Chopsaw to cut through metal--should I? Could I?

Put a metal cutting blade in it and have at it. It's done everyday by millions of people.

Well, thanks!

Make it a million and one.

ds

get an abrasive chopsaw blade. no teeth.

Dave

go at it but make sure to remove the nylon bag

Christian

... and hope that the metal filing don't get in the saw's bearings.

Sealed bearings. I've used a chop saw with a metal cutting blade for over

Is it a woodworking chop saw or one designed for metal work?

I'm pretty sure my Makita LS1013 doesn't have sealed bearings.

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.

Bob

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.

Ahhhh ... The light of uncommon sense finally shines on the problem/thread.

Not to mention that a shop without a hacksaw is as useless as a pre-op John Wayne Bobbit after Lorena did her/his thing.

problem/thread.

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.

Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking From: Ernie Leimkuhler Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 00:15:18 GMT Local: Sat, Mar 27 2004 7:15 pm Subject: Re: metal cutting circular saw?

A far better option is to simply buy a used Skil 77 wormdrive saw and buy a steel cutting blade for it.

The 7-1/4" steel cutting blades from Tenryo, Morse and Matsushita all cost around $50.

I have used the Matsushita and the Tenryu blades with great success.

Tenryu now offers 3 blades, fine, medium and coarse toothed depending on how thick the materiel is you are cutting.

The dedicated steel saws run even lower RPM, and in theory are better at deflecting the hot chips from hitting you in the face.

I bought a Skill 77 saw at the flea market for $35, and paid $50 for a Tenryu Steel-Pro blade.

I diced up a lot of 1/2" plate with that combo.

This should be "A Termite's Guide to cutting Metal." Get serious. As an electrician we use these everday.

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.

Bob

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.

- Metaphors Be With You -

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!

ds