Tools, carbide chop saw opinions

Getting really tired of high dollar brand name nearly useless horizontal bandsaw metal cutting blades, very annoyed with abrasive rough cut, spark showers from abrasive saw. So, I am thinking about Evolution brand...cast iron base, motor 1450 rpms for cool temp and spark free cuts. A little pricey, but I can live with that. Any of you fellas use one of these? Other recommendations?

Depends on what you are cutting... hollow material like tubing- round and square works fine with the new carbide metal cutting blades for chopsaws and gives a nice square cut with very little clean up after. For large solid material the cold cut saws are fine but pretty darn expensive. Most machine shops use the reciprocating metal cutting saws instead of the band saws because they will give a very square cut with very little clean up after. The blades are wide and much stiffer backbone than bandsaw blades so they don't tend to flex like bandsaw blades .

I like them better than abrasive chop saws but they are LOUD! That and blades are expensive.

Also I find that they’re great if you know what you’re doing and use it correctly but if you have a shop full of newbies or lackeys that will horse down on it they’ll ruin blades faster than you can buy them. If you break one tooth off in a piece being cut it’ll wipe a bunch of teeth off with it. If you take it easy and let the blade do the work you’ll get good cuts and long blade life, slam the blade onto the work or horse down on it and you’ll be wishing you had abrasive blades.

This is the one we used at work cutting pipe, kindorf strut, and other metal and it worked perfectly- a word of advice- wear hearing protection when using these saws!

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW872-14-Inch-Multi-Cutter-Saw/dp/B0000302QS/ref=sr_1_6?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&dchild=1&keywords=Power+Metal-Cutting+%26+Chop+Saws&qid=1631473204&s=power-hand-tools&sr=1-6&ts_id=1026922

I have an older dewalt. Works great on steel.

I used one at work to hog thru some 1/2” plate weld coupons the other day. Sure beats a band saw for speed. Cut em a little wide and had them milled to size.

Main thing is a saw with a good base and clamp. Doesn’t take much to fug up a $100 blade if metal moves.

Also, don’t put a carbide blade on a 3600rpm abrasive saw.

I have a couple of the early Dewalts (one set at 90° and one at 45°). They are loud as fugk and spew molten chips. I use my Johnson Model J before anything else. If you think band saw blades are expensive, just wait until you start buying carbide metal cutting blades.

While true with any saw, it gets expensive quick with carbide cutoffs, don't lean into cuts or you will shorten blade life by up to 90%. I've found that the best operators are the ones who buy the blades.

If you have a good 7 1/4" circular saw and just need to make a few cuts occasionally try one of these DiABLO STEEL DEMON blades. You can cut angle iron and EMT up to 1/4' thick. I had some 3"x4"x1/4" angle iron (brick support above garage door) that I cut into shorter pieces. I made 5 cuts and the blade is still sharp. It made smooth cuts and I was surprised how fast it cut (but don't push it).

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-...el-Circular-Saw-Blade-D0748CFR/307789803

Demonstration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-9zJvFRRFA

Originally Posted by Sheister

Depends on what you are cutting... hollow material like tubing- round and square works fine with the new carbide metal cutting blades for chopsaws and gives a nice square cut with very little clean up after. For large solid material the cold cut saws are fine but pretty darn expensive. Most machine shops use the reciprocating metal cutting saws instead of the band saws because they will give a very square cut with very little clean up after. The blades are wide and much stiffer backbone than bandsaw blades so they don't tend to flex like bandsaw blades .

I've been in four GM plants, a Ford plant, four machine shops and a handful of steel supplier stock rooms. NONE of them use a reciprocal saw to cut material, it's all done with bandsaws. Even when we're segmenting engine heads or blocks at the foundry so they can run the samples through an electron microscope the cutting is done on a bandsaw.

I pity the fool who cuts me a piece of tool steel on an abrasive cutoff saw. Said person is going to have a metal anal suppository...

Originally Posted by AJ300MAG

Originally Posted by Sheister

Depends on what you are cutting... hollow material like tubing- round and square works fine with the new carbide metal cutting blades for chopsaws and gives a nice square cut with very little clean up after. For large solid material the cold cut saws are fine but pretty darn expensive. Most machine shops use the reciprocating metal cutting saws instead of the band saws because they will give a very square cut with very little clean up after. The blades are wide and much stiffer backbone than bandsaw blades so they don't tend to flex like bandsaw blades .

