Wheelchair User,Radial Arm Table Height

[Gimpp]

I recently got my shop build (man I love sayin that) and wet to my favorite toy store Home Depot.
I bought one of rigid's 10" radial arm saws.I have finished putting it together and checking that all adjustments are right according to the manual.The one Big thing I noticed after setting it up and doing the rest was the height of the table and also the arm of the saw.I am in a wheelchair and tryin to check adjustments on the arm or installing parts was very difficult.Went back to Home Depot and they were not a lot of help.Question is...will any other stand from other equipment work with the radial arm saw?
I noticed table saws and other power equipment that was lower to the ground and looked like the saw would fit in them.The salesman did point out the fact that the radial arm's feet were spaced wider apart..possibly for balance?I love this saw and its features and have a lot of projects to use it on but things would be sooo much easier if it was lower to the ground for my use in wheelchair. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Gimpp

[K. L. McReynolds]

Seems to me the biggest difference in a RAS stand is designing for the weight transfer when the saw travels back and forth.

If you were to build/modify a stand and fasten it to a wall/floor, that would prevent the saw from tipping. That would also allow you to design in enough room for your chair.

HTH

[Charlie P]

I have a RAS that is about 30 years old, but looks amazingly like the Ridgid saw (or more properly, looks like an ancestor to the current Ridgid saw) (and we all know that Emerson has made tools under other brand names). 30 years ago I build a wooden stand for it that is 17 inches wide and 21 inches deep. I don't recommend a stand that small (for 30 years I have been nervous, but have never had a problem, even with casters on smaller centers than 17 x 21). But it does suggest that a smaller stand - perhaps lower and with room for a wheelchair under the table - might work fine. No promises, but I sure would give it a try.

Remember also, that if you are concerned with stability, you could build a very narrow stand but have a wide base, such as horizontal 2x4s that you could work around, that would give stability. When I put my Ridgid jointer on wheels, they weren't stable under the corners of the machine, so I built a wood base a few inches wider and put the casters on it - works like a charm.