Anyone use a "Dual-Saw" ?...on metal?

[diesel4me]

After seeing the infomercial for this 8th wonder of the world many times--I am wondering if anyone actually has used one on metal and had the blades last ??..

I see them cutting sway bars and a car in half on TV,but I cant see typical circular saw blades being able to cut steel like that for more than a few inches before they dull or wear off the teeth...seems unrealistic to me..

I've seen them on sale at Pep Boys for about 60 bucks...I dont really "need" one,but am wondering if one would cut thick sheet metal better than an abrasive blade in a skil saw,or a cutoff wheel,sawsall,etc,when trying to make a straight cut...I've tried cutting 16 gauge for a floor on a flatbed body,and everything I used made a wavy cut,or went off course and I couldn't keep the saw cutting straight--wasted a lot of metal...had a sheet just the right size if I could have cut it in half straight...should have paid to have it sheared instead..

 

[rdn2blazer]

I think pirate4x4 has a old thread on them. Don't know the consensus though. Look in the tool forum.

 

[bigjbear]

I had one when Craftsman was selling them, probably 10 years ago. Actually, I still have it, but the motor is shot. Before it died it made fast, straight cuts when the blades were sharp. You're right they don't last as long as an abrasive blade, but it was great when cutting something that isn't clamped in place.

It's sitting on a shelf in my shed, in its nice plastic case, and has been for the last seven or so years. I know it needs blades and I assume it needs brushes. The last thing I used it for was to cut up a Blazer top. I kept it thinking I would fix it some day, but at this point I probably should just pitch it and put my little cut off saw in its case.

Bottom line- I wouldn't buy another one.

 

[diesel4me]

I read many reviews on Google and saw few that were positive,most were unsatisfied and considered it junk after using one a short time...guess I'll forget about getting one of those...the "theory" seems to work,but in reality,the cost of blades,the short life of them,and the overall poor quality of the saw makes it undesireable...

I always am skeptical of those tools "as seen on TV",they always seem great on TV--like the "Worx GT" garden tools seem great on TV,till you talk to someone who bought them...(A friend was unhappy with the chain saw they had advertised--said it was cheap plastic and had only used it maybe 10 times before the drive gear stripped out on it)..


I could have spent 10 or 20 bucks and had the sheet steel sheared properly at a metal fab shop,had I not been in a hurry,and thought I'd be able to do it myself at home..sometimes there's no substitute for the "right" tools..

Since that time I have sucessfully used a circular saw with an abrasive blade to cut sheet metal "fairly straight" by using the flatbed itself as a work table,and a 2x4 stud or length of angle iron clamped to the metal,for a guide to bear the saw up against,its still difficult to keep it from wanting to wander off course though...
I ended up overlapping the two peices of metal and welding the seam up,and I used a 6" wide piece of slightly thicker flat stock at the tailgate end of the bed,to fill in the "gap",I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a replaceable "wear strip" there,in case it got damaged someday--used carriage bolts to bolt it to the rest of the metal "floor"..looks a bit hack,but the bed is going to be treated rough anyway...not a showpiece!..