Radial Arm Saw

(The radial arm saw is briefly described and demonstrated during the training orientation. However the students are not directed to use it during the demonstration, but merely observe.)

Another type of cross cutting saw that we have is called a Radial Arm Saw. It’s similar to the sliding compound saw in that it can be angled left or right.  The difference is that the blade is already in the downward position and since the blade itself, is like a wheel with teeth, it tends to climb outwards toward the operator. Physics again. As you pull it across a piece of material, you need to resist its tendency to climb into the material.

This Radial Arm Saw is most often used to simply rough-cut lumber, to render it into shorter, more manageable pieces for further processing. The slower and more carefully you operate it, the better, since it’s a very aggressive machine. More often than not, when you purchase new materials especially solid lumber, there will be some sort of sticker on it and sometimes, metal staples on the ends or along the edges. Things like that need to be checked for and removed before you process the material.

Adjusting the Saw

The Radial Arm Saw can be angled by first turning the lateral locking knob on the right side of the arm clockwise to lock the saw in its rear-most position. The Saw needs to be raised above the fence rail by turning the raising crank on the front of the table clockwise until the bottom edge of the blade is above the back rail, so that it can clear the rail. There’s a radial locking lever on the left side of the arm, which needs to be lifted up to unlock it. At this point the Saw can be manually rotated to the right or left and set at a specific miter angle. The angle indicator is located on the top of the saws arm. Once the Saw is in its desired angle position, the locking arm on the left side the arm needs to be pressed firmly downward to lock it in position. At this point The Saw must be turned on with the power switch located at the front end of the radial arm. It’s a toggle type switch that must be activated to start the saw. With the Saw running, turn the crank handle on the front of the table counterclockwise and lower it gradually into the back rail so that it cuts through the support and is lowered just far enough to be embedded in the table itself about 1/8 of an inch. The saw is turned off at this point. This process is described to the students but not demonstrated.

Operation

For this training session, the Saw will simply be used to make a straight crosscut using a 2 x 4 piece of framing lumber, about 18” long. (place the 2 x 4 against the fence to the left of the blade, which is in its rear-most position. Turn on the dust collector by pulling outward on its red, paddle switch. Slide the 2 x 4 to the right, in front of the blade, and prepare to cut off about 1 inch from the end. Turn on the Saw and make the cut, making sure to guide the Saw back to its starting position, then turn everything off.)

The same rules apply to this, as to any other type of Crosscut Saw:

• No Ripping
• No extraneous materials in the work area.
• No un-supported cuts.
• No odd-shaped work pieces.
• Clean materials only
• Avoid un-stabilized “trapped” cut-offs.

Clean-up

Please be aware that there are 4 Trash barrels in this room, and that each one has a broom, bench brush and dust pan attached. You must use these items to clean up your work areas at each machine, when you are finished working there. Also, there are scrap barrels at each workstation to deposit scraps of material, which may be useful for someone else. Please do not put materials with stray hardware or glue on them, or food/drink items, only re-usable materials.