Abrasive Cut off saw Advice

[mcauleym]

Hi everyone -

I need some advice on buying a saw - I have looked at makita, ridged, millwaukee, princess auto (powerfist) and a lot of other off brands.

I'm planning on cutting doing 2x3 rectangle, maybe 4x4 square (kids want a basketball hoop made), various angle. I'm a hobbyist/handyman type.

I have found on basically every single machine I looked at the crappiest design for cutting angles. How can a bolt with a line pointing to a guide on the machine come anywhere close to being accurate at angles? Am I missing something here?

My makita wood saw has locks at various angles (left & right) plus locks for side to side tilt for installing crown molding. After doing crown in my house I am absolutely convinced that if you saw is 1 degree out your f*%cked.

Band saw is not in the budget. Would it be possible to put an abrasive blade in my wood saw and use that? I'm sure my $500 makita would be very accurate I just don't want to blow it up.


Any advise would be awesome!

[platypus20]

Most of the abrasive chop saws have nothing to do with accuracy, it about getting you in the ball park. If you are off 5-10 degrees with a wood miter saw it will show up instantly, if you are 5-10 degrees off with a chop saw, it just means a wider gap that has to be filled with the welder. I bought a Milwaukee dry cut saw with a carbide blade, and haven't used the abrasive saw since, but the cut-off saw I have is also a Milwaukee, and has the cast iron base, which IMHO, offers a more stable cutting platform. Most of the major brands are about the same, you have to look at them and decide which has the features you want. If you are looking for a high precision tool, an abrasive cut-off saw itsn't it.

Jack

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Maybe some here will have better ideas - I would be interested in that myself. I have thought that there ought to be a better answer, 'cause I pretty much treat the chop saw as a cheap throw away tool.....I'm not even in a production shop, I just do fabricating jobs for add-ons / options / repairs on the machinery we sell, and yet I usually burn up a chop saw about once a year. I've found the amount of cutting surface is the biggest key - I can chop tons of light angle / small material without issue, but a few pieces of heavy wall tubing, or trying to cut a miter angle which puts the wheel down on a flat face will shorten the life of the saw. I tried finding something tougher, but they just seem more expensive, so I just buy whatever is on sale when we need one.
If I have any sort of "production run", making more than a few pieces with miters, I cut 'em straight, then use the plasma to cut miter angles (I can usually get closer to the right angle than that way,too).
My local welder where I get steel from (and lots of fatherly work / welding advice from since he's an older guy!) has a huge chop saw that will burn through the thick stuff like butter, but you have to be a pro to get something like that.

[Broccoli1]

There is no cheap better idea and you already know the answer to the problem

Just look at why you paid $500.00 for a good quality Wood Mitre saw? Because it is the right tool for the job.

[Big_Eddy]

DO NOT PUT an abrasive blade in your $500 chop saw - unless you are planning to replace it. The sparks and heat will melt any plastic pieces - and they all have them - and the dust will eat the bearings out of the saw in no time. Do a search - many people have learned that lesson the hard way.

As for which to buy - look for one with a good clamping mechanism. That will get the most usage.

With mine - it's the brushes that go. The heat removes the temper from the springs and they don't contact well. New set of brushes and it runs great again. Done that twice so far. Think mine was $99 on sale - had it about 4 years now.

[shade tree welder]

I have a milwaukee chop saw with the d-handle, pretty tough saw i cut a lot of angle pipe tube,on angles and strait cuts. I personally believe the trick is in the blades you use. Ibuy my blades at Lowes they are Dewalt brand . They have two different type blades the ones i buy are reddish looking about 8-10 bucks apiece. These blades last twice as long as any blade i have used. Also i think milwaukee has a longer warranty 5 years i believe. Since i bouht my Baliegh bandsaw my chopsaw is collecting dust. The angle guide is not accurate at all on any brand chopsaw i have used several brands over the years. The trick is to use a carpenters speed square against the blade and move the backrest to any angle you need and lock it down,you will have perfect cuts every time.

[DSW]

You definitely don't want to use the abrasive blades in a standard chop saw for wood. They will be destroyed almost right away.

I have 2 abrasive chop saws. A Milwaukee and a Dewalt. The Milwaukee's angle adjustment uses 2 bolts and is very ridgid. I usually set this saw up to cut 90 deg. and leave it that way. The dewalt has a lever that allows you to quickly loosen the fence, but it can get accidentally changed easily. That one I usually set up to cut angles if I need to keep changing the set up.

I use a speed square to set 45's and 90's. For odd angles say 15 deg I just use my wood saw to cut a wedge to the angle I need and use that to set my saw. I have wedges set up for 30, 60, 22 1/2, 120, 135, 150, 112 1/2. This usually gets me real close to the angle I need to cut fast. It also lets me easily make oposite cuts if I need to keep the material in the same position, say an outside 45 on a piece of angle.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Broccoli1]

How to cut a Mitre when cutting Angle

[Broccoli1]

[Broccoli1]

and straight cuts- Notice orientation of Angle

[Flyingpig]

Some people would scream about the previous picture. Way to start em out early. Dont forget to get him a firearm soon. No better time to start teaching safety.

[Broccoli1]

Some people would scream about the previous picture. Way to start em out early. Dont forget to get him a firearm soon. No better time to start teaching safety.

I put Sun Block on him

[DSW]

Here I thought that was you Ed and I was going to ask where your safety glasses were! Thought maybe you were one of those vertically chalanged "little people" and was going to ask how you reached the hammer on the peg board with out a ladder.

Alway great to have the kids "help". The noise might be a bit much on his ears however.

[Broccoli1]

Before anyone freaks out it's called Photoshop

Time sure does fly- he will be 4 in Sept.

[Sberry]

I do a lot of chop saw and have burned one up from overwork. I hold my hand near the motor exhaust when making heavy cuts, you can feel the air temp spike if its going into over load. I will agree, most of the time accuracy isn't a big deal. I rarely cut angles, I nip with plasma or torch.