A cut off saw

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got an old compound mitre B&Q saw which I no longer use - I've got a sliding one now.

It takes a 210mm blade with an 18mm bore. So would probably need an adaptor?

I'd love to use it as a cut off saw for things like aluminium and plastic tube, etc - maybe even steel. A good clean cut is more important than speed. I'd be happy to pay out for a diamond blade etc if this gave good results and was fairly universal for materials. I've got a mortal fear of the sort of composite discs angle grinders use. ;-)

Any comments?

[Jules]

Hmm, are there special blades for plastic, then? I've only tried it once with mine (it feeds on wood otherwise :) and it worked fine, but I was worried at the time whether it was totally the wrong blade for the job.

I presume there are different blades for metals, though - even aluminium... it's not something I've looked into, but it would be handy if I could cut metal on the ol' compound mitre too.

Bah, that's what the shroud around the disc is for :-) I've done a lot of cutting with an AG and the worst I've seen was a small chunk break from a disc (and that was cutting a long unsupported scaffold pipe which was vibrating all over the place, so it was asking for trouble really). I am careful about where I keep myself in relation to the grinder though, just in case something interesting does happen...

cheers

Jules

[John Rumm]

Ali and plastic will cut fine with a "normal" TCT blade.

Steel would need an abrasive type disc, and rotation speed might be a bit low compared to a "real" saw,