I use a grinder and cut-off wheel for most stuff up to 1/4"... makes quick accurate cuts, never could master the handheld bandsaw, the blade always seemed to walk around on me
My dad was a tool & die maker for Lockheed, Douglas, Rockwel, . . . . . The thousand of tools he's collected over the years are in my garage. I never really bought a tool, just cutting disk. I got some great tools I dont even know how to use.
i bought a used horizontal band saw last year and put new bearings in it and use for most everything that will fit in it. I've almost got it dialed in so it will cut a straight cut as it was off a lot when I got it. I've got a 14 inch chop saw but have only drug it out from under the bench once in the last year because I don't like the sparks or mess it makes along with chop saws work hardening the end of cuts so the machinists that I know get real pissed off when you take something to them. I've also got a batch of 4-1/2 inch angle grinders with one dedicated to having a cut off wheel but prefer the 1/16 wheels over the .030 wheels as I've seen too many .030 wheels explode if they get in a bind. I used to buy 1 to 2 hundred cut off wheels a week for the processing plant that I worked in for their maintenance department and we got away from the thin ones there because so many broke. I've got several hacksaws of varying quality and saw a handle that holds a sawzall blade at Home Depot the other day that I am gong to get for working in tight spots. 20.00 with several blades with it. Normally I only use the torch to cut something when I am going to throw it on the scrap pile but I did a lot of cut, grand and weld doing the cutting with the torch when I was young.
I use aviation snips, 4" grinder (10yr old Makita) with .045 thick cut off wheels. I also use my Porter Cable 14" chop saw, and my trusty victor torch. FOR clean up I use a file,tiger discs on my 4" grinder. Lee
i think the handheld bandsaws work well too. i also use a grinder with a cutting disc and an airsaw for cutting out panels. etc...an airsaw offers alot of control.
Yup. I use the reciprocating saw for more work than most people. With the right blade, the proper speed and the right angles you can cut really good with them. I have a stomp shear for anything up to 18 ga. Cut off disks for 18ga. to 3/16". Or band saw. For large sheets of metal I have an old circular saw that is all metal. I put the remains of my chop saw disks in the circular saw and use that for cutting thicker sheet metal. Or use it just like you would a circular saw. Easy to follow a line and straight cuts. Otherwise, the reciprocating saw for weird cuts and long lines (with a guide as mentioned). Horizontal band saw for shorter stuff.
Milwakee deep throat portaband! Get one a these and you will wonder how ya got by without it! NO B.S. I hate makin sparks!
Anything that I freehand I use a cutoff disk on an angle grinder...electric or air whatever the setup is. If you go torch either plasma or OA try to line up with a straightedge to drag across.
I have a Kalamazoo Model 610 horizontal band saw I bought in 1988 for $75. I've cut just about anything on it and it does very straight miter cuts. I hooked up a spray mist to it too. Bob
I have a 14" Milwaukee Dry Cut Chop Saw I use for bar and flat stock. Just purchased a 8" Milwaukee Metal Cutting Circular Saw, I use it for steel plate, (I have cut thru 1/2" thick steel plate and it was like cutting a pine board)
i have been using my milwaukee porta band that i made into a vertical band saw, cuts like butter and blades are cheap. post 60 if you want to check it out..... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=662358&page=3
I don't know how anyone can function in a fab shop without three basic tools: a drill press, belt and disc sander, and a vertical bandsaw. I have an old Rockwell saw from the '40s, I used a 20:1 gearbox to slow it down for cutting metal. I use 10 tpi blades for 3/16 or thicker, 18 tpi wavy set for thinner material. 1/4" wide blades will cut curves. Expensive bimetal blades are a nice luxury, but basic carbon steel blades are much cheaper, more forgiving, and you really only need the bimetal blades if you're cutting tough alloy steels.
