Thread: Metal Cut Off Saw

Hi Metalhead,

One thing that comes to mind is that a good project to start straight away is a mobile stand for it.I put castors on mine and made a couple of roller stands to allow me to deal with longer sections. Cutting sections on the ground has whiskers on it.The stand can be constructed with a shelf under it and a hook to hang the spare wheels on.

Another handy accessory to make is an adjustable stop for same short length repetitive cuts, something lacking in all current brands of machines

If you bear in mind that the wheels cut because of revs not brute torque from the motor ,your cutoff of saw will last much longer.Therefore ,there is no need to push down of the handle too much.This in fact is what burns the motor out.

Another important factor also is that as the wheel decreases in diameter so does the surface speed,which is what makes those not in the know push down harder on the bloody handle.

I had a look at a GMC at the hardware and there is a big decrease in quality from the latest one to the one I bought 4 or 5 years back, for $179.

The new model is missing those little touches like the quick action vise thread fitting, a slide fitting on the handle end and the special place for the wheel spanner.The whole thing looks flimsier and lighter than my 5 years old model.

All these omissions are to save money,but when I bought mine it was because the cut off saw had these features plus 2400 watts and off course was cheaper than the others.
I am surprised that it has lasted as long as it has.Yep! I would go with the Makita as well.

Cheers

Grahame

I dont know if you have stratco's over there. But in Adelaide stratco has lost the dealership for selling ryobi stuff. I bought a fair bit of gear as the price was a joke compared to bunnings and such. This was about 2 months ago but I was in stratco yesterday and they still had gear they where pawning off.

I use this type of 14" cutoff saw intensively, cutting from 1" RHS up to 3" solid round. I had a very good run out of a Ryobi which lasted for 10+ years before the motor ingested a dose of metal swarf, now I have a Hitachi which is going well so far. I looked at the Makita and couldn't fault it - the only reason I didn't buy it was that it didn't fit into my sawbench.

When I bought my original saw years ago I welded up a framework to hold it, it has an 8 foot lead in to the saw with a 4 foot exit bench, the saw is inset into the frame so I can always be sure that the steel will be cut true and square.

My recollection of the 2 levels of Makita was that the cheaper one was not as robust as the expensive one. My point of view is that this saw will take a lot of punishment over a long life, personally I'd go for the more expensive unit. There will be a lot of force on the chassis, handle, pivot points etc. the more robust the unit the less distortion in the cut.

Hi Metal Head,

I have seen the bunnies saws that your talking about.. I think that the cheaper Makita is green? I recently bought (after a lot of searching) a Maktec cut off saw from a crowd here in Adelaide, Total Tools for around $219 I have been very happy with it so far. My opinion is that its better than the green Makita and the GMC saws, this is only based on a bit of a play in the shop mind you, but the build quality seems a bit better with the Maktec.

So far it has been doing a good job, although it took ages to get through 100x90x6mm gal lintel.. but then I think that any saw the same size would have taken a while.

Hi,
i meant to post a pic of the saw stand the other day,but could not find it.

As I have just stumbled upon it just now ,I thought I had better post before it got lost again.
The reason I chose a mobile stand is that a fixed bench jobbie limits the degree of cut I can make.

By adding an adjustable fence to the existing one ( limited to 45 ) I can make the cut more acute.

The mobility also makes the saw just that bit more versatile.

Grahame

Hi Grahame, Monkeyrelish, Gavin & Footz

Thank you all for your replies - much appreciated. Below I have placed a link that shows a list of cut off saws which maybe the Maktec & Hitachi shown are the exact ones as previously referred to.

http://www.justtools.com.au/category47_1.htm

This link shows the green Makita. However the Bunnings price is only $240.

http://www.geoffstools.com.au/index....hk=1&Itemid=26

I'm still not sure which one is the best deal from an operational point of view (i.e. speeds, size of materials that can be held etc) - but the 3 Year warranties on the Dewalt & Metabo are tempting. The two 405mm diameter machines are beyond my budget but your opinions on the others would be much appreciated i.e. best value.

Btw, I have a 15A outlet - Grahame the stand looks a real beauty.

