Cold Saw

[Marc]

Most of my tools came to be with the "excuse" of a new project.

This time I am building a wrough iron balustrade that is on the large side. Almost 20 meters of it. Made of 25x25x1.6 tubing, the posts are 6x2 doubled up and railing are 6x2 timber.
The balisters will be grouped in panels of 5, separated by a larger gap devided with a square 12mm bar with a bit of a feature bashed in the center of it. The balisters will get a belting with a ball hammer so that they get a lot of dimpels all over them.

At 100mm spacing there is a lot of cutting and I couldn't see doing this either by hand or with the unbearable noise and mess of an abrasion cutter. In my days of apprendice blacksmith, this would have been "my" hacksaw job.

So I got myself a cold saw. It is the smallest and cheapest possible, a 275 metal master from Hares & Forbes. Made in Taiwan it is suprisingly tough and well made, at a bit over a thousand dollars, it is not cheap but it is a pleasure to use and works stright out of the box with no other set up than to screw in the stop for repating cuts and the stop for the elevation and mixing a liter of water with 50cc of cutting oil.

I have never used a cold saw before so I was very pleased to realise I don't need hearing protection, nor eye protection althoug I do use glasses anyway.
When you switch the saw on the motor is almost silent since it works in a worm gear box. The cutting sound is a grinding sound of low frequency that wouldn't bother the neighbours on a Sunday.

I will need to extend the stop that is on the short side but otherwise i am very happy with this tool. It is very good to have an excuse to use it!

[tongleh]

When I was working as a welder, many, many, many years ago we used a cold saw with coolant pump. Although very quiet, accurate and clean, I always thought it very, very slow, blades were hellishly expensive and broke frequently (usually by the young kids), although, we did send a few out to be welded, much cheaper option. The question is, are they faster now and are blades cheaper and less prone to breakage?

[malb]

I have never used a cold saw before so I was very pleased to realise I don't need hearing protection, nor eye protection althoug I do use glasses anyway.



Definitely, always wear safety glasses with a cold saw, swarf can bounce around and become a hazard and there is always a chance of a cut part dropping when you release the vise and splashing coolant toward your face. I prefer a fully enclosing google set like the the Uvex 9302 (http://www.safetysupplies.com.au/cat/index.cgi/shopfront/view_product_details?category_id=23163&product_id=1336398)which will go over a set of specs if you need them. Can be found cheaper on ebay, but a very good set.

[Marc]

Cutting steel will never be fast until we get to have laser cutters at reasonable prices I suppose.
I can only compare with a mechanical hacksaw and the cold saw wins hands down, twice as fast and a quarter of the size. Compared with an abrasion cutter, well I hate them full stop so I don't compare. The new band saw are an interesting contraption but far too large for my workshop. I have seen both in action at Elcon steel and there seems to be little difference in speed.
I can certainly see how a blade can be broken or lose its edge. At $150 they are not cheap but neither are good quality tungsten tipped wood saw. Plus cold saw blades can be repaired and can be sharpened.
I have started on some work and all of a sudden cutting 6mm brackets into shape is a kids job. Love it all the way.:2tsup:
PS
I agree on the goggles.

[Jekyll and Hyde]

When I was working as a welder, many, many, many years ago we used a cold saw with coolant pump. Although very quiet, accurate and clean, I always thought it very, very slow, blades were hellishly expensive and broke frequently (usually by the young kids), although, we did send a few out to be welded, much cheaper option. The question is, are they faster now and are blades cheaper and less prone to breakage?

If you're using the wrong blade (tooth count and profile) for the material, they do indeed seem to cut very slowly, and are more likely to break. I used to cut 1.75 inch exhaust pipe on mine with a 160 tooth blade (only one I had), and although it did it reasonably well, the blade seemed to chatter a lot in the cut. Then I picked up a pair of 220 tooth blades cheap, and the difference is night and day - much smoother in the cut, and twice as fast because the blade isn't bouncing...

[variant22]

The one thing I have found disappointing with the smaller cold saws is that they only come in single speed. They are usually geared for cutting mild steel. Most of the work that I do is in mild steel, but the flexibility to cut a piece of stainless from time to time is really a necessity for me if I am spending 1k+ and taking up the space in the garage.

[Marc]

A two speed cold saw 22rpm/44rpm comes with a 315mm diameter blade and about $500 to $800 more depending if you want the stand or not. You will also need a different blade.

[Jekyll and Hyde]

The one thing I have found disappointing with the smaller cold saws is that they only come in single speed. They are usually geared for cutting mild steel. Most of the work that I do is in mild steel, but the flexibility to cut a piece of stainless from time to time is really a necessity for me if I am spending 1k+ and taking up the space in the garage.

For what it's worth, I've cut 40mm solid stainless (unknown grade) on my single speed saw without any great difficulty. A little slow, but that's about it. If you were to cut stainless exhaust tubing, as I suspect you want to, I don't think there would be much issue...

[variant22]

For what it's worth, I've cut 40mm solid stainless (unknown grade) on my single speed saw without any great difficulty. A little slow, but that's about it. If you were to cut stainless exhaust tubing, as I suspect you want to, I don't think there would be much issue...

From what I have read it dulls the blades pretty fast at that speed. I do not know from experience, just quite a few anecdotal reports across the net.