Thread: Home cutting tools

I think the go is basically a Cold Saw (wet type), Cold Cut dry saw (such as the Makita LC1230) or Band Saw such as the type that H&F sell. From what I have read, Cold Saws are the way to go. They are however expensive. I have posted a thread to find out peoples experiences with Cold Saws. The Cold Cut saw gets good reviews but cannot do stainless, which is a bit of a problem for me. The vices are generally terrible on all abrasive and cold cut saws. The real decision I think is between a cold saw and a band saw. That said you should check out the LC1230 as it may suit a limited space environment and one when your only working with mild steel.

Hi,
Have you thought about a Horizontal Bandsaw?

Stuart

Cold cut saws, arent cold, arent quiet, aren't for cutting solid bar and the replacement blades arent cheap. But they are fast.

Stuart

Cold Cut dry saw (such as the Makita LC1230)

I don't know who initially abused the name "cold saw". It must have been a sales droid and an idi0t in one person!
These "cold saws" are loud, make the biggest burrs and throw sparks and hot chips all around.

A REAL cold saw is a terribly good and fast saw. Makes the best cuts, precise and little burrs. They do have a HSS-blade, have coolant and are running sloooow. Something like 40 RPM (depends on size). But they are not cheap!

The second best option is a horizontal band saw.

Stay away from the cheap crap where you have to swivel the vise for angular cuts. Imagine having a 6 m stock being cut at an angle. That's fun when you have to rotate the saw every second cut.


Nick

I agree with the swivel head bandsaw option. Cold saws are good for production work but for irregular or occasional home use I'd say it is overkill.
H&F sell one for a bit under $600 - B003 | BS-5S Swivel Head Metal Cutting Band Saw | machineryhouse.com.au
I have a smaller one that I bought from Ozemetools which was the previous model to this - 4"x6" Industrial Portable Variable Speed Metal Cutting Bandsaw (Taiwan) | eBay
It works very well and doesn't take up much space at all. (Mine was not variable speed - curses!)
Most recently I have cut 75x75 solid steel with mine and did not have a problem. As an added bonus both these saws can be used as vertical bandsaws too. Not as good as a dedicated unit but can get you out of trouble sometimes.

Michael

Hi Legion
My metal cutting department consist of a 9&1/4inch grinder ,a couple of 4 inch grinders and a 4x6 bandsaw [$25 from a garage sale] which i,ve had for 15yrs now.
I have owned trucks for about 20 years and this gear has done all the repairs including fitting 3 tailgate loaders and making gates, battrey boxes and brackets etc.
The 4x6 B/S is not accurate but nothing a weld won't fill up, you can buy all my gear for under $500 new , if your budget is not that good just buy the grinders and maybe the Trtion Supajaws for work holding. A warning about the 9&1/4 you have to think about the blade rotation all the time they will kick back at you using the 3mm cut disc.
Cheers

As far as hand-held stuff, a guy showed me one of those counter-rotating saws the other day. His was branded Rockwell and cost him a hundred bucks. The blades are carbide tipped. I saw him try it on plastic, plywood and square tube. The cut in steel looked very smooth, though there was a nasty burr. Minimal sparking, appeared very controllable. Loud but.

Edit: This might be the unit.

Rockwell 1050w Contra Saw Demonstration - YouTube

I can add a bit about what I don't like! I was so looking forward to getting a makita tungsten tip cut off saw but changed my mind when I found out the manual stated a max 3mm wall thickness in pipe etc. I picked up a big makita abrasive cutoff saw instead. I hate the damn thing! No matter how I tweak it, clamp it or treat it, it never cuts true. The disks get a 'Clogged' feeling and choose not to cut and just sit there rubbing. I'm sure I'm not using it right.

At the moment I'm happy sticking with my little 125mm mak angle grinder. I get neater and more accurate cuts/mitres with it. I do like the abrasive cutoff saw for fish mouths in pipe though. It does a better job than I can do by hand in that department.

I have not used a horizontal bandsaw but I think that's where I'm going next big tool purchase.

I use a cheap drop saw I got from Bunnings a few years ago for around $150 and blades can be had for as little as $3.50. I use it for RHS, solids, angle, whatever. They are extremely noisy and dirty, spray sparks everywhere and are not very accurate, particularly when cutting at an angle. However, I have found if you set the angle using a protractor, cut very, very slowly and move the blade up and down quite a few times after completing the cut, the cut will invariably square itself up, if not you can always finish up with a file. I've used it for cutting RHS, tube, angle, flat etc, on a number of projects including boat, utility and camper trailers as well as cutting solids for use in the lathe. You have to pick the blades carefully though: Some flex more than others.

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

I'm sure I'm not using it right.

You probably are. The blades flex like crazy, making accurate mitre cuts almost impossible. As tongleh said, they are noisy, messy and inaccurate. They are basically only good for cutting reo. Still it's all I've got. I wish I could afford a Brobo saw.

Here is another option, I made this over 10 years ago, it’s probably the most used tool in my shed. Simple construction: RHS framework and floor polisher motor driving a pulley mounted on a bearing block from a mower, a 3/4" bolt and nut and a couple of grinding wheel end washers to keep the blades straight. It uses either a 12” cut off blade, a 9” angle grinder disk or a 9” wood saw blade. It has a fence (for wood) and a guide for cutting longer pieces of steel. Excellent for cutting shorter pieces of steel, cutting wood using the fence, removing burrs or shaping wood/steel and squaring cuts made on the drop saw. There is a chute underneath which empties into a steel bucket keeping mess to a minimum (whenever I remember to use it). I've never had an accident on this machine, never even nicked myself; however, there are idiots out there! In the background is my cut of saw (with its 2nd $150 drop saw top in 10 years) with home made lower section and a better vice.

Originally Posted by jack620

You probably are. The blades flex like crazy, making accurate mitre cuts almost impossible. As tongleh said, they are noisy, messy and inaccurate. They are basically only good for cutting reo. Still it's all I've got. I wish I could afford a Brobo saw.

Are there better disks for them? I'm still using the makita disks that came with the tool.
On a side note, I use heaps of the 1mm thick disks for my little 125mm angle grinder. I bought a lot of the makita branded disks as their half the price of flexovit. I'm thinking it's a false economy though as they wear out twice as fast! I'm actually a huge makita fan though. I keep threatening to get a makita tramp stamp tattoo!

I have a basic small metal cutting bandsaw but before that only had an angle grinder an an ancient 8" 1440 rpm woodworking table saw into which I would put various metal cutting discs. When I got my bandsaw I almost tossed out the table saw but I am so glad I have kept hold of it because unlike the bandsaw it can cut hardened steel and if required I can run cooling water onto the disc.

It's slow, quiet and more precise than waving an angle grinder at a piece of metal. I also have no qualms about putting my fingers much closer to the blade than I would with any other metal cutting tool.

I also find it useful with a larger thicker disc to square up chainsaw bar rails.

[QUOTE=tongleh;1542355]Here is another option, I made this over 10 years ago, it’s probably the most used tool in my shed.

Hahah that looks like my first table saw when I was a kid. I bought a cheap powersaw and screwed it to the underside of a table. Turned it on and cut through the top! I ended up with a zero clearance hillbilly table saw! Loved that thing. I did put abrasive disks in that as well.