Drill chuck for Radial Arm Saw

My Craftsman RAS purchased in 1975 has a threaded shaft on the back
side of the saw motor that will turn in the correct direction. I use
my drill chuck to hold a small grinding wheel or drill bits before I
got a drill press. I tried using it for a router, but you are right it
doesn't work very well.

willshak wrote:

> I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
> that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
> to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits.
> Does anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an
> occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>
Yup, I have one that I can probably put my hands on. If one of the
previous responders can't find theirs, let me know. Remove the "mahalo"
from my email. It's freeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
mahalo,
jo4hn

Toller wrote:
> "jo4hn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>willshak wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>>>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>>>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>>>anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>>>woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
>>>Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>>>
>>
>>Yup, I have one that I can probably put my hands on. If one of the
>>previous responders can't find theirs, let me know. Remove the "mahalo"
>>from my email. It's freeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
>
>
> I just bought one for $5 and thought that was a great deal. But free!?!?
> Of course, I haven't found a need for it yet, which might be why you are
> giving it away...
>
>
The RAS was my second power tool (after an ancient scroll saw), so I
used it as a boring machine. Worked OK until I bought an actual drill
press. I would like reimbursement for shipping charges unless anybody
wants to drive up to paradise to collect it.
smile,
jo4hn

Tom Cavanagh wrote:
> I've got an older Craftsman RAS which I bought a Jacobs 1/2" chuck with 5/8"
> thread for mounting. I don't think I'd attempt routing with it either but
> it does work well for drilling holes in long pieces. Might not be worth the
> expense for limited use. YMMV
> Tom
> "willshak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>> that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>> to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>> anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>> woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
>> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>> In Hamptonburgh, NY
>> To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'
>>
>
>
>
Thanks for all who responded for the info. I have a drill press, and a
router and router table. I was just lazy about mounting the router in
the table whenever I had to do some routing. I don't have a big shop. As
a matter of fact, I don't have a shop at all, it's just a 12' x 16' shed
that shares the space with everything else that will fit in there,
including a tractor, other power equipment, and other lawn and garden
tools. The shed is fed by a heavy duty extension cord from the garage
next door. Whenever I have to use something, I have to move other stuff
to get to it. The radial arm saw is the most accessible, doesn't have to
be moved, and doesn't have a lot of stuff piled on it. :-)

--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

willshak wrote:[snip]
Whenever I have to use something, I have to move other stuff
> to get to it. The radial arm saw is the most accessible, doesn't have to
> be moved, and doesn't have a lot of stuff piled on it. :-)
>
DAMHIKT but do NOT under any circumstances pile anything on the RAS
table. That sucker has to be perpendicular to the blade at all times
and readjusting it is a PITA.
BTDT,
jo4hn

"Larry Kraus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...


> I don't think you will find such a chuck for your saw. Most radial arm
> saw arbors (left-hand threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
> to) rotate in the wrong direction for conventional router bits. Also,
> most such motors rotate at about 3450 rpm, which is about one third to
> one sixth of the speed router bits are designed for. Years ago, one
> manufacturer (PowerKraft?) made a RAS that could use router bits, but
> it used a geared shaft on the opposite side of the motor that ran at
> about 18,000 rpm.
>

The chuck threads on to the right hand side of the motor, not the arbor
side. I have one and used the RAS and chuck and drill bit as a horizontal
boring machine.

I agree w/Morris, I have an old Craftsman (1972) RAS. It has a threaded
shaft on the opposite end from the blade. I thought it was neat, but soon
discovered that it is almost useless. I did use it for some small sander I
had, but it is too slow for just about anything else.

"Morris Dovey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> willshak (in [email protected]) said:
>
> | I'm just an occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
>
> I don't agree. Runout and bit retention could be problems with a cheap
> 3-jaw chuck. A collet holder would be a much better solution - but you
> won't find routing with the spindle speed limited to sawblade RPMs
> very satisfying.
>
> If you really want/need to do routing operations, you'll almost
> certainly get better results with an inexpensive router. Even for only
> occasional use, it'd be worth the money spent for the router.
>
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USA
> http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto
>
>

I've got an older Craftsman RAS which I bought a Jacobs 1/2" chuck with 5/8"
thread for mounting. I don't think I'd attempt routing with it either but
it does work well for drilling holes in long pieces. Might not be worth the
expense for limited use. YMMV
Tom
"willshak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>
> --
> Bill
> In Hamptonburgh, NY
> To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

I have a shaper attachment for mine along with a jig saw did not know there
was a drill attachment

Al

"willshak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>
> --
> Bill
> In Hamptonburgh, NY
> To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

willshak (in [email protected]) said:

| I'm just an occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.

