Craftsman radial arm saws best models

[Spitty]

I am planning to upgrade the 8" RAS in my shop with a better saw that will have the power to run a dado blade.
This is not a saw I use a lot, so do not want to spend as much as the old De Walt saws often fetch. It seems the Craftsman's sell at better prices (under $100) but I understand some were better than others.

Any feed back on what to look out for or ask about re: model numbers to save driving around.

 

[Spitty]

I am looking at a 1976 model 113 23111 the seller says the arm is cast iron (and weighs a ton!) It has a 12.5 amp motor.

 

[Randol]

I had one from the late 80's/early 90's that had a stamped steel arm, I didn't care for it.
Are you planning on cross cutting with the dado blade? If yes, be careful, it will want to self feed.

 

[Spitty]

My last one had the stamped steel arm, it was not so good.

Yes, I am aware of the self feeding, it seems to be worse on a saw that will 'power out' and slow down. I also prefer the wobble typ dado blades for this reason. They require less power.

I ended up buying the 10" saw in my last post for $20 I sold the old 8" for $50

 

[JC1]

Not familiar with Radial arm Saws. I think they lost their popularity a long time ago. You should be able to get one for a good price. I think the heavier ones you won't like working with alot. The other issue with radial arm saw will be the limited width of stuff you can cross cut with a dado blade.

I bought a dado blade for my table saw and I've never used it. One of these years. Other guys use a router to create dados which may be easier to do.

 

[GaryMX5]

Just a heads up, there were some craftsman radial arm saws made in the early 80's that had a major safety recall. The manufacturer for Sears had to buy saws back for 150.00 and pay shipping per a settlement. The motor and craddle had to be shipped back in a postage paid box provided by Sears. I stumbled on this about 5 years ago while seaching for some replacement parts. The saw worked fine for me for 35+ years of use. My dad had two Dewalts he bought in the 60's. My brother still uses them to this day. One of the best tools made in my opinion, did everything a miter or table saw could do....just wasn't as portable.

 

[Carbon12]

My Dad still has one from the 1970s that is still going strong. I have one that I believe is from the 80’s maybe early 90’s. Got it about 5 years ago but only used a couple times before the motor burned out. Has anyone had any luck getting the motors rebuilt?

 

[wdn]

I am going to tell you after having owned both, I now use a sliding compount mitre saw and after I got one a never used the radial arm saw again.