If you can spend about $795, I would recommend the last Chop Saw you will ever buy, the Baileigh CS-225M I have researched this machine and its real nice - it will be on my roller table this year if I have to rob a bank! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJz41jv_-Xg
Man, thats a lot of responses! The porta band doesnt sound two bad. Now can you use either an abrasive blade or steel tooth blade in the chop saw?
I have many cutting tools; cheap China chop saw, cheap Taiwan bandsaw, Milwaukee Portaband, etc., and they all do their intended job. But I would not trade ANY of them for my Metabo. Google it, it's a German made cutoff tool, looks like a 4" angle grinder but it's so much more.
Put a big Carbide toothed metal cutoff wheel in it, and if your careful they last forever and make 10x better cuts......
I have a Makita I bought new in about 1990 its been sitting outside under my carport for the last 10years and still works like new.
i have the Milwaukee chop saw and its probably 28 years old just had to replace the trigger cause a ass tried using it and broke it but she always cuts for me. now i just picked this bad boy up from a guy who was loosing his ass and sold it to me for 50 bucks and it is killer on the metal. its a dry cut http://www.milwaukeetool.com/tools/...-tool-choices/14-inch-dry-cut-machine/6190-20
$50??? Damn! All of my heavy corded tools are Milwaukee, just because you can get parts to fix them forever. My 1/2" drill is about 25 years old, it's had several triggers and too many brushes to count, and the dang thing will still try to rip your arm off if you're not careful.
I just looked at Norhtern Tool and they have an almost identical hoz/vert band saw as HF. On sale for $240. Anyone ever use their tools??
Although I have a Dewalt chop saw, a Dake cold saw, and a v19 band saw, I always find my self using my trued and trusted 3" Dewalt grinder with a Dewalt brand steel type cut off wheel. It not only cut up to 3/8" thk steel but with some practice you can even cut radius's of 15" and smaller with worn wheels. I have been fortunate to have alot of tools but I think my grinder/cut off wheel combo is probably the all around tool that I would pick if I had a choice.
I was looking for a smaller band saw to cut 2x tubing. I ended up buying the Northern Tool's 14" industrial dry cut saw. It will cut anything i throw at. The clamp is kinda cheap, but it works very well for the money. I paid $250 for mine a while back.
yeah he owed me some change and i seen it laying on the ground, i told him keep the change and i'll take the saw. i thought he was gonna tell me to go bet bent but he said hell with take it. i never seen one before and didnt even know how much they were until i got home and did a search, liked to shit my self. has to be one of top five best scores ever.
The Jalopy Journal