Thanks one again
Metal Head

Instead of a "cut-off saw" consider a bandsaw. Approx $300 from Hafco, and a lot quieter. I sometimes use mine near midnight and no complaints from neighbors.

Roger

Originally Posted by Metal Head

Hi,

Given that I plan on doing a few metal related projects in the coming months I thought it was about time to do away with the angle grinder and cut off wheel. So this arvo I dropped into Bunnings and had a look at what they had (which wasn't very much) a GMC ($230) and two Makita's ($240 & $370). So I think I will go for the cheaper Makita - the only difference I could see was that it had 200watts less power & a less flasher handle than the 2400W more expensive one. Btw, they are all 355 diameter wheels.

I have never used one of these (cut off wheels) previously but they are certainly cheaper than the Brobo type (metal blades). Is there anything you think I should be made aware before I go ahead and buy it?

Thanking those in advance of their replies.

Cheers
MH

I think the best tool for the job is a band saw. Yes it is slower than a cut off saw but it make a lot less noise. It cuts steel with no sparks , the blade lasts a long time , and some band saws can be used as a table saw when in the verticle position which is ideal for cutting parts.

Given the list you have there I'd go for the Metabo every time, I've never met a Metabo tool I didn't like - I have a couple of their bigger drills and a 9" grinder from them which have never given any trouble at all. They just exude quality, handle nicely and have good backup if it's ever needed.

Failing that it would be Makita (not the Chinese assembled ones), Hitachi or Ryobi - in no particular order.

Hi Metal Head,

If you can justify the extra cost then you can't go wrong with either the Metabo, Dewalt or Blue Makita. I would have picked up either the Matabo or Makita if money wasn't an option. The warranty could be a deal maker.. I think that each of the 350mm saws will be fairly similar in how they operate and the size of material they will cut, it really comes down to warranty, build quality and little things like the quick release on the vice thread (this is really bloody handy). Sorry that I havn't been too much help as at the end of the day it also come down to personal choice.. I have a mate who when faced with a choice between similar machines ends up choosing on colour.. he has a lot of Dewalt stuff in the shed... must like yellow.

Originally Posted by monkeyrelish

Hi Metal Head,

I have a mate who when faced with a choice between similar machines ends up choosing on colour.. he has a lot of Dewalt stuff in the shed... must like yellow.

Hi Monkeyrelish,

When I was younger (many years ago) my favourite colour yellow - bananas are still my favourite fruit. I have never bought any Dewalt equipment previously but I am tempted to test the water on this one.

Hi Handsomejack & Rogerbaker,

Thanks for your valid comments. However, I already have a bandsaw - abiet for woodwork - but personally for cutting up RHS (different shapes), stainless steel etc it is by far a far quicker & more efficient way is to use a cut off saw., especially when it comes to mitring the ends.

Hi Gavin,

I noticed that both the Makita's are made in China - then again what isn't these days, even some of Metabo (Germany) come from there.

Cheers
MH

I was lucky enough to be given a DeWALT 2200W Chopsaw that had a stripped gear on the Stator. $106.00 latter for a new one the saw is going again.
Nice feature is the quick release toggle on the vice and the saw works well. Have used a Hitachi and there a nice saw as well.
I have a Hafco 7" Band Saw which is handy for large solid stock or awkard metal pieces.
I have the head arrangement off another 7" that im stripping to make a fixed Band Saw out of with an adjusting table.
My preferance is to get an other Cold Saw as I had an German Estelle but being three phase had to go as new place only has single phase.

Regards,
Keith.

I would really consider a metal bandsaw. Since I bought mine around 6 months ago I haven't used the chop saw once.

Mine was less than $300, cuts up to 6" wide material, does mitres. Only additions out of the box were a bi metal blade, change of gearbox oil and tweaking the guides to make a true 90 deg cut. I also added a suds pump and tray.

I also remember that the chop saw wasn't too great at making big cuts, the wheel would seem to get clagged up with waste and stop cutting. It was next to useless for aluminium, less so with brass for same reason.

Bodgy,

What brand & model?

Rgds - Gavin