I know from time to time when the subject comes up that a number of you do some metal fabrication, and maybe like me have been using abrasive blades in your woodworking tools. Although I do have an abrasive metal cutoff saw that I'll probably get rid of now.
I've got a project coming up where I'll be cutting up lots of long heavy square tube, that just getting onto a stationary saw is more work than taking a hand tool to the heavy material, so I recently ordered a 8" Skilsaw like in the link below. WOW is all I can say. Ive only cut a few things like a 2"x3"x5/16" angle iron and 2" square tube so far. It goes through that metal about as fast as my other hand held circular saws do through wood.
Other than being a little bit heavy, I'll give it 5 stars. The blade that came with it is carbide, with about 0º hook, and triple chip grind, but all teeth have the corners beveled, except ever other has more or less, so there are no square corners to more easily knock off.
The cut is cool, no sparks, and it manages to catch the chips in a side blade-guard.
Hey Kneale, those portable bandsaws were always on my wish list until I got this saw. I should have stated above that I haven't done any comparisons to any other brands. I'm sure there are probably some that might be higher quality. I did buy the factory rebuilt one for the $100 savings since metal working isn't my profession, but rather something I do for my own needs.
Both of these saws will have pros and cons. Yours has good line of sight cutting, which this one lacks, but the blade is 2" over from the edge of the base on the left, and will ride agains a speed square or other guide, and the notch in front of the base is on the money.
With the 15 amp motor on a worm drive geared down for slower blade speed gives more than enough torque to power through heavy cuts.
With your band, you never have to worry about kickback, which can be an issue with any circular saw if you don't always set the stock up so gravity opens the cut rather than causing it to pinch the blade.
The next tool on my wish list, is to add the Makita XSC02Z 18V LXT Cordless Lithium-Ion Brushless 5-7/8 in. Metal Cutting Saw to my tool arsenal. That lighter weight and being away from a power source would sure be nice. However I might could just buy a metal blade and try it on the one I already own for wood cutting.
That looks pretty useful! Do you have any feel yet for how long a blade will last?
I like the idea that it doesn't throw sparks. In industry there is usually a person on fire watch but that's not always practical at home.
I'm imagining it leaves a very nice cut, ready to weld with a bit of beveling. Darn you, I think I need to get one like that for quick cuts!
In case anyone is interested, here is a quick list of the ways I've used and use now to cut steel in and around the shop and the farm:
Abrasive cutoff saw.
- horrible sparks, lots of burrs
- long stock must be supported
- good stock clamp for short pieces
- difficult to cut through some thicknesses and orientations
- very loud
- fairly rapid disk wear (14" disk, can't remember)
- leaves a sharp edge
- easy to make a straight crosscut
Hand held angle grinder (various)
- sparks, noise
- hard to make a perfectly straight cut
- leaves sharp edges
- inexpensive
- compact, light weight
- AC or cordless (cordless is great for around farm)
- will get into tight spots, cut odd shapes
Reciprocating saw (with Milwaukee "The Torch" blade)
- no sparks, minimal noise
- inexpensive
- can cut odd shapes, curves
- compact, AC or battery, portable
- will cut surprisingly thick steel
Porta-band bandsaw (Milwaukee)
- excellent cut, fast for angle iron, square tubing
- slow with thick stock
- limited stock width
- not noisy to operate
- clean cut, minimal cleanup
- portable (mine is 110v)
- excellent for cutting off short pieces of long stock without lugging them to the shop. (steel mostly comes in 20' lengths)
Horizontal bandsaw with coolant pump (Jet)
- large, heavy, expensive
- quiet, no sparks
- long stock must be supported
- good clamp for short pieces
- can cut very thick steel with coolant
- automatic blade advance, hands-off cutting
- excellent square or angled cuts
Jig saw
- inexpensive tool and blades
- excellent cuts on relatively thin stock
- no sparks
- can cut curves
Oxy-acetylene torch
- lots of fire and molten steel
- thickness limited by torch
- quiet
- heavy, bulky tanks
- expensive to get started: tanks, regulators, torches
- expensive to operate with thick steel
- can cut complex shapes
- makes a rough edge without a guide
- only used for ferrous metals
Plasma torch
- throws hot molten metal
- expensive to buy
- inexpensive to operate
- compact and light weight
- needs 50amp power, dry compressed air
- thickness of cut depends on machine
- excellent for large sheet stock
- leaves no sharp edges
- easy to cut curved shapes
- beautiful cut, straight edges with guides
- will cut any metal - carbon steel, stainless, titanium, copper, etc.
- extremely fast to cut
Milling machine
- perfect for precision cuts on small things
- will cut most metals, plastics, wood, etc.
- expensive, not worth buying for just cutting metal
Variety of small hand and power tools
(nibblers, shears, etc)
- mostly thin sheet metal, 16" or less
- inexpensive to buy and operate
- can work in tight places, cut shapes
My favorite for general use is the plasma torch since it is SO fast. For breaking down long stock and thick stock the horizontal bandsaw is great for the clean, straight cuts and nearly unattended operation. Angle grinder is incredibly portable and will hadle a variety of tasks. Others I use the task suggests.
I no longer use the big abrasive chop saw and would gladly trade it for something or give it to a disadvantaged craftsman.
Hey JKJ, Anyone ever called you a Renaissance Man?
Keith Newton
Ha ha, Thanks for sharing that. I knew you already had some of what you listed, so I'm a little tickled that I got something before you! ha
I'll have to get back to you about the blade durability after I've used it a while, but from what I've read, that modified triple chip is very good.
I'll match your last paragraph of "I no longer use the big abrasive chop saw and would gladly trade it for something or give it to a disadvantaged craftsman."
