What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Chop Saw for steel recommendations

handloader90

handloader90

Building!
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Posts
2,665
Reaction score
1,053
Location
Colorado
Hello,

I'm going to be making a frame using rectangular tubing and need to make precise cuts so everything ends up being square.

I haven't been able to find a saw with great reviews and was thinking about using a wood chop saw with a steel cutting blade. Will this be fine or will the RPM's be to high?

I'm looking to buy something for a reasonable price. What are you guys using?
 
Can you make good accurate cuts with that setup?

I did a little more digging and found some good reviews on the Ridgid 14" chop saw from Home Depot.
 
handloader90 said:
Can you make good accurate cuts with that setup?

I did a little more digging and found some good reviews on the Ridgid 14" chop saw from Home Depot.
Click to expand...

First, let me say that Swag Off Road owner is a friend. Second, the stuff he builds is first rate.

Now, the potraband is great with his table for doing flat stock. Will cut like butter. If you are running 2x4 tubing through it, you will still get blade walk. It is the saw, not the table. It will not be as bad as hand holding the saw, but it will be there.

I have done straight cuts with a portaband by marking all 4 sides and cutting each side separately. A little more time, but very little clean up on the part.
 
Last edited:
ktmoutfront said:
First, let me say that Swag Off Road owner is a friend. Second, the stuff he builds is first rate.

Now, the potraband is great with his table for doing flat stock. Will cut like butter. If you are running 2x4 tubing through it, you will still get blade walk. It is the saw, not the table. It will not be as bad as hand holding the saw, but it will be there.

I have done straight cuts with a portaband by marking all 4 sides and cutting each side separately. A little more time, but very little clean up on the part.
Click to expand...


if you're going to cut as accurate as possible with a port abandoned this is the only way to do it. I prefer a band saw over ANY abrasive type cutting saw. A metal cutting saw like on a cold saw should cut fairly straight. You may get some deflection. Enter material slowly. Even back back out of a shallow cut and re-enter to see if there is deflection. On straight cuts it should be none existant for the most. On cuts where you enter the material at an angle, you will usually get some minor blade deflection. Goes the same with a band saw too.
 
This might be a little off topic but what is wrong with using a wood saw with a metal cutoff blade?
 
I use band saws for all my main cutting. The only exceptions are where I can't bring the work to them, or the material is too hard. If it's too hard, abrasive cut-off on either 4.5", 9", or common chop saw. If I have to got to it, one of the above, or a corded portaband depending on the task. If I didn't already have 2 horizontal and one vertical bandsaw, I would build or buy a portaband base. I can't imagine working without a bandsaw. And my big Roll-In vertical with auto feed table and 1" blade is a real spoiler.
 
Theres nothing wrong with using an abrasive blade in a chop saw. Ive done it for years before I bought my proper hot/chop saw and the only down side is the sparks will beat up the plastic parts on the saw. I spent $200+ dollars on that Dewalt hot/chop saw and I ****ing hate it. I bought it thinking mitering box tube was never going to be a pain again since the wood saw couldnt throat a 45* in one chop with the 10/12in blade. Well now I have a saw with a 14in blade that can do a 45* in one cut, except it walks and cuts the 45 on a compound angle now. So its ****ing worthless for anything but banging out straight cuts.

We have a lubricated cold cutting saw at work with vice clamps and its the cats ass for cutting a miter. The problem is its a $3000 saw with a $125 blade. Im going to look into some lesser expensive alternatives.

Since throwing in the towel on cutting 45s with my hot saw Ive gone back to simply marking all 4 sides of the piece and using the grinder. It sucks but its accurate. So sure you could use a portaband, or a sawzall to do all 4 sides of the tube. I wonder if one could make a 45* clamp on fixture thats basically a guide for a sawzall...

:thinking:
 
As long as you take it slow a spark show saw should work. As long as you have a decent welder it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Biggest deal would be getting a frame table/ jig to get and keep everything square before adding all the cross members etc.
 
Curious where your going to be cutting. Your location says Campbell. You'll get heat from the MPs whether in the barracks parking lot or post housing neighborhoods....lol. I guess I'm lucky that my motor pool has a sweet horizontal band saw, tube shark, drill press and a welder if I want to knock something out during lunch or even on a weekend.
 
jekquistk5 said:
As long as you take it slow a spark show saw should work. As long as you have a decent welder it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Biggest deal would be getting a frame table/ jig to get and keep everything square before adding all the cross members etc.
Click to expand...

