metal cutting

burnttoast · Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:27 pm

Hello all, haven't posted in a while. would like to know anyone's opinion on what would be the most versatile to get. should I get a band saw, metal cutting blade for my circular saw, or a dedicated metal circular saw? right now I'm using cutting disc on my angle grinder, and it's making a mess in my garage with all the dust that it produces. Thanks

Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:34 pm

Bandsaw would be the most versatile.

cj737 · Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:38 pm

weldin mike 27 wrote:A portable Bandsaw would be the most versatile.

Poland308 · Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:38 pm

weldin mike 27 wrote:Bandsaw would be the most versatile.

Most containable mess.

LtBadd · Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:32 pm

A portaband saw and you can also buy or make a table like this.

I just bought this one

burnttoast · Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:50 pm

Thanks for the replies. base on the majority, a band saw, it is.

BillE.Dee · Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:57 am

I have both the band saw and the porta band. With the band saw you can set it and basically walk away if the cut is a long cut, but I find that the porta band seems to cut quicker. Working on building a table for the porta band.

JayWal · Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:39 am

I went with this instead of a portaband, and man it rocks! I’ve cut 1/2” plate with it no problems, really good for 45ing tubing or unistrut. The makes a really clean cut too, even on 1/2” no burs, just a touch of a flap wheel after and it’s prefect. 2 1/4” depth of cut. Since it cuts so cool it doesn’t discolour stainless like abrasives can.

Downsides are it’s LOUD. When that blade touches metal it screams! And the blades aren’t cheap and don’t last forever. I believe I paid $45-$55 apiece for Irwin blades.

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koenbro · Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:09 pm

I have a 4” Jet bandsaw and it’s not very good. Hard to square; make that “impossible.”
I use it in a vertical position with a table i made but even that is so so. Briefly, I am very disappointed.

Anyone tried a sawzall? What blade for 1-½” tubing with 1/16” wall thickness? Probably easy tl make a jig for it for repeatable cuts

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LtBadd · Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:34 pm

koenbro wrote: Anyone tried a sawzall? What blade for 1-½” tubing with 1/16” wall thickness? Probably easy tl make a jig for it for repeatable cuts
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You need more then one tooth for a given material thickness, so for 1/16" at least 18TPI, 24 may be better if you're doing a lot of cutting.

From this website
How Many Teeth?
In determining teeth per inch (TPI), try to find a balance finish and feed rate. Blades with more teeth cut slower and smoother. Blades with fewer teeth cut faster, with slightly rougher finish.

For any kind of precision cutting, the rule of thumb is to always try to keep at least three teeth in the material at all times. This adds stability and accuracy and applies to cutting in both metal and wood.

Use coarse tooth blades (2 or 3 TPI) for re-sawing and cutting thicker materials. For general wood cutting duties in typical 3/4″ material, use a 4 TPI blade for coarse, fast cutting and a 14 TPI blade for slower, smoother cutting. A blade in the 6 to 8 TPI range provides good general-purpose performance. This same equation applies whether you’re cutting wood or metal. For thinner metals and plastics under 1/4″ use an even finer blade (18 – 32 TPI).

Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:05 pm

with band saws you need to use good blades otherwise it will never cut straight.
found out the hard way when i was cutting stainless tubing. cuts starting going way out. then found out the blades where not bimetal. when the blades start going blunt the cut starts to wander.

of course poor cuts means poor fit up and makes welding a pita.

JayWal · Fri Nov 22, 2019 8:14 pm

koenbro wrote:I have a 4” Jet bandsaw and it’s not very good. Hard to square; make that “impossible.”
I use it in a vertical position with a table i made but even that is so so. Briefly, I am very disappointed.

Anyone tried a sawzall? What blade for 1-½” tubing with 1/16” wall thickness? Probably easy tl make a jig for it for repeatable cuts

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I use a hackzall all the time for tubing, slicing off bolts, etc. Even up to 1/4” flat bar I’ll consider it. 18 TPI blades are a good all arounder for me. The narrower ones are great for cutting circles. Or I’ve used em quite a bit for making square holes for carriage bolts. They do cut a lot better than most people think.

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SlowTrafcKpRht · Thu Dec 05, 2019 11:09 am

burnttoast wrote:Hello all, haven't posted in a while. would like to know anyone's opinion on what would be the most versatile to get. should I get a band saw, metal cutting blade for my circular saw, or a dedicated metal circular saw? right now I'm using cutting disc on my angle grinder, and it's making a mess in my garage with all the dust that it produces. Thanks

I have a hortz bandsaw, and obviously the variety of angle grinders. I enjoy much better the hortz bandsaw... It's cleaner, easy for straight cuts, and doesn't throw sparks/metal like my angle grinder. I'd like a chop saw, but it seems so aggressive and throwing spars/metal everywhere. I just don't want the extra mess to clean.

I'll say, my hortz bandsaw is very temperamental... The adjustments for straight cuts is a huge pain. I'll fully admit this all could be me and the setup. Yet, doubtful... Yes, it's a horror fright bandsaw with a few upgrades. I've had it for nearly 2 decades. I'm way open (pm) for advice... Could a better quality bandsaw eliminate this pain adjustments?

Anyway, get a quality portable bandsaw you'll never go wrong.

LtBadd · Thu Dec 05, 2019 12:13 pm

SlowTrafcKpRht wrote:[Could a better quality bandsaw eliminate this pain adjustments?

Absolutely

JayWal · Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:42 pm

LtBadd wrote:
SlowTrafcKpRht wrote:[Could a better quality bandsaw eliminate this pain adjustments?
Absolutely

What he said.

I’ve never had to adjust mine, at all. I was getting wonky cuts when it was still new but that was with the cheapy blade it come with. Switched it out to a good quality blade and it cuts really straight. I’ve cut a 12” tall pieces of steel plate, clamped vertically in the vice, and get a near perfectly straight cuts.

Good blades make a huge difference!

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SlowTrafcKpRht · Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:18 pm

Yes, agreed about the blade. I've tried several, I think this one now (longest lasting) is a bosc...

What are you or anyone else using?

JayWal · Thu Dec 05, 2019 4:54 pm

Lenox for me. 5&8 TPI

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LtBadd · Thu Dec 05, 2019 7:03 pm

SlowTrafcKpRht wrote:Yes, agreed about the blade. I've tried several, I think this one now (longest lasting) is a bosc...

What are you or anyone else using?

I use a bi metal blade, depending on what your cutting depends on the TPI you need, see my previous post in this thread for more info. Blades also require a breaking in period for longest life.