And if you ever get to that point on the Plasma cutter, let me know and I'll be right over. ha
I never thought of trying the reciprocating saw... I may give that a shot.
I rarely weld at home, but I got completely spoiled by horizontal bandsaws in a couple of my former workplaces. First one I used was a big Ellis that was really a gem - we did a table in that shop that used a mitered 3" round tube that was fairly difficult to cut well - the legs were welded in at the miter. While still difficult, the Ellis made it about as easy as possible.
I found a picture of the thing - guess that company is still around and making them.
What? I'm not sophisticated enough to be certain of what that means but I've heard it a time or three; I assumed they were referring to my basic ignorance of today's world, as if I had just barely crawled out of the Middle Ages.
As for the plasma cutter, I'll write this on the side and add a note to the memorandum attached to my will:
"In the event of my death, disappearance, or abandonment of sanity or lucidity, please convey this device to Keith Newton. Don't forget to include the manual. JKJ"
Does this saw have counter rotating blades, or just one blade with the ) hook angle, and low cutting speed?
I have 3 bandsaws for metal, but I don't have anything that will cut perfectly square all the time, or cut inside cuts (weldable blade). I have to work it out with other tools or when welding. It would be nice to have one of everything.
No counter rotating blades. There isn't any tilt for bevel cuts, so it's only square to the base. Check out the link I sent to Barry in the thread above. I'm still thinking about getting that saw too.
Kneale, I like the sentiment, but mine is an old Harbor Freight one that I got for free from a couple of younger contractor friends that I was helping on a project. I've forgotten what I was working on while they were abusing this tool by pushing it much too hard. The motor rpms were only about 50% of what I should have been hearing, while the brushes were arcing like a welder. When it finally threw a breaker, they had already decided to junk this saw and bought a nice Makita with carbide blade.
I dressed the commutator with a Tommy stick to de-glaze it, and used a diamond dresser on the cutoff wheel, which restored it. But it isn't worth the freight cost to send to someone if they are near a HF store to just buy a new one.
Why don't you and Keith donate those saws you no longer use to a Wood Central auction?
Kneale,
Most of the things I've donated in the past weighed little enough, were tools small enough to fit in a flat-rate box, or were valuable enough to bring a bid to make it worth shipping (and I paid the shipping.)
The abrasive cutoff saw I no longer use is fairly large, a bit bulky, and quite heavy. Besides the time effort needed to build a sturdy shipping container, I'm afraid the price it would fetch would not even the exceed the shipping cost. However, if someone wanted to pick it up in East TN, come get it and just make a donation!
I have used the Milwaukee version of that saw to cut 3/8 steel plate. Very surprised it worked so well. Made over eight feet of cut with no noticeable change in cutting efficiency. One advantage over other cutting methods I could have used is that you can use a straight edge guide to get a nice clean straight cut. Much more difficult to do on a bandsaw or with a reciprocating saw. For aluminum we regularly used a five HP Powermatic 66 table saw at work to cut up to 1" thick plate. Heat is always the enemy, so we used a spray coolant on the blade when cutting anything much over 1/4" thick.
You are right about the heat remark. I'd be interest to hear what you used to lubricate on the table saw, and how it was set up. I've recommended the Koolmist on a number of discussions here before, but never heard back from anyone if they followed my advice or not.
I'd also like to note for the newbies here that its a little counterintuitive that feeding too slowly is worse than feeding faster when it comes to the heat. Whether cutting wood, plastic, or metal, you should feed fast enough for each tooth to form a proper chip, which takes the heat out of the cut, rather than build up in the kerf and blade. One common mistake I HEAR them making is feeding too slowly. If you are cutting, and don't hear some drop in RPMs, your probably going too slow. Of course there are other factors that may prevent getting a proper chip, like using a blade with too many teeth in the cut relative to the tool power.
Yesterday morning I cut some 5'' X 5'' x 5/16" angle iron while counting seconds in my head. It took about 7 seconds to get across with the blade down 2" so five across and two down is 7, or about 1" per second. I was hand holding a speed square to run the saw against so got a perfectly square cut. Then when I flipped it around to cut the other wing, just used the kerf notch in the front of the base to line up the finishing cut. It was on the money, so I didn't need to see the blade to start the cut.
Keith - We used Koolmist as well. We would "borrow" one of the kits from a milling machine, place the tank on the right side extension table, clamp the magnetic base either to the top of the steel rip fence or the table top, and adjust the spray to the metal just ahead of the blade entry. Even made an aluminum miter sled that allowed us to safely cut smaller pieces of stock. With the sled we could use a kant-twist of similar clamp to attach the spray tube to the sled fence. Also clamped the stock to the sled when feasible.
As additional info to others, the coolant is water-based and has corrosion inhibitors in it. It is applied via compressed air as a mist (not a flood) so any excess can be easily wiped up and dries quite quickly when the job is done. I never saw any damage to the table saw. The saw was used to cut wood, plastics, and non-ferrous metals.
I've seen some damaged blades used by others to cut aluminum without coolant. The hot aluminum seems to smear into and onto the teeth and is very difficult to remove. I'm sure the blade didn't cut very well either.
Good Point! I should have also mentioned that chips coming off the blade when cutting metal are much more dangerous than sawdust or even plastic chips. They have more velocity, travel further, are sometimes hot, and have sharp edges. I use BOTH goggles and full face shield when cutting metals. I have found that chips can and do come over the top of the face shield and if you wear goggles alone, the impact on the chips on your face is not that comfortable. Please use both if you do this. A good apron is also an advantage if you don't want chips in your pockets and and inside your shirt.
Obviously, I wasn't thinking very deeply. Trying to cut metal on a SawStop would set off the brake whether or not a conductive coolant liquid was also used. Of course, there is an override mode that could be activated to temporarily turn off the brake mechanism.
