De Walt DW1751 Radial Arm Saw - needs riving knife & anti-kickback arm

[DavidWoodman]

My old RAS still lacks these two important safety devices. I've been using it tentatively so far, however would really be much happier with them.

I've tried searching for the right parts on eBay and a few tool websites, but no luck. Can anyone suggest a likely source?

Any help much appreciated!

 

[Noel]

Hi David, do you rip with it or just cross cut?

 

[Sideways]

That's a very appropriate question.
Having owned a dewalt 1501 RAS and tried ripping with it a handful of times, I'd avoid that like the plague. It just isn't very good and "ugly" in use.
These smaller RASs just aren't rigid enough, are too hard to get exactly parallel to the fence and pushing timber over a baseboard will never be as low friction as across the top of a tablesaw. Almost any handheld circular saw will do a better job.
If you stick to crosscutting then the missing parts don't matter.

 

[MF1000]

My RAS pre dates this model and has no blade guard and the on/off switch is on the arm itself. By taking care in its use and being aware of the blade etc it can be used perfectly safely …..I’ve ripped the edge of some boards ok but down the centre of a board etc is a tricky operation and I too would use my handheld circular saw for that.

 

[DavidWoodman]

Hi David, do you rip with it or just cross cut?

Mostly cross cutting; however, I've also ripped a lot of larch boards down the middle. Most of my work is for garden/landscaping and precision is less important, so I've not found the saw's alignment a problem.
When I've ripped a long board, I usually have a helper to hold the board. It's certainly not for the faint hearted.

 

[DavidWoodman]

That's a very appropriate question.
Having owned a dewalt 1501 RAS and tried ripping with it a handful of times, I'd avoid that like the plague. It just isn't very good and "ugly" in use.
These smaller RASs just aren't rigid enough, are too hard to get exactly parallel to the fence and pushing timber over a baseboard will never be as low friction as across the top of a tablesaw. Almost any handheld circular saw will do a better job.
If you stick to crosscutting then the missing parts don't matter.

Thanks for your advice! Yes, I agree about using a circular saw; with a rail or guide it takes a bit longer to set up than the RAS, but is easier to use.
I've found the RAS better for ripping multiple boards the same width - not so easy to get done with the circular saw.

 

[Sideways]

For the anti kickback assembly at the front of the saw, it might be worth investigating if the equivalent part from the current dewalt 300mm saw will fit.
They are a very simple thing, a length of square U section channel with a slot for the clamping bolt and a set of anti kickback fingers on the end. Parts Q D L below.
I vaguely recall these being attached via a pivot bolt in case you want to rip a bevel cut.
My guess is that they won't have redesigned the assembly much if at all over the years so the current version may fit.

This snip from an old manual roughly shows the parts.
The riving knife is much more complex. If you have the assembly B and H that allows the riving knife to be rotated up into the blade guard then someone with the same model saw could take theirs out and draw around it for you. You could then file one up out of the correct thickness steel plate.

If you are missing the entire assembly then best bet is to look for a cheap / dead donor saw. RASs are not so favoured these days. I gave my near mint 1501 away because I was fed up with it and they were fetching very little 2nd hand.

 

[Thingybob]

Hi David I too am a RAS owner and refurbished mine a few years ago and was very lucky to find those parts on this site with a post in wanted . I posted the rebuild of the head on here as I had to make most of the parts myself , Question David the badge on the saw head says DW1751 and the number on the arm says DW1370 has the machine been made up from two models ?

 

[TRITON]

I hate these, they just scare the bejesus out of me

 

[DavidWoodman]

Hi David I too am a RAS owner and refurbished mine a few years ago and was very lucky to find those parts on this site with a post in wanted . I posted the rebuild of the head on here as I had to make most of the parts myself , Question David the badge on the saw head says DW1751 and the number on the arm says DW1370 has the machine been made up from two models ?

Maybe, though I was given it a few years back from a friend who himself inherited it many years earlier, so history is unknown. Do you know what the differences are between the 1751 and the 1370?

 

[DavidWoodman]

For the anti kickback assembly at the front of the saw, it might be worth investigating if the equivalent part from the current dewalt 300mm saw will fit.
They are a very simple thing, a length of square U section channel with a slot for the clamping bolt and a set of anti kickback fingers on the end. Parts Q D L below.
I vaguely recall these being attached via a pivot bolt in case you want to rip a bevel cut.
My guess is that they won't have redesigned the assembly much if at all over the years so the current version may fit.
View attachment 162011

This snip from an old manual roughly shows the parts.
The riving knife is much more complex. If you have the assembly B and H that allows the riving knife to be rotated up into the blade guard then someone with the same model saw could take theirs out and draw around it for you. You could then file one up out of the correct thickness steel plate.

If you are missing the entire assembly then best bet is to look for a cheap / dead donor saw. RASs are not so favoured these days. I gave my near mint 1501 away because I was fed up with it and they were fetching very little 2nd hand.

Many thanks, that's a good idea for me to ponder more! Much appreciate your help on this!

 

[HOJ]

I have a RAS, and in my view these ELU/Dewalt saws should never have been sold as a machine that could be used for anything but cross cutting, when I bought mine all these fittings went in a box and have never seen the light of day since, I wont offer them up either.

My advice is, buy a table saw if you are ripping timber regularly or as suggested use a handheld circular saw.

 

[TRITON]

According to my googling, this seller had a riving knife but it appears it was ended unsold.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/myshed2018Info here
https://picclick.co.uk/Dewalt-Radial-Arm-Saw-250mm-Dia-Riving-Knife-123505525400.htmlHe might have listed it a few times then gave up and chucked it in a drawer. So maybe dropping him a line might produce results.

 

[Doug71]

I had a DeWalt RAS for a while, it came with the moulding head etc but I only ever used the saw for cross cutting.

Something like this is great for rough ripping.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30500887...Aa2mxEc|tkp:Bk9SR6SxwoClYg&LH_ItemCondition=4

 

[Thingybob]

Maybe, though I was given it a few years back from a friend who himself inherited it many years earlier, so history is unknown. Do you know what the differences are between the 1751 and the 1370?

My model is the DW8001 that takes a 300mm dia saw blade though I run a 250mm blade but if you go on to the Miles tool site you can down load drawings of many DeWalt RAS tables although most parts are no longer available it should show the difference between a 1571 and a 1307 .

 

[Thingybob]

David as you can see from photos the handle on my saw is on a different plane to yours and you can see some of the parts I had to make also a shot of the riving knife set up . I also managed to find the router bracket to mount my Elu router which is very handy

 

[clogs]

long time ago,
I bought 3 of these saws in a prof workshop clear out.....good riddance and and a nice profit.......
bought a new dewalt 305mm sliding chop saw.......what a difference.....

the design comes from the land of the Dado blade, another disaster waiting to happen for the unwary.......

 

[DavidWoodman]

David as you can see from photos the handle on my saw is on a different plane to yours and you can see some of the parts I had to make also a shot of the riving knife set up . I also managed to find the router bracket to mount my Elu router which is very handy View attachment 162048View attachment 162047View attachment 162046View attachment 162045

Many thanks this is very helpful!

 

[jimbobwakes123]

Hi David, ive got a couple of these dewalt ras and i do believe i have a spare riving knife. Drop me a PM