Nope. Ive tried everything from a thicker blade, to going slow as ****. The 14" blade walks, whether its a little bit or a lot depends on how fast you try to cut. I really dont understand how having a decent welder/jigging would make a difference. Im talking about walking 1/4-1/2in through the entire cut. Not like a 16th here or something.
 
Stomis said:
Nope. Ive tried everything from a thicker blade, to going slow as ****. The 14" blade walks, whether its a little bit or a lot depends on how fast you try to cut. I really dont understand how having a decent welder/jigging would make a difference. Im talking about walking 1/4-1/2in through the entire cut. Not like a 16th here or something.
Click to expand...


Wow haven't seen that much jog, but I'm not fabricating every day. I think at most I've had a 1/4 when I was really pushing down on it. I use the dewalt thin blades and go slow, like 5 min a cut slow when I need to be accurate. Most the time it's rip through then finish edges with disc grinder or grinding wheel.
 
Making an angle cut with a chop saw all depends on how slow you enter the cut. Gotta go very very slow and allow the blade to make a groove. Once its got a decent groove, it should follow that pretty well.

Pushing to hard will cause the blade to deflect away from the cut and now you have a crooked dished out cut.
 
cybrfire said:
Making an angle cut with a chop saw all depends on how slow you enter the cut. Gotta go very very slow and allow the blade to make a groove. Once its got a decent groove, it should follow that pretty well.

Pushing to hard will cause the blade to deflect away from the cut and now you have a crooked dished out cut.
Click to expand...

Right.

jekquistk5 said:
Wow haven't seen that much jog, but I'm not fabricating every day. I think at most I've had a 1/4 when I was really pushing down on it. I use the dewalt thin blades and go slow, like 5 min a cut slow when I need to be accurate. Most the time it's rip through then finish edges with disc grinder or grinding wheel.
Click to expand...

And for that kind of time investment for a cut thats still messy, loud, a consumable, and annoying might I add I personally feel better off just marking all for sides and cutting it with a grinder in about 45 seconds.


Ryokens got the right idea I think. The horo bandsaw is something you can walk away from while making a slow cut.
 
Yah I hear yah. I use the grinder on most of the cuts. Only use the spark show to lop off extra or make it a manageable piece to work with
 
Recently, I bought a Hem Femi band saw. It is semiautomatic based on gravity and spring tension and it is a dry horizontal saw. It has a miter table like a miter saw......or is that bevel? You turn the saw, not the work. I took a 12 thousandths inch thick cut off the end of a 2" chunk or round aluminum bar stock. It cuts better than anything I have seen and you can touch the parts after cutting. The saw weighs 40 pounds and will cut 4 3/4" max at 90 degrees, 3" at 45 degrees, and it will go up to 60 degrees. They make a bigger model, but it weighs twice as much and costs another 700 bucks.
ng120abs.jpg

http://www.trick-tools.com/Femi-NG120ABS-Benchtop-Semi-Auto-Mitering-Bandsaw-6366

Before this saw, I used my dewalt 12" miter saw with a composite blade. It has held up for many years, other than the plastic dust collection port. I removed the plastic insert that goes in the table, for cutting steel, and replace it when I cut wood. The miter saw is extremely loud and it throws sparks and steel everywhere. The blade walks on 45 degree cuts and you have to bear down on the saw to cut, but it likes to stall out on 1/4" wall tube.

The little band saw cuts 1/4" wall like a champ. My brother and I cut a bunch of 3" schedule 40 galvanized pipe (0.250" wall) with it last weekend. We made fish mouths so the 3" could be welded to 5" pipe, to build gates. The saw does the work and shuts off when it is done. It is loud, but at 30-40 feet away it is far less annoying than an abrasive saw. I still wear ear muffs to use it. The band saw is far faster than the abrasive saw and it doesn't take any work. The blade is holding up very well.

If you can't afford a fancy compact band saw like the one I got, check out an inexpensive horizontal band saw. I wanted a dry cut saw in the past, but not now. I thought $1500 was too much for this band saw when I first looked at it, but it will pay off with the amount of metal I need to cut.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom