Do i need this tool?

[icandoanything]

I'm getting ready to build and I was wondering if buying a radial arm saw was the right choice for framing. Here's the dealie. The house is 3200 sq ft total, 2650 heated. It has 5 dormers. Built on a slab, 2 story, 2 baths upstairs, humongeous bath for the master ( my wifes idea, jeesh). A large room over the garage. 2 staircases, one for the room over the garage. Built in an L shaped, the garage makes the L. Now I hope I've given you an idea what I'm doing and as you can see, a lot of framing and why I was wondering if a radial saw was the right ticket. Don't know if I could buy one from a pawn shop or not. By the way, I checked into being the contractor myself and subbing out the different parts of the house. Bids came in at $225.000.00 + or -. Biggest expense would be the framer at $32.000.00. I said to myself, I can do this. I'm retired and 55 yrs old. Not the best back (Thanks to an RPG in 1968) but I think it will hold up with the help of a lot of Motrin. So how about the radial saw? Yes or No. Thanks for the help. Oh, to the Texans out there, What do you think about the cost? How is it in your area?

Thanks
Dick Austin

[Bird]

Dick, I can't say what the best tool would be for you. My two brothers built several houses in Alaska and then did general contracting, home repairs and remodeling in Washington state, and used worm drive circle saws and miter/chop saws. But when we built my brother's house in Texas, we used my radial arm saw. And while it was used for many things, the greatest use it got was building the trusses; cutting lots of plywood gussets, as well as the 2 x 4s and 2 x 6s. So if it were me, yes, I'd want the radial arm saw.

[johnday]

Dick; A radialarm would work well, but, when you're done with the house what are you going to do with it? A shop without a RAS is "just" a shop. I'm able to have both, an RAS and a mitresaw. I much prefer the mitresaw for the portability, but the radial has more crosscut/mitre capacity, unless you buy a slidecompound mitresaw. Then you'll pretty much have the best of both worlds except for ripping. If you decide the slider, I'd recommend one of the 12" models. DeWalt along with Makita make some nice ones. Also a REAL stand would be a must for the radial or the mitre. On my mitre, I have the Delta stand that folds up and has wheels. Needless to say, my RAS sits in the garage and collects more dust than use.
Ask some more if you need. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[egon]

For years I got by with a Radial arm saw and skillsaw. The radial arm is very versatile and mine has been used to build one house and several garages plus numerous other items like kitchen cabinets. I still do not have a table saw.

As someone else mentioned - a sliding miter saw is also very handy. It's much better at mitering than the radial. I have a 10 in.Delta Sidekick with stand that folds up. There are some newer ones out and I always drool over a certain compound 12 in. model.

Both saws require a proper stand and set up to support long materials. I've made a new much oversised table for the Radial arm saw. It's a 10 in Sears model purchased about 1970.

If you get a Radial arm try for a good 12in. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon

[Bird]

Yep, you definitely need something to support longer material, but instead of a bigger table, we used two of these, although this one appears to perhaps only have one roller while the pair we used had 4 rollers each.

[egon]

Bird:

I have a bench alongside the saw to allow for extra support. Just wish there would be sufficient room for a bench on either side and was able to set up the miter saw with benches on either side. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon

[johnday]

egon; Strange you should mention a 12" RAS. I just traded ronjhall an old DeWalt for a disc. It is one of those industrial strength ones you see in lumberyards. I was going to restore it, but I needed the disc more.
I have an old Crapman 10" that was new around 1963. I inherited it from my grandfather. Has a castiron arm on it. I had a newer one but never liked it.
I'm looking from a builders point of view, unloading and setting up an RAS on 9 or 10 projects a year gats old fast. I much prefer my 12" DeWalt [dimwit} compound mitre. Any cuts I can't complete with it, I can with my circ saw. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] We are doing an extensive remodel and were supposed to have my wife's brother as lead carpenter on the project. We were not able to make a satisfactory deal with him as far as who would boss trhe job and what he would charge us so that whole idea fell through. We already had a nice 12" DeWalt Radia Arm Saw, which I am a Rembrandt with. We needed a saw for trim work so we bought a 10" non-sliding miter saw. I set them at opposite ends of a long 12" wide table and boy is that ever an award-winning setup! The time I spent building the table and getting it really perfect with both saws has paid us back ten times over. We have done all the work ourselves on a complex kitchen re-do wit only an occasional visit by our neighbor who has a lot of carpenter skill and experience. We re-did the floor joists and flooring; the stud walls, the drywall, the soffits, the electrical and plumbing, installed the cabinets and counter tops, and made all of the window trim from fluted Oak. We made some really incredible cuts to get tapers and so forth to fit things together. The radial saw and the miter saw are a great combination.......IF the radial is a 12". [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Don't even THINK about buying a 10"....hold out for a 12. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[icandoanything]

Thanks guys, as usual, great advice. I think I should have told you what tools I already have:

Delta 12" compound mitre saw ( non sliding)
Delta benchtop 10" table saw
Porter Cable 7 1/4" circular saw
2 support stands with rollers
Porter Cable Recip saw
A couple of routers (PC of course) Is there a pattern here?
Porter Cable Framing Nailer
Craftsman air compressor ( brain fart I guess)
Numerous hand tools and hand saws + hammers
Delta benchtop drill press ( I love that tool but I'm going to have to get a floor model to do some of the projects around the ranch).

I think I have more but it's too early in the morning to think right. I wish I would have held out for the 12" sliding compound buuuttt!!!!. I like the idea of having the RAS but as JohnDay mentioned, it would get old fast setting up everyday, unless I could lock it to a tree, hmmm, that one needs some more thinking. At any rate, thanks for the advice guys.

Dick Austin

[egon]

Well heck - you got more than enough tools there - although the yellow 12in would sure look better with a sliding and compound miter feature. Do you have an assortment of blades for rough work and finishing work?

The miter saw will eliminate the need for a radial arm as you do have a Table saw. Radial arm may be more inclined to permananent set up due to their weight. The table top can also become missaligned with frequent moves. I surely would not move one on a daily basis.

Two sawhorse's and a 10 inch plank may also work well for the miter saw set up. The saw moves at night but the rest does not.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]