I don't agree. Runout and bit retention could be problems with a cheap
3-jaw chuck. A collet holder would be a much better solution - but you
won't find routing with the spindle speed limited to sawblade RPMs
very satisfying.

If you really want/need to do routing operations, you'll almost
certainly get better results with an inexpensive router. Even for only
occasional use, it'd be worth the money spent for the router.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

"jo4hn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> willshak wrote:
>
>> I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>> that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>> to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>> anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>> woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
>> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>>
> Yup, I have one that I can probably put my hands on. If one of the
> previous responders can't find theirs, let me know. Remove the "mahalo"
> from my email. It's freeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I just bought one for $5 and thought that was a great deal. But free!?!?
Of course, I haven't found a need for it yet, which might be why you are
giving it away...

In addition to the advice you have gotten from others, I might also
add that a drill chuck is not designed to handle side loads. If you
were to try to do any routing using a drill chuck, you would probably
find the router bit quickly walking out of the chuck. Even at "low"
speeds, that can get real exciting.

Regards,
Ed

On Thu, 04 May 2006 20:05:08 -0400, willshak <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits.
>Does anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an
>occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
>Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"

willshak wrote:
> I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill
> chuck that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are
> attached to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach
> router bits. Does anyone know what chuck I should be looking for?
> I'm just an occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.

You can get router collet chucks for your saw from Sears. As others said,
the saw won't rout well at all so I wouldn't bother.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&p
id=00903239000&tab=des#tabs

However, that shaft *is* handy for other things...sanding drums, standard
drill chuck. The shaft is 1/2" X 20 thread.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Sears has a special part for this. I purchased one years ago. Maybe I can
find it, if I can I would be happy to send it to you, since once I found out
the RAS motor does not rotate fast enough for routing, I ended up putting
this away to gather dust.

I think my RAS motor speed is around 3400 rpm. I would not attempt to use a
router below 10,000 rpm.

I recall a feature of a competitor was a much faster motor speed which would
enable using this for practical routing.

Dave Paine.

"willshak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits. Does
>anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an occasional
>woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything "whatchamacallits"
>
> --
> Bill
> In Hamptonburgh, NY
> To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

Tyke Wrote:
> Sears has a special part for this. I purchased one years ago. Maybe I
> can
> find it, if I can I would be happy to send it to you, since once I
> found out
> the RAS motor does not rotate fast enough for routing, I ended up
> putting
> this away to gather dust.
>
> I think my RAS motor speed is around 3400 rpm. I would not attempt to
> use a
> router below 10,000 rpm.
>
> I recall a feature of a competitor was a much faster motor speed which
> would
> enable using this for practical routing.
>
> Dave Paine.
>
> "willshak" [email protected] wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill
> chuck
> that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are
> attached
> to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits.
> Does
> anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an
> occasional
> woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.
> Excuse any incorrect nomenclature. I call everything
> "whatchamacallits"
>
> --
> Bill
> In Hamptonburgh, NY
> To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'
I used the 1/2 in. chuck off my DeWalt 18 volt drill.


--
monkeydave

willshak <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have an old Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. I want to get a drill chuck
>that will screw onto the threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
>to. I guess it is 5/8" diameter. I only want to attach router bits.
>Does anyone know what chuck I should be looking for? I'm just an
>occasional woodworker, so I don't need a high end chuck.

I don't think you will find such a chuck for your saw. Most radial arm
saw arbors (left-hand threaded shaft that the saw blades are attached
to) rotate in the wrong direction for conventional router bits. Also,
most such motors rotate at about 3450 rpm, which is about one third to
one sixth of the speed router bits are designed for. Years ago, one
manufacturer (PowerKraft?) made a RAS that could use router bits, but
it used a geared shaft on the opposite side of the motor that ran at
about 18,000 rpm.

Depending on your need, you may want to look for a molding head,
guard, and knives with appropriate profiles. This can work well on a
RAS. Or consider an affordable router.

"willshak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Whenever I have to use something, I have to move other stuff to get to it.

Story of my life... ;-) At least the freezer finally died.

-- Mark