I've been in four GM plants, a Ford plant, four machine shops and a handful of steel supplier stock rooms. NONE of them use a reciprocal saw to cut material, it's all done with bandsaws. Even when we're segmenting engine heads or blocks at the foundry so they can run the samples through an electron microscope the cutting is done on a bandsaw.

I pity the fool who cuts me a piece of tool steel on an abrasive cutoff saw. Said person is going to have a metal anal suppository...

The units I am referring to are the big units that look like band saws, but have a heavy fixed blade that reciprocates. Every machine shop I've done electrical work at that did work with large solid metal and all the metal suppliers I have done business with have them to cut heavy solid metal bar, round, and heavy walled tube... it would of course be a fools errand to try to cut heavy metal with a standard reciprocating saw... haven't been able to find a pic on line yet to show what I'm talking about

Most likely a difference in the size of the material being cut. This is approximately the size of saw I've used. Our saws had power stock feed and you could program the length of cut and the number of pieces. Also you could do a single bar or a bundle of bars at once. Production had a saw that would cut a V8 engine block lengthwise, we used carbide tipped bandsaw blades to degate the Trailblazer I5 heads & blocks.

Originally Posted by Sheister

Originally Posted by AJ300MAG

Originally Posted by Sheister

Depends on what you are cutting... hollow material like tubing- round and square works fine with the new carbide metal cutting blades for chopsaws and gives a nice square cut with very little clean up after. For large solid material the cold cut saws are fine but pretty darn expensive. Most machine shops use the reciprocating metal cutting saws instead of the band saws because they will give a very square cut with very little clean up after. The blades are wide and much stiffer backbone than bandsaw blades so they don't tend to flex like bandsaw blades .

I've been in four GM plants, a Ford plant, four machine shops and a handful of steel supplier stock rooms. NONE of them use a reciprocal saw to cut material, it's all done with bandsaws. Even when we're segmenting engine heads or blocks at the foundry so they can run the samples through an electron microscope the cutting is done on a bandsaw.

I pity the fool who cuts me a piece of tool steel on an abrasive cutoff saw. Said person is going to have a metal anal suppository...

The units I am referring to are the big units that look like band saws, but have a heavy fixed blade that reciprocates. Every machine shop I've done electrical work at that did work with large solid metal and all the metal suppliers I have done business with have them to cut heavy solid metal bar, round, and heavy walled tube... it would of course be a fools errand to try to cut heavy metal with a standard reciprocating saw... haven't been able to find a pic on line yet to show what I'm talking about

They are called power hacksaws. I have a bunch of blades around here somewhere. They're also supposed to be better on round stock.

I was drilling a cross hole in a steel pin and came to the realization that the old "Drill Index" sets in the silver sheet metal box are far superior to cobalt or "High speed Steel" drill bits....
Like most stuff the old stuff was made to last...

I have 3 Horizontal band saws I only use Bi Metal blades in them and the only time I have problems is when I am cutting Weld Test Coupons and the coupons are full of slag because the welder does not know how to weld.
I was able to get Cobalt blades for one of my Band Saws they work great Real Great
Screw the Carbon steel blades.

Our biggest problem was mulewrights and electricians. In the old days the stock saw belonged to the stockroom. They'd cut our materials to the sizes we requested. GM in their infinite wisdom eliminated half the stock room clerks to cut manpower, the saws became a free for all. Someone would fūck up the blade, didn't know how to change it and left it for someone else. It got to the point to where I had my own blade. I'd install it to cut the steel I needed for my job, take it back out when I finished cutting, coil it back up and store it in my tool cabinet.

Ive got the cheaper evolution saw with stamped base. Thousands of cuts with same blade . Cutting 16ga 2.5 inch square tubing. I would have gotten the cast base if I could have found within 100 miles. Need a set of ear plugs and a face shield to run it.

Depends on what you want to cut and how portable you want it. I use a Roll In saw and a #8 WellSaw. Both work good if you pay attention to what your cutting. Thick solid steel needs a coat blade and thin tubing needs a fine tooth. Speed matters too. A good blade will cut a lot of steel if you don’t abuse it.