and the motor carriage that can be locked at any position along the arm. And, if necessary, the motor can be tilted for very special needs.
Some radial arm saws, like Sawsmith and Montgomery Ward's Powr-Kraft, came from the factory with a high-speed spindle on the right end of the motor for a router collet chuck. The Sears radial arm saws have a spindle with 1/2 inch thread for a Jacob's Chuck. The Sears spindle runs too slowly for use with a router bit.
Some radial arm saws, like Sawsmith and Montgomery Ward's Powr-Kraft, came from the factory with a high-speed spindle on the right end of the motor for a router collet chuck. The Sears radial arm saws have a spindle with 1/2 inch thread for a Jacob's Chuck. The Sears spindle runs too slowly for use with a router bit.
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Signing UpStep 1Mounting holes
This Sears radial arm saw came with two threaded holes on the bottom of the motor. The holes were used to secure the motor in the crate for shipping. The holes are 5/16 inch by 18 threads per inch.
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THANKS for simplifying my life!
I have an 8 1/4" and a 10", both Sears. One is going to be dedicated to 'other projects' now.
I have posted several Instructables related to a Craftsman 10" radial arm saw. One you might want to check deals with egg-shaped indexing pin holes in the yoke, and how to fix that. With enough use, you will notice you can align your saw for crosscuts, but the blade will heel on ripping.
I am discovering there a quite a few people who have never seen a radial arm saw and do not understand what they are, nor how they work. I guess electric miter boxes have displaced them. Meanwhile, there are some radial arm saws available on Craig's List for very low prices.
It lived outdoors for quite some time as well. The table top is shot.
I can build an adapter for a small router and make if single purpose until I find the parts to fix it right.
All the swivel and tilt parts seem tight, as well as the carriage track.
I have a 10" slide miter too, but the radial arm is so much easier for some projects.
They DO require care and caution when in use though, and not for the careless types.
A very good site for woodworking tips, tricks, and very talented people willing to help.
Sort of a woodworkers instructables site.
When I got my saw new, the motor tilt adjustment knob would not lock the motor in place. I opened it up and found two nylon plugs had been installed backwards. I turned each one around and everything has been fine ever since. That is just a story. There is no big point, but the manual was helpful in doing the job.
Manuals are written by the engineers that designed them.
The manufacturers should follow up with a new manual that has USERS notes included on the best, easiest, safest manner to use their product.
Lumberjocks.com is like an online users manual for any woodworking question. From how to sharpen a chisel to how to keep body parts in their original, attached, condition when working with power tools.
I have a project in the works using a router to make a pocket hole machine- another one I similarly wouldn't use terribly often and really don't need a dedicated machine for.
I put up an Instructable on the pocket hole jig- I will include pictures of the real deal when I unearth it. I can't paste a link for some reason, but it should come up with a search of pocket hole jig.
Weird.
I'm feeling desire to make one "poor man's" of these at home, now that I retire from work this 30/12. Maybe for 2011...
Your instructables are increasingly good.
Read a few of these booklets and you'll be able to make your own radial arm saw if you have the time, aptitude and interest. Not sure if they have Spanish versions, but the pictures are the most valuable part.
They are far from "slick", basically pretty crude little books, but the information inside is great. www.lindsaybks.com/prod/index.html
Good luck
Once AMT (American Machine and Tool) produced a kit for making a radial arm saw. Another manufacturer had a radial arm saw attachment that used a common 7 1/4 inch electric handsaw. Some radial arm saws were light duty home models. But, a better radial arm saw designed to stand up to construction needs on the job site is the best choice.
I do not know if radial arm saws are available in Argentina. I was in Germany and they were not sold there ten years ago, although one German friend knew what they are.
Enjoy your retirement. I am hoping to retire in less than 3 years. Some of my friends have retired already, but sometimes because their company could no longer continue to pay them. Maybe when you retire you could become a distributor for radial arm saws in Argentina.
Besides not having seen in my life a radial arm saw, I have not seen an ad of it.
I'm bad for business, if I start distribute those saws in Argentina , sure I go broke and lose the house. If I start making bras, women begin to come without breasts...
Most items sold on Craig's List are for local pick up by the buyer. The sellers do not ship them to other places, as with eBay.com. I did check the Craig's List today for Seattle (since I gave that as an example). Someone is selling a Ryobi 10 inch radial arm saw for only $60 US! You cannot buy a sensitiva (miter saw) for that in the US!
If you can get the CIA to hire me, you will have 50% of my salary ...
That yes, I promise that I will not manufacture bras
Hopefully my radial arm saw has the same type of tapped holes. I'm going to look at it tonight to check.
The only thing I'd do differently is the part in step 4. I'd try to mount the jig to the round protruding part of the motor housing. It looks about the same diameter as the router clamping bit and could be made the same way. It would probably be a bit sturdier than the eyebolt.
I assume your "drawings" are done in SketchUp? Now that I finally know how to use it I'm loving it. Not always the most intuitive, but very fast to use once you get the knack of it. I designed the jig for my Cardboard Ball Chair (www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Ball-Chair/) using it.
Keep up the good work!
Yes, I did use Google Sketch-Up for a couple of the illustrations. It looks like you doing well with it. I could not even guess how you did some of your Sketch-Up drawings for the cardboard chair. I sometimes do not know how to get everything I want in Sketch-Up, so I press the Prt-Scrn button and paste the image into MS Paint where I can erase a few pixels without losing an entire line or circle. Then I save it as a JPEG file.
If you do not have tapped holes under your motor, could you dismantle the motor to drill and tap a couple of holes in the motor housing?
A pin router sounded like an absolutely fabulous idea when I did this project. I must admit I have seldom used it since the original project that made it necessary.
Thank you for your comment.
You know what made the difference for me with SketchUp? Watching the basic tutorial videos.
I do software for a living and rarely read manuals (RTFM?). SketchUp is actually easy to use, but not obvious. This is a subtle but very important distinction. I found that working with guidelines, grouping/making a component frequently and learning the alignment techniques made a world of difference. Path following is a little tricky at first, but VERY powerful. Spend a half-hour or so watching the tutorials and it'll be like night and day.
I once read a book about the development of the US automobile. Ransom E. Olds (Oldsmobile) was such a perfectionist that he would not allow the shop to have his engine drawings until everything was "perfect." Finally, his partners waited until he fell asleep and then they stole his drawings so the shop could get the engines into production. Your comment about taking too much time on parts of the chair project reminded me of the Olds story.