# Vintage 9" Radial Arm Saw Worth Keeping?



## o2284200 (Feb 12, 2017)

Hello all,

I inherited this Craftsman 9" Radial Arm Saw model #113.29350 circa 1965  w/ extra blades and accessory kit.  Needs a little cleaning and TLC but  I plugged her in and she started right up...That sound reminded me of  my father (RIP).   I have a low end miter saw w/ portable stand but  don't have table saw.  That said, any value here?   Is this vintage 9"  Radial Arm Saw & kit worth keeping and using??  Or perhaps safer to just sell it and put the $ towards a more guarded recent tool???


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## nealtw (Feb 12, 2017)

Ho, that's worth setting up. Mine is a 10" and it will do an awful lot of work. When I had room I had it built into a 10 ft long table.

I found that kit in the red plastic pretty much useless. I set it to deep the first time I used it and burnt the cutter and it landed on a shelf never to be used again.


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## o2284200 (Feb 12, 2017)

Hmm?  Apparently, CPSC, Emerson Tool Co. Announced Recall of Craftsman® Radial Arm Saws Sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. because the radial arm saws were sold without a guard that covers the entire blade.  The recalled Craftsman® 8-, 8?-, 9- and 10-inch radial arm saws have a model number beginning with 113.  Emerson will provide $100 for the return of the saw carriage of recalled radial arm saws.


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## bud16415 (Feb 12, 2017)

I would keep it. Looks just about like mine. The old ones are better built IMO.

Be careful and safety first.


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## kok328 (Feb 13, 2017)

Circa 1965 I think it would say "Sears Roebuck & Co" not Craftsman.
Most saws I come across have had the safety guards removed because they get in the way.
As long as it holds it angle settings and the carriage travels a straight line, I would definitley hand on to it.


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## nealtw (Feb 13, 2017)

kok328 said:


> Circa 1965 I think it would say "Sears Roebuck & Co" not Craftsman.
> Most saws I come across have had the safety guards removed because they get in the way.
> As long as it holds it angle settings and the carriage travels a straight line, I would definitley hand on to it.



On that one. the metal bar hanging down in front of the blade is the guard.


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## Chris (Feb 13, 2017)

I had the 10" version I got from my dad, I sold it for 75 bucks and had to beg for that. I wish I would have kept it, mine already had the recall safety equipment.


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## slownsteady (Feb 13, 2017)

Just make sure that modern blades will fit it. Probably so, but you never know.


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## DFBonnett (Feb 13, 2017)

slownsteady said:


> Just make sure that modern blades will fit it. Probably so, but you never know.



I have a 9" Craftsman table saw my father bought in the '50s. Modern blades fit but 9" is not exactly ubiquitous. I don't think HD even carries 9" any longer.


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## nealtw (Feb 13, 2017)

Home depot carries them.


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## DFBonnett (Feb 14, 2017)

nealtw said:


> Home depot carries them.



Interesting. They don't in the local HDs around here.


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## nealtw (Feb 14, 2017)

DFBonnett said:


> Interesting. They don't in the local HDs around here.



Found, they have freud saw blades on line HD. But freud makes them anyway.


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## Mastercarpenty (Mar 4, 2017)

Some of the cheaper Craftsman saws used bushings instead of bearings on the outboard side of the motor shaft. Those aren't durable and aren't worth keeping IMHO. Radial arm saws have fallen out of favor here now that compound slide saws have become common and you can pick up nice lightly used ones for $1-200, a real bargain for the person who has room for one on the shop bench. 

Safety is always on the user, not the tool. Guards can often create a less-safe situation so I sometimes disable them on my tools. If you know what you're doing you will know what to do with guards; if you don't know what you're doing you're in trouble already, guards or no.

Phil


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## o2284200 (Mar 4, 2017)

Definitely going to keep and BE CAREFUL, when using i.e. no ripping. :nono:  That said, I can only go by the owner's manual but I was surprised to read that it can also be used for the following:

ROUTING AND DOVETAILING
Routing and dovetailing are accomplished with the motor
indexed and locked 90 ° from horizontal, except that this
time the externally threaded stub end (opposite the normal
blade end) is between the motor and table top. The following
chucks will mate, with this external 1/2-20 thread.
(See figure 30.)
O-inch to 1/4-inch Chuck
5/64-inch to 1/2-inch Key Chuck
The following routers and dovetails are recommended:
1/8-inch router
1/4-inch router 3/8-inch dovetail
3/8-inch router 1/2-inch dovetail
t/2oinch router
5/8-inch router

Routing may be performed by either moving the work with
a stationary router, or by clamping the work to the table
and moving the router. Always approach the router bit
from the left-hand side of the saw.

