Does anyone know if I can use a chopsaw to cut through metal pipe? Is there a special kind of blade that would do it?
I've got some fairly heavy-duty square pipe (railing, actually--it's sliding door hardware for an old garage), and I don't have a hacksaw. For the amount of work (4 cuts), I'd rather buy a blade for the chopsaw than buy a hand hacksaw.
For only four cuts, I wouldn't even bother. What's the problem with a human powered hacksaw? With a good blade, its amazing how fast you can cut mild steel.
I'll bet it does Jack. I've been using an old Black and Decker for metal cutting and it's sealed. Heck - when was the last time you saw bearings that weren't sealed? At least in the areas of the tool where it's going to be affected by anything. The question about bearings has come up here before when people have asked about cutting steel with a chop saw and usually someone posts that they'd be concerned about the bearings. Well - if steel is a threat to those bearings, then so is wood. But again - I've been doing it with an old saw for years and I've cut a lot of steel on this saw - no problems at all.
Oh, I don't know that it's such common sense. The chop saw will make a much better cut than a hack saw will and will certainly require a lot less effort. Cost - negligible difference between the cost of the blade and a hacksaw.
This should be "A Termite's Guide to cutting Metal." Get serious. As an electrician we use these everday.
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it's only $300. After you use it for your 4 cuts, you'll find lots of other things to cut. If you can't, e-mail me and I'll take it off you hands for 50%. I need another one. ;-)
I just don't put that much care into garage doors. Besides I like to work up a sweat. I grab my Japanese hand saw frequently for quick rough cuts because I'm too lazy to drag something over to the table saw and do the set up.
On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 02:06:07 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "BillyBob" quickly quoth:
If you're working up a sweat with a Japanese handsaw, you're doing something very wrong. I can cut a tubafore in half with one held between my thumb and forefinger and never work up a sweat. They're great!
It'd probably work on an aluminum-sheathed/foam-filled garage door or whatever you guys were talking about, but for real metal, a hacksaw (or cold saw) would definitely be in order.
Hi, folks, I'm the original poster here. Well, for 4 bucks I bought a metal cut-off blade (cheaper than a hacksaw?), and with a minumum of metal particles, made my four cuts.
So, thanks for advice (and the debate). Now I've got the rails, I just need to build a garage door!
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