> Thanks for the idea Paul I guess with a Radial arm saw the blade direction
> will be pussing the work down a back which would stop any kick back as you
> would get from a table saw.

When cross cutting (which is what a radial arm saw is for) the blade will push down and back since you pull the saw across the board. When ripping, you feed the board to the saw and the teeth are on the 'upswing' and will tend to lift the board, not push it down. I'm not saying that you can't rip with a good radial arm. It's just my opinion that a table saw is better. If you have both, use the table saw. If you have neither, and you plan to buy one to rip strips, buy a table saw.