Posted by Patrick on December 11, 1997 at 14:51:53:
In Reply to: Radial Arm or Table Saw posted by Bill Slifko on November 03, 1997 at 16:36:44:
: I would like to buy a good saw for all around home
: use. Problem is I don't know whether a Radial Arm
: Saw or a Table Saw would be the best choice. Could
: anyone who has worked with both advise me? I was
: under the impression that pulling the saw over the
: work would be safer than pushing the work over the
: saw. Also if possible please advise me regarding
: a good brand name of saw.
: Thanks, wslifko@imap.pitt.edu
I think this depends on the type of work you are
doing and also on yourself. Though the saws are
similar in many respects, they really are different
tools. It's hard to beat a radial arm saw when making
a dado (crosscut direction) in the middle of a very
long board. On the other hand, most people find
the table saw much easier to keep cutting square. A
sliding panel cutter with a table saw is really
handy for sheet goods. Most people end up going with
the table saw, and for most people this is a good
decision. If your shop space is very limited, you
can do just about anything with a radial arm saw,
but it's a much more fussy tool to keep aligned. I
don't know if one is safer than the other (and they
are both potentially very dangerous). One
should follow ALL of the saftey instructions ALL
of the time with any power tool.