Metal cutting saw

[Theo]

I have a junior hacksaw, the bent metal rod kind, which I use for random metal cutting jobs - steel bolts, bits of copper pipe, etc. It's not very good at it.

I thought it was the blades so I replaced with some Bahco, which I thought was a better brand. They are slightly better, but they blunt very fast - I'm changing the blade for every bit of 15mm pipe, for example. Even something like that is somewhat hard going. It probably doesn't help that it seems like the blade is not under much tension so it wobbles and comes out easily.

What would be a better sort of hand saw for metal cutting? I have various power saws but I don't want the faff of jigging something up just to cut a bolt. Ideally something small so I can work in confined spaces when cutting pipe etc in situ.

Or do I just need a better hacksaw, and if so any recommendations?

Thanks Theo

[The Natural Philosopher]

TBH hacksaws only work with best blades for a shirt while on soft metal

- brass al cu etc.

For other stuff use angle grinder and cutting disk., If space is limited get a small on

[williamwright]

Either a full-sized hacksaw (a good quality one, with a good blade) or a dremel with a thin cutting wheel. The latter is what I use use, because it's much more precise.

Bill

[PeterC]

I found that Eclipse blades work well, but I got them about 4 years ago so they might not be good now. The cheap ones from the local PO are OK on soft materials but on steel they're just a cheap way of getting little pointy bits of metal!

[nothanks]

Not what you asked, but it's hard to beat a cutting disc in an angle grinder, or a dedicated RAGE chop saw for larger items.

[RJH]

IME blade quality is crucial. I recently cut through several M10 coach bolts with my bottom of the toolbox mini hacksaw with a Bahco blade - must be at least 20 years old. That saw/blade has suffered all manner of use/abuse over the years. Quite slow going but no problem. Bought some what I thought were similar Bahco spares while buying some other stuff and don't seem to be anything approaching the quality - blunten easily and don't cut as well. And they were conspicuously cheap.

Any suggestions for a decent quality replacement for when the time comes appreciated.

[Theo]

I hadn't thought of a dremel. Can you cut steel with one? (if you take it slowly, lubricate, etc). For example cutting M10 bolts is probably the biggest job I would do. How much does it spark?

The problem with a full grinder is needing all the PPE, which is why I prefer to use a hand saw for a one-off job.

Theo

[jkn]

I too find a full size hacksaw usually an awful lot better than a junior one. I think the blades must be of better quality. It's probably something about the greater amount of 'run' you get at the work with a full size one as well.

J^n

[misterroy]

I work in a school, and we used to use eclipse blades, a lot of them. I bought Bahco ones and they seem to last way longer. Maybe 4 times longer. I did watch one pupil with an eclipse bladed hacksaw years ago cutting 8mm silver steel rod for twenty minutes. When I was done keeping the forge safe I went to him, and asked for a go, he had only made it 2mm in. I took it no further. I looked at the blade and apart from an inch from the end there was only about a fifth of a tooth on the blade.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Theo brought next idea :

For general metal sawing a proper hacksaw works best, with a 32 tpi blades which is half hard, hard at cutting part, softer at the rest of the blade. A really hard blade tends to be quite brittle.

A pipe slice or cutter is best for cutting copper pipe. They cut copper pipes without needing much space around them - like a C shape with a hinged part to clamp around the pipe. Then you just spin it round the pipe a few times, much faster and perfectly square ended.

[Andrew]

It's all down to the thickness of the web IMHO. Junior blades are not very deep so they flex while you are cutting, while a full- size blade is about 12 mm deep so more rigid. Also being more rigid you are able to push across the piece being cut while with the diddly junior you tend to be concentrating on simply holding it at 90 degrees to what you are cutting and also tend to vary the angle you are cutting at hence imposing a lot more lateral and twisting forces on the blade.

[Paul]

I looked in my collection of full-sized hacksaw blades and I notice I have a couple "Eclipse" too. But what I really wanted, was some more of these.

Ultra bi hard cobalt 32T (311mm end to end)

As I did a lot of cutting with those.

There's a claim here they are "Made in France" but the lack of markings, they could be made just about anywhere. There is a gold color to the paint on the ends. There's not much to look at in the picture here.

The blades cut better if they're maintained taut in the frame.

*******

And this idea is for the birds. No hack saw blade is designed to work with this concept.

"MINI HACKSAW"

$zmmain$

*******

If you could find a holder for a jigsaw "metal cutting blade", that might be another way to implement a cutter for tight spots. But I've not seen any holder for a thing like that. If you welded a shank to one, you'd take the temper out of it.

Paul

[Theo]

Thanks. So a decent 12" hacksaw and some Bahco bimetal 32tpi blades sounds like the order of the day?

(I think I have another pound shop 6" hacksaw somewhere, but probably best keep that one lost)

It's not a thing I do massively often, so thus far haven't invested in one of those, and have just used a hacksaw to get me out of the occasional hole. Although I can see it being worth it if there's more plumbing in my future...

(which there probably will be, but not imminently)

Theo

[jkn]

I mostly agree with this. I also think that due to the spring action of junior hacksaws, the blades are held under less tension than with a full size hacksaw. This makes the twisting of the blade under pressure more likely.

I do have a junior hacksaw with a tensioning arrangement more like the full size one; I haven't used it enough to see if this improves things.

[Theo]

That appears to be this lot:

Made in India since 2016. UK supplier: I wonder how they compare to say a Bahco? (about 30% cheaper for starters)

I think that might be for confined spaces, where a full handle won't do? I have been known to just hold the blade (which is not very efficient, but in the absence of anything else...)

I do have a jigsaw with metal cutting blades, but then I'm not sure how well it would be to control that without a flat surface.

Theo

[Theo]

I think it does. The one I've lost is like this:

has a screw to adjust the tension. However I think the problem is the blades are still carbon steel so they're not actually that hard. And of course the length touching the workpiece is not very long, which causes faster wearout.

Theo

[Bob Eager]

I have, and I think it does. As it happens, it's a Bahco!

[John Rumm]

A full sized hacksaw it much much better than cheap junior one.

For pipes, then a pipe slice is massively better and faster than a saw.

For cutting pipe in situ then a mini pip cutter does well. If it is a really awkward cut then a plunge cut blade on a reciprocating saw will cut pipes that otherwise could not be reached without collateral damage.

For more general metal cutting an angle grinder is probably the most versatile tool - but it does rather depend on what you need to cut.

[williamwright]

I cut M10 bolts with a dremel, using an EZ541GR Aluminium Oxide Grinding Wheel. There are lots of sparks, which makes it more fun.

You don't really need PPE for this. The sparks don't go very far. I've never had a wheel shatter, but I have plastic lens glasses anyway.

Bill

[williamwright]

In the days when I was sometimes repairing aerials I used a junior hacksaw but it had to be the type with a screw tensioner. They're fine for cutting M6 or M8 bolts; you just have to take your time, don't press on too much, and be patient. Nowadays a lot of the guys use little battery powered gadgets of one sort or another.

Bill