Description
This article is from the Woodworking FAQ
Collection 1, by multiple authors.
01 Should I buy a table saw or a radial arm saw?
Table saws work best for ripping. Radial arm saws work best for
crosscutting, but are limited by their arm's length. Both
saws will perform both tasks. The radial arm is more adaptable for
non-sawing tasks. For instance, overhead routing, surface planing, and
drum sanding attachments are available for some radial arm saws. You
can buy a disk sanding attachment for use on most table saws.
Ripping on the radial arm saw is difficult because it is necessary
to push the lumber under the motor housing. This problem can be
minimized by use of pushsticks and holddown wheels. Maximum rip width
is normally limited by the length of the arm. Building a secondary rip
fence on the other side of the table from the column will enable you to
rip wider pieces, but the off-cut piece width is then limited. Radial
arm saws are more prone to overheating during rips in thick wood since
the teeth stay in the cut longer, unless you cut substantially into
the table top and even then there is no place for the sawdust to exit.
Crosscutting on the table saw is difficult because it is tough to
keep a board much longer than 4 ft square to the blade. This
problem can be minimized by building a good sliding panel cutter. Some
table saws have built-in sliding tables, and aftermarket sliding table
attachments are available for most saws. A couple of saws have sliding
arbors, enabling them to work as inverted radial arm saws. The arbors
typically don't slide as far as the length of many radial arms (for a
review of 2 of these saws, see the April 1992 issue of FWW).
Both saws are capable of accurate work. The radial arm saw, with its
cantilevered arm attached to a cantilevered column, is typically less
rigid than the table saw, which usually have their arbor trunions
bolted to the table in a wide pattern. Worn arm bearing in radial arm
saws can also contribute to wander in the cut. In table saws, play of
the miter gauge bar will adversely affect accuracy.
Both table saws and radial arm saws need to be aligned to work
optimally. There are more aligning tasks to be performed on a radial
arm saw than on a table saw. Radial arm saws typically require
realignment more frequently than table saw, perhaps because of the
stresses put on the cantilevered assemblies.
Radial arm saws don't need as much space around them as table saws for
performing equivalent tasks. On the radial arm saw, boards are always
oriented the same way whether you are ripping or crosscutting, so you
need space to the left and right of the blade, and only as wide as the
widest board you're cutting. On the table saws, boards are oriented at
right angles depending on whether you're ripping or crosscutting. Thus,
you need space in front and in back for ripping, and to the left and
right as well for crosscutting.
It seems to be easier to engineer and manufacture a table saw than a
radial arm saw, which has more moving parts that must withstand large
forces without deflection or play. It can therefore be argued that if
you're on a budget, a cheap table saw may work better for you than a
cheap radial arm saw.
Some people say the radial arm saw is more dangerous because the blade
is exposed above the work surface, and because the blade's location
varies as the cut progresses. Angled crosscutting is particularly
dangerous since the blade is now cutting where one normally holds the
work. The spin direction of the blade tends to lift the work off of
the table when ripping, and can pull the carriage into the work
(resulting in binding of the saw or serious injury to a careless
operator) in the crosscut position. So-called "safety-blades" have
a shoulder in front of each tooth, thus limiting the amount of pull
generated and reducing these tendencies.
Some people say the table saw is more dangerous because you can't
see where the blade is like you can with the radial arm saw. On the
other hand, the blade is always in the same spot on the table. The
spin action of the table saw's blade tends to keep the work down on
the table, but it can also throw the work, and off-cuts, back at the
operator.
Both machines are very dangerous and should be treated with much
respect.
As with all tool buying decisions, you should consider your intended
applications, both now and in the future. The general consensus is that
if you're building things like jungle gyms, house additions, or trim
work (moldings), a radial arm saw may be best. If you're building
things like fine furniture or cabinets, a table saw may be more a
more appropriate choice.
A number of people have reported that the addition of a motorized
miter box to a table saw is a satisfying combination.
Taunton Press publishes a softcover book titled "Fine Woodworking on
The Small Workshop." It contains a number of articles on designing and
buying equipment for small shops, but is geared to furnituremaking.
The majority of the recommendations are for getting a table saw first,
with one writer claiming a bandsaw is the first tool to buy.
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