Ripping short and narrow pieces on a radial arm saw

Good way to handle the problem on that saw as long as you can get to the back.
On pieces similar to the size you show that are longer then the travel of the cross cut ability of the saw I set up a stop block across the table perpendicular to the back fence and the width of the desired cut, cut the piece from one side, flip it over and complete the cut from the other side. My saw travels about 15" so I can easily make cuts up to about twice that this way.

I have essentially the same saw and started with it in 1968. I have replaced the bearings in the motor once. I did a lot of different things with it including mounting a drill chuck on the opposite end of the motor and using it like a horizontal drill press. I also have a variable dado cutter (wobble blade type) for it, rotary and drum sanding attachments , a molding head blade, and a rotary plainer device that scarred the hell out of me to use.

One problem that I had with the saw was ripping lumber and keeping the saw square for cross cuts. Every time I did any ripping I had to re-align the saw before doing any cross cuts. Today the saw is uses only for cross cuts which it does very precisely.

Push boards on a RAS should be considered sacrificial and ride flat on the table against the fence - not on top of it. Simply stop pushing once the cut is finished. When the end of the push board starts to get chewed up, trim the end of it off the next time you have the saw set up in cross-cut mode. This procedure is described in Chapter 4 of "How to Master the Radial Arm Saw" by Wally Kunkel - AKA "Mr. Sawdust".

When ripping a narrow piece off a large piece of stock, it is generally safer to keep the larger piece next to the fence and let the smaller piece fall off the unsupported side. (The same is true on a table saw.) Kunkel describes a tragic accident that occurred when a guy didn't properly position the guard and anti-kickback pawls before ripping a thin strip off of a full sheet of plywood. (The guard is properly position in the above photos.) When he reached the end of the cut, he apparently put pressure on the lead end of the thin strip which caused the tail end to kick back and strike and kill his young son who was standing behind the blade. I should note that the same thing can happen the same way on a table saw - especially one that doesn't have a splitter or guard.

Thanks Everyone for your interest, advice and comments. Some specific replies follow:

LittleShaver: That is interesting. It was last summer when I had to rip some ten foot long 1×4 in half that I fell in love with my radial arm saw. Last fall, I started restoring my 1960 ish Craftsman 113.29003 and it's been totally operational since February 2018. Different strokes I guess.

Smitty_Cabinetshop and Fred Hargis: Thanks

AAL: I think rubber is a great idea. I didn't have any at the time, so I glued some sandpaper on the bottom. I also drove a small finishing nail into the bottom and left the head protruding about 1/16" so it can catch the back end of the workpiece

Ocelot: I got my saw from my father in law around the year 2000: don't know when he bought it. I remember back when I first got it, I found it delightful to crosscut but I had to read the manual for a long time to figure out how to rip. I really didn't use it for ripping much, but needed to last summer and that's when I fall back in love with the saw.

Jimintx: You are very kind! Glad you like this style. I did get the results I was looking for: six identical pieces.

LesB: Wow! You've been using your same saw for a very long time. Glad to hear it's still working well for you. That crosscut alternative is a good one. If I was only cutting one piece or if each piece was a different size, I would probably do it that way too. I was trying to get six identical so the rip operation seemed like the best way to go. I have several of those accessories you mentioned, but haven't yet tried any but the dado. I look forward to it though. In regards to getting your saw back to square for crosscuts, I wonder if the column/arm index got too gummed up to work properly? I totally restored my saw so now it's working like new. With the knowledge I gained from Jon Eakes "Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw" and with the saw in good working order, I can always return it back to position for a precise cross-cut. Sounds like you are happy leaving it locked in crosscut position, so I won't encourage you to change that.

Ohtimberwolf: Thanks for the caution. When I set out to learn all I could about radial arm saws, I ran into many, many cautions about it. I'm grateful for that because it's caused me to be very careful which is important around all power tools, especially a radial arm saw.

Roy Turbett: Great Advice. Previously, I found that when I pushed from the back only the board tended to wander away from the fence. Looking at the Mr. Sawdust book, I see the pusher board in the diagram is pretty wide. It could be that my push sticks were too narrow. Next time I need to rip, I'll try a wide push board. This will be a better solution if I can get it to work. As far as having the keeper piece fall off the side … I was trying to make six identical pieces, so I prefer to leave the blade fixed in place and keep pushing the ever diminishing source through until it's used up.

MagicalMichael and Sparks500: If you are convinced something is inherently unsafe, it's best for you not to have one around. Good luck!

update 5/6/2018

I needed to rip two short/narrow pieces yesterday and I did it like Roy suggested. The pusher is wider than the workpiece and there is a stop block on top. The stop block is arranged so that when it hits the blade guard, your workpiece has cleared the blade. To use, start feeding the piece by hand and then use the pusher to finish. When the stop block hits the guard, stop and turn off the saw. Once the blade stops, pull the pusher back and retrieve your work. It worked great! Thanks Roy!!

This setup works nice and easy and safe for making thin strips on the radial arm saw. You can adapt it for any width you want. I originally came across this in an ancient hard cover Popular Mechanics set I inherited from my pépère but this is identical. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/10/25/ripping-thin-strips-on-the-radial-arm-saw

- Padriac Riley

Click to expand...

Thanks for adding to this old thread!! The link you gave us is a bit vague. I'm hoping you could add a few pictures showing how you actually use that jig. How do you actually push the workpiece through?

The article you referenced says he was ruining pieces because they lifted up in the front. I wonder if he knew that you are supposed to lower the guard so that it's just a little bit above the workpiece and that will keep the work from coming up very far off the table. I concede there is about a 2 inch space between the edge of the guard and the front of the blade where the guard would not stop it from rising: this jig solves that problem.

I think the jig could be made better/safer if you did this
- make it the full length of the fence
- attach it permanently to a fence so the whole thing can be substituted for the regular fence
- add an opening so that the anti-kickback device could be used

I've been using the method suggested by Roy Turbett and documented on my 5/6/2018 update without trouble. It's much better than my original solution.