As I get deeper into this Hot Rod thing I find that I need better tools. What do you guys and gals suggest for a chopsaw. The precision of the cut is most important to me. Thanks as always
yep.....seen good ones & cheap ones in operation, issue seems to be blade flex. watch a saw in operation (don't forget those safety glasses!) and watch the blade as it cuts. The harder you push the blade, the more flex you get. If you get a good saw and can get used to it's particular operating quality, you ought to be able to get real close. Slow, steady pressure through the cut seems to work for me
I have a Milwaukee that is decent enough, for a chop saw....but it was made in Taiwan & I believe you can buy the same thing in an off-brand for less. The only Milwaukee tool I've got that's not US-made...dunno why they did that...
Milwaukee Electric tool is now owned by a chinese company. The chinese will own this whole country some day if we let them! I won't be buying any more of their shit. Buy older used Milwaukee tools instead or U.S. made tools. LOOK BEFORE YOU BUY.
Cold saws are nice - very precise too. The USED market will likely be your best bet for a DEAL - new they are pretty pricey.
I have a chop saw that has sat under a bench for 10 years. I use a porta band and it is perfect for everything I do. No more noise, sparks, dust, burrs etc.
Roupe- All my Milwaukee stuff IS older- the newest is maybe 5 years old, most is 10-15. The chop saw was purchased in 1993!
If money is the issue as to why your considering a chop-saw then I'd deffinately have to recommend a RIGID chop-saw. RIGID has the best chop-saws I've ever seen, they're a cast base instead of a sheetmetal base and they have a really strong 15amp motor. I just bought the 14" Abrasive cut-off to replace my Dewalt and I love it. It's extremely well put together, miters bother left/right at 45 degrees and weighs in at 51lbs. http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/14-Abrasive-Cut-Off-Machine Otherwise I'd recommend a bandsaw for sure, all you need is a 7"x12" at the largest and a Company called ELLIS manufactures some really nice ones. I'm only recommending an ELLIS because that's what I own and it's always been a great saw. I own the Ellis 1800 if your wondering. http://www.ellissaw.com/
I have a Ryobi that I bought about 18 years ago at Home Depot and I've used it a lot. It has a cast iron base and pretty powerful motor. I replaced the bolts that hold the back part of the clamp. The degree marker for angled cuts is off about 2 degrees. Once I figured out the things wrong with it though and got used to it, it works pretty good. You need a good blade and you have to play with where the work is under the blade. The blades flex a lot, so mitered cuts usually don't stay exactly on track. It has several bolt hole locations in the base so you can change where the work gets clamped. It seems to work the best if the blade comes straight down onto the center of the workpieces, rather than starting the cut at the edge of the pieces. You need a good fast cutting blade though because the junky ones just heat up the metal instead of cutting it and put a big load on the motor. With a good blade, the rpms stay up high through the whole cut. I keep expecting it to die someday, but it never does. I picked it over the other brands available back then mainly becuase it had the cast iron base, which seemed sturdier than the stamped sheet metal ones on the other brands, and because it had around a 15 amp motor.
Both Milwaukee and DeWalt make cold saws that look the same as thier chop saws, but run at a much lower speed and come with a 14" metal cutting blade (the slow speed is key to making the blade last) . No heat, no sparks, no debris in your metal (chop saw blades leave partciles that will contaminate your weld). I bought one of the Milwaukee saws a while ago, but haven't had a chance to use it. Looks like a nice piece. Can't remember the cost, but I think it was around $400.
i own a milwaukee chopsaw, which i use quite a bit on small stock (tubing, c-channel, angle iron) cause its fast and relatively accurate for lighter, thinner stuff. for longer cuts, and for large (2"x2" tube etc. . .) i use the metal blade from morse... good fuckin shit man. that said, i'd much rather have a gravity feed metal bandsaw. . . being able to gang cut multi parts cleanly and accuratly has no equal
Drop band saw is the way to go. You can get them at Harbor Fright for about $160. No sparks. Set it up right and start the saw and walk off. It will shut itself off after completion. Can also be used as a vertical bandsaw.
