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I just became aware of this a few weeks ago.  If you own an older Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw, your saw may be involved in a recall.

I purchased my saw in 1975 (give or take a year). I was surprised to see my saw was involved.  It came without a blade guard (lower half of blade is exposed).  Due to many injuries the maker of the saw (Emerson Tool Co) will send you a complete blade guard, new handle, and new table, free of charge, including shipping, if your saw qualifies.

Google "Craftsman Radial Arm Saw Recall" for complete info.  They list model #'s of the saws that qualify.  If your saw does not have guard and does not qualify they will send you $100 if you send them certain parts of saw.

My saw qualified and my kit is on the way.  Note:  I've had my saw for over 30 years and never had a safety issue with it, but can't become careless, gotta be careful as with any saw.

Some guy made a nice YouTube video of installing this kit.

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Gary,

Adjustments can be made to the track/rail system to take up the slack.

It should be described in the owners manual.

The rollerhead bearings are what you want to adjust. Adjust them so that it takes about 5lb of force to move the carriage.

Here is a couple of examples of nice joints that can be made with a radial arm saw and dado blade. 

Here is the other.

Hi Gary, after reading all the radial arm saw posts I decided to take a few minutes and install the retrofit that I have had sitting in my shop since the middle of last year.  The installation of the kit was very simple and even with a complete tear down of the upper part of the saw it took me less that 45 minutes.  I removed the upper part of the arm and cleaned out all the saw dust and lubed up the carriage bearings which gave the saw a smooth operating movement forward and backward.  While I had the opportunity I adjusted the carriage bearings to remove any side to side movement and insure that there carriage was reasonable tight to the rails.

I installed the kit and as you stated in the above post you have to remove the guard in order to use a thick dado blade which again renders the saw dangerous for accidental carriage movement.  Since I seldom will use the radial for dado cuts other that a small 1/4" to 1/2" width dado that I use when making dental moldings, this would not be a problem. The dado fits within the guard without any problem.  However I do use the radial with several molding cutters in a molding cutter head and it is again a safety concern.   This will require me to again resort to the spring fix I did years ago.  

In short the only thing the retro fit did was to cure the problem when cross cutting with a blade and again only if the fence is located in such a position that the guard goes behind the fence and drops down to table top surface.     I have seen In some situations where this will not happen due to the fence being set to the extreme rear for more cross cutting distance and found on modified table tops.  It also will not be safe unless the operator is careful about returning the carriage to a position behind the fence.  This is again why I like my system as it will return the carriage to its full rear position time after time without operator having to manually return the carriage.

Although I do have a molding head guard for the radial the carriage in not secure behind the fence as there is no factory installed safety device on the molding head guard.   For safety I again depend on the spring device. 

In your above post you asked me a question about the source of the spring.  The spring I used is the type found for screen doors since it is long and allows a long pull without distortion.  I simply cut the spring to length and build a saddle that went around the back of the saws arm post and attached the other ends to the carriage using a eye bolt.  The use of the eye bolt is to allow the springs to pivot when raising the saws for different height cuts. 

Before I use the saw again I will install my safety method using new springs.  At that time  I will photograph and post it for anyone who is interested.  The saddle for the post still fits however the new safety guard needs to be modified to attach the springs.

 If you have problems with finding springs I have also fixed a couple buddies who have radials in a cabinet shops by using bungi cords. 

Another thing while on the subject what I use for a table top is the solid cord door blanks.  They are 1 & 3/8" thick and very flat and more dense than the supplied table top that comes with the saw.  I don't worry about a secondary thin layer on the top and instead just throw the worn out one away and install another door blank. These are usually free and door shops cut them out frequently for installation of a window. 
 
Gary roofner said:

Yes I am very glad I purchased this saw. I think I lucked into one of the best purchases in a while. The craftsman saws are known for their sloppy radial arm tracks but this saw is as good as my rockwell  nice and tight . I have been practicing making drawer joints using my dado set .Dado set works well with the saw however I need to find a spring to do Jays fix because  I must take the guard off to use the dado head which brings back the safety issue with the craftsman saw. The hardboard is to protect the new top. If it becomes beat up just take it off and put another piece on. I had a project that used the hardboard . I had a lot left over so made sense to use some to protect the saw table. If you can remember where you found the spring you used let me know. The main reason I bought the saw is to use with dado head for half lap joints. However I got to admit it cuts better than my sliding chop saw. Because its zero clearance cut . I haven't tried it on plywood yet.  

Lorrie have you done the retrofit to your radial arm saw? Its one of my favorite saws.

Lorrie said:

Thanks Jason.  That makes sense.  I'll make sure that I do the same.
 
Jason Watkins said:

The hardboard top serves as a replaceable surface so that you are not sawing up your tabletop.

Hi Gary,  Yes I did the retrofit on the radial arm saw.  It turned out very nice.  :)

I understand they are not giving the parts upgrade anymore  glad I got mine. Just the buy back.

I obtained a saw and was hoping to upgrade the guard. Now I see that the program just requires you to return the motor for $100. Is anyone who obtained a guard assembly (and did not use or need) wish to part with it for a reasonable price?

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