BORING
The saw may be converted to a horizontal drill for boring
by using one of the recommended chucks and proper drill.
For drilling holes on an angle, the radial arm should be
positioned to the desired angle 

MOLDING OR SHAPING
This work is performed with Craftsman Molding Cutter
Heads, and a set of cutters depending on the type of molding
cut desired. The saw is positioned in the same manner
as that described for rabbeting. (See figure 29.) Since the
position of the cutters can be adjusted with respect to the
fence and table top, any or all of the cutter shapes may
be used. The Molding Cutter Guard should be used with Molding
Cutter Head.


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## nealtw (Mar 5, 2017)

drilling is good as a drill press will only drill 3 inches, you can set up and drill deep holes
Routering is to slow, never found it to be worth anything.
Shaping head works but don't try to go to deep on one pass.

And yes you can rip with it.  The only trick is to figure out the correct direction.

When ripping you are pushing into the back of the motor the handle is on the out feed end.


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## Mastercarpenty (Mar 6, 2017)

nealtw said:


> Found, they have freud saw blades on line HD. But freud makes them anyway.



I did a search for them there and they have none. The search engine showed numerous blades _but in different sizes_ and the only 9" ones were for metal cutting. I've got a junker 9" B+D miter saw here I once used and the only blades I could find were not cheap- about 3X what 10" blades cost. I had 2 blades and got them resharpened as needed. In mine I also found that 8 1/2" blades would also work- Hitachi used that size in some saws a long time ago but they too are expensive and hard to find now. 8 1/4" blades were just a bit too small and wouldn't cut through and 10" blades wouldn't work at all. 

If you've got a supply of resharpenable blades it's viable, if not just get a 10" saw. A radial arm saw is one of the most versatile tools ever made but with anything other than crosscuts it's slow and awkward. Results are entirely up to operator skill and the tightness of the saw parts; any 'slop' in the system makes for poor results but with most saws you have adjustments to remove excess 'play' if you'll look for them. Replacing worn or broken parts might be a nightmare since that supply has mostly been used up now. 

Phil


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## nealtw (Mar 6, 2017)

maybe they are not being made. Ops
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0000225V9/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Mastercarpenty (Mar 7, 2017)

Blades can still be found on flea-bay but the prices asked can induce cardiac arrest as most of them are top-of-the-line commercial-saw finishing blades, not something meant for general woodshop work. There's a lot odd circular-saw blade sizes out there, some of which were once common but no longer are. Some were real odd-balls meant only for use on specific tools- I've got an old Roberts jamb-saw like that. It's only recently that blade sizes have settled on a relatively few standard sizes which everybody now builds tools for. When I acquired my 9" B+D I wasn't looking closely and thought it was a 10". I bought it only because the lady who had it needed money and it was cheap. It wasn't the bargain I thought it was. I've got a couple very old skilsaws which I bought more for display than use. One uses a 6" blade and the other a 7" blade. Nothing else works on the first one, but a 6 1/2" blade will work on the other one. Arbor sizes can be another bugger to deal with as those vary as well.

We've got a lot of things much better today than we commonly realize. Count your blessings!

Phil


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## mabloodhound (Mar 16, 2017)

nealtw said:


> maybe they are not being made. Ops
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0000225V9/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



That's a fair price for a 9" quality blade.  I am buying more and more from Amazon lately.


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## jessesandy (Sep 7, 2017)

o2284200 said:


> Hmm?  Apparently, CPSC, Emerson Tool Co. Announced Recall of Craftsman® Radial Arm Saws Sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. because the radial arm saws were sold without a guard that covers the entire blade.  The recalled Craftsman® 8-, 8?-, 9- and 10-inch radial arm saws have a model number beginning with 113.  Emerson will provide $100 for the return of the saw carriage of recalled radial arm saws.



I brought up that recall (http://rasrecall.com) on another tool site and got this response.  
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That recall was pretty squirrelly. The guard issues it raised weren't unique to RASs, but it did kill the market for them.

The Sawstop folks initially tried to get into the marketplace via govt regulation, and then later by product liability lawsuits against TSs. At that point the law had changed enough that manufacturers couldn't be bludgeoned into changes as easily, and Sawstop eventually gave up on forcing their product into the market via legal action and started actually manufacturing a product.
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