# 1959 DeWalt 925 RAS Rehab



## bendrum (Mar 21, 2014)

It's been a while since I posted anything here but do pop in and browse around frequently. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pics of a project I just completed the other night. 

I picked up the saw back in February of this year for a nice price. I got it to replace the Craftsman 9" RAS I had grown frustrated with. It needed some serious loosening but was overall in very good condition. A little PB Blaster, some motor work, some polishing, all of which meant a complete teardown, and a new table and I've got a machine that is solid and 100% straight. 

The router got a good amount of use on the table as well as my little 10" craftsman bandsaw to resaw the edge banding. For the most part, everything went very well but I did get a bit of tear out on one of the walnut edge bands by not paying attention to the grain. Oops, oh well. I'm still happy with it. 

The last two pics are from the day I brought it home. I tried to put them in the front but I didn't figure out how to rearrange my pics once they're dragged in.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

those saws were the standard of the industry in their day,every job site had a DW RAS. 
You did a good job cleaning it up and making it like brand new. That table is too nice to use in the shop. I like the drop leaf on the front,you will have to lay down protection be fore you cut to keep from scratching it up.HAHA Looks first class.
Herb


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## bendrum (Mar 21, 2014)

Herb Stoops said:


> those saws were the standard of the industry in their day,every job site had a DW RAS.
> You did a good job cleaning it up and making it like brand new. That table is too nice to use in the shop. I like the drop leaf on the front,you will have to lay down protection be fore you cut to keep from scratching it up.HAHA Looks first class.
> Herb


Thank you Herb. This is a smaller saw than the monsters you see at the lumber yards. It's a 9" and it's actually the perfect size for my needs and my very limited shop area but believe me, this little saw is built with the same standards as those monster DeWalt siblings of the 40's and 50's. The machining is impeccable and this little saw is somewhere around 160 pounds without a table. The arm is 1/2" cast iron. It really was fun to open up all of the mechanics of the saw and just see how things were made to perfection once upon a time.

I just made my first cuts today and the sacrificial top with 6 coats of polyurethane actually looks better with a 90 and 45 degree slice in it.:surprise: I know it won't look this good for long but I figured I'd have some fun with it and practice some skills (and mistakes) to incorporate into actual projects. Plus, the saw deserved this kind of treatment. I'm hoping that the better I treat it and respect it, the less likely it will be to bite me.


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## Multiwood (Feb 24, 2013)

Hi Ben. Really nice job on the saw and table, looks brand new. Never have seen a saw table that nice. 
Would like to see some pictures of your T-bird.


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## firstmuller (Aug 28, 2014)

This really looks nice. I like the folding table. How to you hold that table front up?
Allen


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## Sarge1400 (Apr 13, 2015)

As my son would say, "Dude, sweet!"
That is one fine looking piece of equipment.


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## Gerry Kiernan (Jul 19, 2007)

I have a Dewalt 9 inch RAS that is virtually identical to yours. I bought it years ago at a garage sale. It has been idle for quite a while now. You have done an excellent job of restoration, and the saw does indeed look "sweet". I am inspired to clean mine up and get it looking 100% again. One thing that really impressed me about these old Dewalt RAS is the quality of the workmanship and finish that went into them. They are a much finer built saw than a lot of newer equipment.

I like the cutting surface that you built for it, but am curious as to why the drop front. 

Gerry


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

Nice Job Ben. I have an old B&D RAS that looks very similar to the before pictures. Sounds like a fun rehab project. Maybe someday


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## senebraskaee (Apr 29, 2012)

Beautiful work. I too am wondering how you hold up the drop front on the table. I have a mint Craftsman 12" RAS from back in the day when Sears actually made things worth having, but the table is pretty large and a drop leaf would solve some of my space problems.
Nice work!


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## bendrum (Mar 21, 2014)

Knot working said:


> Hi Ben. Really nice job on the saw and table, looks brand new. Never have seen a saw table that nice.
> Would like to see some pictures of your T-bird.


Thanks for the Compliment on the saw Larry. I'd love to show the T-Bird but you wouldn't want to see it right now. It hasn't left the garage since 2010



firstmuller said:


> This really looks nice. I like the folding table. How to you hold that table front up?
> Allen


Thanks Allen. Here's a pic of the hardware for the drop leaf. This was a feature DeWalt made for the model 925's. If you look at my "before" pictures which are the last two you'll see that the original table also had the drop leaf. I just had to drill and transplant the hardware.




Sarge1400 said:


> As my son would say, "Dude, sweet!"
> That is one fine looking piece of equipment.


Thank you Sarge1400



Gerry Kiernan said:


> I have a Dewalt 9 inch RAS that is virtually identical to yours. I bought it years ago at a garage sale. It has been idle for quite a while now. You have done an excellent job of restoration, and the saw does indeed look "sweet". I am inspired to clean mine up and get it looking 100% again. One thing that really impressed me about these old Dewalt RAS is the quality of the workmanship and finish that went into them. They are a much finer built saw than a lot of newer equipment.
> Gerry


Thank you Gerry. If you decide to get yours up and running you will have a fine cutting machine. If you do, you should check out "The Radial Arm Saw Discussion Forum" It's all about DeWalt RAS's as well as Deltas and some others. I learned a lot there and it's a great group of enthusiasts with loads of knowledge and expertise on these old saws. 
I like the cutting surface that you built for it, but am curious as to why the drop front. 



roxanne562001 said:


> Nice Job Ben. I have an old B&D RAS that looks very similar to the before pictures. Sounds like a fun rehab project. Maybe someday


Thanks Roxanne. B&D bought DeWalt from AMF somewhere in 1960 so this saw was made just before that buyout. However, they still produced some fine equipment under the new owners but eventually cheapened out on quality. But there saws from the 60's were still excellent saws.


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## 8jmwoodie (Jan 2, 2014)

Mine is a slightly newer model after they went cheaper and has no drop down table but I would like to build a similar table..thanks for the inspiration...


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## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

Very nice, Ben, I like. I have a 10" model Dewalt, and I put a 3/8 (9mm) MDF sheet as a sacrificial top on the table. Very easy, fast and cheap to replace for a new top.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice job Ben on the restoration


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