Black & Decker Radial Arm Saw Value
Fingrs
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Hello, all. Just got back from a wood-buying excursion that proved to be a bust. However, the seller had an old Black & Decker “Commercial Duty” radial arm saw sitting in his shed. Since my 10″ Craftsman is pretty much shot, and I don’t want to spend many hundreds of $$ replacing it, I gave the guy $100 for the saw. It’s a model 7770, probably made in the 60s. It has a DeWalt label on the blade guard. The saw seems solid and tight, once I get the rust off and replace the wiring. Oh. And it has what looks like very old, dried puddles of blood on the upper arm. I’ll don some rubber gloves and chlorox that away.
Anybody have any experience with this saw? Hopefuly it’s not a total dog…
Replies
You know what the nickname for ras saws are? The widow maker! I wonder who met their untimely death at the hands of that there saw. Aaaahhhhrrr! Sorry, I just watched pirates of the Caribbean with the Kids.
I have an old 12" and it works great for crosscutting. The rails the the saw runs on are cast iron. It makes a big difference what they are made of and the bearings for the carriage.
Seems the "blood" was actually some very persistent brown paint...just the right color!
Since I sent the original message I've been tinkering with the saw, and find it has cast iron rails, as you noted, and excellent bearings. When fired up it sounds really sweet; I noticed I can wire it for 220 which should make a positive difference.
I suspect that horses were stronger in the old days. This 40 year-old 2 1/4 HP motor seems way more powerful than the 2 1/2 HP in my 1984-vintage Craftsman.
My guess is the 7770 was probably a late 70's early 80's model. If I remember right, it should have an automatic blade brake, 3" depth of cut and a 14" crosscut. It should also be a dual voltage motor.
I think this was their "top of the line" consumer/light commercial machine. I used their bottom line 10" saw for over 20 years and was perfectly happy with it.
That all sounds right although I thought it was older. Glad you had good service from yours.
Would you agree that I should re-wire it for 220v.?
Definately rewire. My experience with my 60's vintage DW RAS was that it got up to full power much faster and never bogged down when wired 220 - even ripping Oak all day long (yes, it IS safe, but you gotta to it right!).
I'm not absolutely certain when De Walt changed the model designations of their saws. Earlier models had three digits. I'm guessing the age of your saw will be similar to mine. I don't think they made them too much longer after I purchased mine (5 years?).
Contrary to what is now in vogue, I still think if I could only have one saw it would be a RAS. Like any tool you have to use caution, be attentive and use the guards provided. People used to ask me what was the "best" saw to have. My response always was "BOTH." With the shortage of real wood and the increased use of sheet goods, the table saw has probably got the edge over the RAS because of the amount of ripping, but that's ok. I still love my RAS!
If you have 220 available, I would definitely rewire. If nothing else, the motor should run cooler and last longer.
If I can be of any further help, don't hesitate to e-mail.
Good luck and happy sawing.
Radial are saw are one of the most under rated tools out there. Check out this site http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=woodbutcher&nav=start&prettyurl=%2Fwoodbutcher%2Fstart
These guys are nuts about RAS. Lots of Information on older machines.
Mike
Thanks, Mike. That's a very useful site that has plenty of info on the RAS I bought.
Lofton
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