Well, maybe not, but spend $40 on one of these! I saw them in another thread, and had to give them a try. They really do work. http://hawksawblades.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MD725 I got lucky, this place is only about 2 miles from my office. I used the 40 tooth on 1/4" steel, cut as easy as a soft wood 1x4! The steel was cool to the touch as claimed, but definitely wear a face shield, the chips aren't!i forgot to lower it once and learned real quick! I also got the 68 tooth for thin sheetmetal, cut galv. 20 guage as fast as I could push the saw with no burring or bending of the edge. Both were with a 15 amp Dewalt standard circular saw, not a fancy metal-cutting saw. Anyone who has read my rants about cheap Chineese tools knows that this made me smile. I know this was posted before, but I was so impressed I wanted to let others know about it. Best $40 I've spent in a long time.
says it works on standard "circular" saws. definately going to have to get one of those, thanks for the tip Richard.
http://hawksawblades.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TSBS&Category_Code=CSB They come 5 3/8" thru 14", so you could run them in anything from a cordless circular saw to a compound miter saw.
We use one at my work (Fab shop), but it is a purpose built saw made by Milwaukee. Looks like a slightly fancier version of a Milwaukee chop saw. It is a unbelievable improvement on Abrasive chop-saws though, no doubt about it. Blades are pretty expensive for the one we have, but the quality of the cut makes it worth it.
No, I love my chopsaw, not gonna do it. Petejoe was just telling me last night how he loved me for my chopsaw! ha ha ha Thanks for the tip Richard D, looks handy for outside the garage mods. EDIT: Oooh, they are made by Morse, that is a company here in town (Canton, OH). I wonder if I can get them at a good rate? woohoo
I've tried similar blades, and found them severly lacking- as in they only lasted about a dozen cuts. I'd like to see how long yours holds an edge before I try another. Also-do you know if they can be sharpened, and if so how much?
Put one in your "Skil" or circular saw but PUL-E-EZE don't use one on your radial arm saw. Those things are dangerous enough even when cutting wood. I have one and watch it like a snake. They "climb" cut and like to pull out your control.
I see someone mentioned a compound miter saw, a word of experince here. I bought one at H. Depot put a cutoff wheel type blade in it and started cutting some tubing. Before I knew it the sparks started melting the plastic parts of the saw near the laser light..lol So don't try it in a saw with plastic parts.
My experience with the cutoff-wheel type blades in a miter saw is the same... That said, this blade is designed to 'chip' through the metal rather than 'burning' through it... Actually they both chip but this blade makes bigger chips and should make considerably less heat. It might prevent the plastic from melting... Someone will have to try it I guess...
Just a couple of things to note.....Check the rpm's of the saw IT"S IMPORTANT with these blades too fast and they dont work. We have been using the 14" version for a while now. We use a special metal saw with the correct rpm range. Do not use these blades on a standard chop saw... One other good thing is they are sharpenable. When you lose a tooth change the blade right then. Dont wait it will just cost more to sharpen it.
I think the "real" ones that look like a metal abrasive chop saw turn at a different speed. As for sharpening them, carbide is hard to sharpen and most sharpening places can sharpen carbide blades but it costs a little more. Usually, however, with the price of sharpening a cheap carbide blade it's just a bit more to buy a new blade. When I say "cheap" I talking about the woodworking world. Most guys only have their good blades sharpened and those could be anywhere from $100-$200. I use the $30-$50 and just chuck them when they go dull. I would ***ume this applies to these type blades too. I'll have to say, I can see some of the advantages this type of blade would offer over the standard abrasive type. Like everyone else, I would be real curious as to how long they'd last....keep us posted!
i'm intrigued but definitely skeptical on wear. keep us posted on how the thing ages... abrasive wheels do ****. luckily i have acces to a huge do-all horizontal when i need to make more than a few cuts..
Yep! I've tried them. They work good until you lose a carbide off a tip, then it all goes down hill pretty fast. I used my chop saw for notching tube alot, and this made for some clean cuts but you had to watch how steep you got it. Otherwise BOOM.
The 14" Milwaukee saw that comes with this kind of blade runs at about 1/2 the RPM of the same size chop saw and the blade has carbide tips. If you're running at high speed, your blades aren't going to last very long. And the same is true if the blade is tool steel vs. carbide. As for chop saws in general, they are not good for welding fabrication since they leave behind particles that will contaminate your weld. If you clean it up with a file or something else before welding it should be ok. A metal cutting saw is a better way to go.
yep, , , these things kick *** and take names. i was kinda on the "prove it" side till i got one. MAN what a difference. far as a radial arm saw goes, those are no different than a table saw. respect for em and it all goes OK... just make sure its tuned well, runs right and have a decent fence and material hold downs. complacency gets your fingers shortened fast... just ask me, i know first hand
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