: Mike- I can't help you with any advice about saw prices, but I would like to
: ask you how you've got your radial arm saw set up to do strips. I have no
: table saw, and the nearest one I can mooch time on is almost an hour away.
: I do, however, have a radial arm disassembled in my basement. I'd always
: thought it would be too dangerous to rip strips on a radial arm. Can you
: enlighten me?-Greg

Greg- The setup is not as safe as having a table saw, but that is primarily because the entire blade of the radial arm saw is exposed above the table. I am certainly not an expert on safety (although I do possess all my fingers) so if someone wants to respond explaining why my setup is still dangerous, I'm open to it.

To rip strips I simply bought two 8 foot lengths of cheap shelving material to use as an infeed and an outfeed. I used two straight 2x4's screwed to one side of the infeed/outfeed which made up a 16 foot fence. I screwed this right onto the table of the radial arm saw. Then I simply pivoted the blade of the saw and set it 1/4" from the fence. Most importantly, you need a tight fingerboard clamped to the fence to hold the board down on the table as the saw wants to lift it up and make it chatter. With another fingerboard holding the board against the fence, and a good push-stick, you're all set.
Hope this helps. -Mike