A chop saw has it's place.......I do kustom motorcycle exhaust...and find that the chop saw is a two in 1 speedy get the job done tool. A cold saw is a great tool too........a small jap unit (10") can be had around $700.00 about the same a s a decent vert. band saw. Is the chop saw messy & destructive.....yes......does it require a great ventilation spot.......yes.... Check E-Gay for a saw - sometime you can get a decent deal-e-o. A larger used model usually is set up for 3 phase, I've found, so a newer, smaller unit might be th key. Realize that the cold saw has more limitation than the band saw. I've got a Kalamazoo 1" blade horztl. band saw along with a Porter/Cable porta-band.........I use the porta-band soooooo much more. I use the chop saw next & then the band saw. I'm actually on the hund for a mid sized horztl. band saw now. Watch craigs list, e-gay & keep your ear to the ground with friends. PACO
What size do you consider midsize? I have a few decent horizontal bandsaws that I may get rid of, since I got the new Ellis a few years ago the others have kind of gravitated into the cold storage and only get used occasionally as when I rent them out. I have two older COSEN's 9"X14 1/2" 2hp 3phase 1100lbs each nice saws I paid $4,000 each for them new. The other saw is a GRIZZLEY 10"X18" 2hp 3phase weighs about 1000lbs and I paid $4,000 for this one also. They are all rather heavy industrial saws though, more geared towards mid to heavy production work. I'd be willing to let one go if someone was in absolute dire need otherwise I'd rather keep em, extra equipment is always nice to have.
I have the same one as rusty bolts- it was 10 years old when I got it 5 years ago. aside from replacing the handle (it fell off a table and my old boss told me to throw it away...so I threw it in the back of my car and made a steel handle for it) it is still kicking. I have chopped stuff you really,really shouldn't chop with it- 4x4 solid steel plates (am I ever gonna be done?) lumber (smoky!) rubber (eeeewww) plastic (melty!) drill stem (see #1) wrenches (harder than expected) miles and miles of tubing (brring!) miles and miles of plate (brring!) miles and biles of box steel (brring!) it won't die. I think it may be possesed. and yes, periodically, you have to "square it up" takes around 5 minutes. secret to mitre cuts- mark the cut on the tube, and pay no attention to the cute little degree marks on the back of the guide-mine are more like 5 degrees off. but yeah...one of my favorite methods of destruction.
i have a makita LC1230 cut off saw, paid about 350? for it, it will cut up to 4.5 in. cut depth. i love the thing its a lil noisy but it doesnt leave a mess and if you need to shave off a 32nd it will do it.
I bought out much of an old machine shop & got a Jet COM 18 for $75. Included were 8 new blades. ($34 each) This thing is an 18 inch chopsaw 10HP single phase motor. Draws 50 amps. I've used it some for heavy work but always stand out of the way. Most of my cutting, if i have time, is with a horizontal band saw or torches. If you find a Jet Com 18 it is pure quality, approx 400 lbs, cuts have a mirror finish. Mine must be from the 1960's or early 70's
I bought a Delta mitre saw ($189.00) at Home Depot for carpentry and framing work, probably offshore made and fairly light duty,... Home Depot sells a 7" blade for cutting steel (probably steel studs) My question is, would this saw with the steel cutting blade be good enough to cut 1/8" and 3/16" 2x4 steel tubing for frames and crossmembers etc?
I wouldn't recommend it, the motor on a wood miter saw is exactly that...for wood. They can't handle the constant and continous load needed to cut heavier gauge steel. Typically an abrasive saw runs at a higher no load RPM than a wood miter saw. They're are also differences in the motor even though they both have a 15 amp motor, the abrasive saw is a much higher torque motor. I'm not sure if you've ever noticed that it's much easier to bind and stop a wood miter saw than it is an abrasive saw. You'd burn that miter saw out in a hurry attempting to cut steel with it heavier than let's say sheet-metal. The blades you speak of are in fact for cutting steel studs, steel framing studs are primarily 20-18 ga sheet-metal I beleive but don't quote me on that.
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