Between 1/8" and 1/4" I cut most stuff with a Sawzall, but I buy good blades. Most stuff under 1/8" or 1/4 or over gets cut with with my plasma. Sheet metal gets cut with tin snips or the plasma. The torch is mostly used to heat stuff these days, very little gets cut with the torch. My plasma was not cheap, but neither was my welder, and just like the welder is to welding, the plasma is the proper tool for cutting, at my place for a high percentage of the cutting I do. Gene
I slide a large diameter nut over the nozzle of a cutting torch and slide it around templates cut from masonite. The nut keeps the nozzle about 1/16 off the surface and I usually get a nice clean cut.
This is the one I use: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DOTCO-Pneumatic-Grinder-24D714?Pid=search I also use a Dotco 6" right angle grinder. 18K RPM, the smoothest and most accurate grinder I've ever used. They're very expensive. Well shit, that's an understatement, but if you keep your eyes open at estate sales, fleabay, swap meets, you'd be surprised what you can find for near criminally low prices. I paid $10 for a Rodac air file that looked like it was used maybe once or twice. The last one I bought was in '78 for $80 and it finally bit the dust. Bought a Dynabrade 90deg die grinder that spins at an insane 35K RPM for $30, also looked near new. They retail for over $400. Keep your eyes open at those things kids. Don't forget the weekly auctions houses too. We have like 6 of those down here in Monroe County MI. Retail prices are for emergency purchases
I have a 4 inch grinder/cut off wheel, 14 inch chop saw, plasma cutter and yes a 'whiz wheel' which is like a 3 inch diameter cut off wheel for an air operated rotary tool.
I have a 4" Makita, a 4-1/2" Dewalt with cut off wheels...Also have a cheap $100 14" chop saw from Harbor Frt, a couple of pneumatic die grinder/cut-offs, a sawzall... And get this, one of the best I found for cutting patterns in plate, I bought a really good Bosch hand-held jig saw and a bunch of fine tooth metal blades, this thing will cut 1/4" plate and 3/16" plate (all the boxing plates for my '38) like butter, cuts clean and quick...
I got an eastwood plasma $600ish that I can't put down now. Oxy fuel always works great and 4.5 angle grinder is a must have
I have a Dewalt chop saw, a metal cutting wheel from Wal-mart that goes in a skil saw, a cutting wheel in a 4 1/2 grinder, a cutoff air saw, an air hammer with a sheet metal bit and a bench grinder for detail. All I've needed so far for everything.
I have a huge bandsaw/dropsaw that makes very nice cuts, older machine and it works great. It generally sits in the corner collecting dust. I have a decent abrasive chopsaw that works real well to, that sits under said bandsaw. The two things that I use the most are a 4.5" Metabo with a cutoff wheel and a Miller plasma cutter. Most jobs end up going to the Metabo unless I cant get in there then it's up to the plasma. The bandsaw is utilized mostly with tubing and pipe work, but as of late teh Metabo has been taking that challenge more and more.
Yeah, we've got a harbor freight plasma cutter at our shop that I gave up using for anything over 1/8 thick, so thats what i came up with. I still use templates with the plasma to though.
This is BS. I use a Super Sawzall all the time and the blades last as long if not longer than any hack saw blade, I can cut straight lines with no problems. If your sawzall doesn;t cut straight, its human error not the sawzall. I even cut 1/2" plate with no problem. I also have a cutting torch, a plazma cutter, a metal band saw, an abrasive cut off saw, a bunch of griders with cut off wheels and I use the sawzall the most.
A Big Hell Yeah on the Bosch Sabre Saw. I have owned one for over 10 years and it's still going strong. I have cut 1" bar stock with this saw. A retired machinist friend recently passed on a trick for cutting oil !!! I was advised to try chain saw oil. It can't hurt and I think it would be cheaper than cutting oil. Other than my Bosch I use regular die grinders (one straight, one 90 degree) and 2 Makita 4.5 grinders one with a cut off wheel and one with a grind wheel. Expect to spend around $170 on a new Bosch..... WJR
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