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Radial Arm Saw Blade Issues
Question
Forum Responses
From contributor L: 10" saws are very light and prone to worse self-feed problems than say a 16" saw. That said; you need to use the right blade. Blades designed for radial arm saws will have zero to negative hook. They will require a little more power for the same cut. It would take a really big up-cut saw to do 18" cross cut. We have an 18" Whirlwind that I bought new at least ten years ago. It will x-cut about 13" maybe a bit more depending on thickness. Not a well designed saw! We have an old, make that very old 16" DeWalt RA. It is much easier to control in the cut than a 10" RA due to its mass. To square panels we use an SCM slider, precise clean cuts, and dead on square. From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: As posted, but it deserves repeating for the third time, radial arm saw blades require zero to negative rake to avoid aggressiveness. In other words, a table saw blade is the incorrect blade for a radial arm saw. It is unbelievable how many radial arm saws in-use have the incorrect blade. From the original questioner: We are using the right blade. It has the negative hook on it so maybe we just need a bigger saw. I was wondering if the upcut works better for this. From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: With the right blade, you should be able to take your hand off the saw while it is in the cut and the saw will just stay there - but do not do this. If the saw is aggressive, then the rake is actually not what it is suppose to be. I am assuming that the blade is rotating so that it pushes the wood down on the table. From contributor S: We also use a sliding table saw for cutting our panels. Upcut saws work well for cutting the rails and stiles, especially if you have a Tigerstop on it, but it wouldn’t work for your application. I would talk to a good blade supplier and tell him your requirements and he will give you a blade that will work for your radial arm saw.
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