If you're familiar with a table saw, you know that stock is pushed through its blade. If you turn the process around, you have the basic idea of the radial-arm saw. Instead of moving wood through this saw, you move the saw through the wood. Here's a lesson in the basics of this handy tool. The radial-arm saw has three basic segments: a stable working base (figure A), a tower with a blade attachment (figure B) and a motor (figure C). The motor is attached to a small cable that allows the blade to move back and forth. Its speed is constant, no matter how fast you pull the saw through the wood. To make crosscuts with a radial-arm saw, place the work piece in a horizontal position on the saw table. Adjust the blade so that it just touches the top of the table (figure D). Turn on the saw. Slide the blade through the wood at a 90-degree angle (figure E). To make a miter cut using a radial-arm saw, adjust the arm of the saw to 45 degrees (figure F). Lower the blade so that it just touches the top of the table. Turn on the saw. The blade will be positioned to cut through the wood at a 45-degree angle. To make bevel cuts with a radial-arm saw, turn the arm of the saw to its original position of 90 degrees. Raise the blade off the table. Unlock the blade, and turn it to a 45-degree angle (figure G). Lower the blade into the wood, and slide it across the wood to make the bevel cut (figure H). To make dado cuts with a radial-arm saw, insert a special dado blade into the saw (figure I). Set the arm and blade of the saw at their original positions of 90 degrees. Set the blade depth to about half the depth of the work piece. Slide the blade through the work piece to make a clean dado groove (figure J).
RESOURCES :
Craftsman Tools
Website: www.sears.com/craftsman
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