chop saw VS band saw

[fun4now]

any feedback on witch will caust less to keep up with the blades.and ease of use or just plane witch is better ???
14" chop saw fiber disk
4.5" lay down band saw
most cuts will be on 10 gage or smaller square tube and round no bigger than 2" outer diamiter. will be doing 45's to make corners.

[MAC702]

Both are a pain to do 45s without a lot of hassle in set-up, but both will do it. Both cut well, and I would wager the bandsaw has the edge in long-term cost savings in blades. Get the bi-metal blades, for sure.

Do you prefer fast but loud and dusty; or slow but walk-away-while-it-works?

[hankj]

I've found that with thin material the chop saw blades gets eaten more quickly. I'd opt for the bandsaw, with a saw band that has 14 - 18 tpi, the rule being that you should have three teeth in contact with the edge of the material you want to cut.

It's still a pain, as MAC said, to swith back and forth from square to mitre cuts, but I don't know of another choice, except maybe this new double counter-rotating blade dry saw that Sears has out.

Be well.

hankj

[Paul Seaman]

Fun4now:
I have a chop saw and it is fine for the typical but for fancy 45 degree mitered corners I notice a slight pull as the blade moves deeper in the cut. I've never seen this on the band saw's I've used. Band saws will cost a bit more in the short run but long term it will do better. Also since the chop saw heats it up as it cuts it will push a bit of lip inside the tubing that requires a deburring tool to remove. Band saw if you can afford it if not chop saw works good too!

My $.02 worth

[HAWK]

fun4now,

No long paragraphs from me on this one: A good quality portable band saw is the cat's meow! I prefer the deep throated, variable speed, heavy duty Milwaukee saw. I believe Lenox blades make it a better saw!

[Revlimit]

Hello fun4now. Since your comparison just includes the band saw vs the chop saw, I would go with the band saw just because that chop saw makes me wanna scream...especially on Monday morning But seriously, I really have done my time on both machines, and a properly maintained band saw will do the better job in my opinion. BUT..like hankj said, for the blades to last you can't break the rules as far as # of teeth in contact with the stock. If you really want a cut that is heaven sent though, use a cold saw. Just last Wednesday I spent half a day cutting .095 wall square stainless tube with ours(mostly 45's). This bad boy will not only cut TRUE 45 deg all day long, but if you keep the coolant flowing and don't abuse the blade, you can get three months out of one sharpening. This saw runs 5-6 hours a day. I know they hurt the wallet, but they sooth the soul my brotha Good luck, Rev

[cope]

Originally posted by HAWK
fun4now,

No long paragraphs from me on this one: A good quality portable band saw is the cat's meow! I prefer the deep throated, variable speed, heavy duty Milwaukee saw. I believe Lenox blades make it a better saw!

A fully equiped shop will have all three. The portable is only as accurate as teh user. Chop saws are quick and dirty and the stationary horizontal band saw can cut while you weld, fit or whatever. For the portable band saw I agree with Hawk; go Milwaukee. I bought mine 24 years ago used before they made the deep throat model. They offer a stand to make it a staionary saw. I have replaced the strain relief on the cord and a few blades.

[fun4now]

portable band saw mount

can you mount the milwaukee portable band saw to a pivitstand do they make 1? seems like trying to hold that and cut would be a drag ? sawsal would do as well ? i was looking at a horizontal mounted one.am i missing the point here you do have to hold up and keep the milwaukee stedy yes/no

[cope]

Re: portable band saw mount

Originally posted by fun4now
can you mount the milwaukee portable band saw to a pivitstand do they make 1? seems like trying to hold that and cut would be a drag ? sawsal would do as well ? i was looking at a horizontal mounted one.am i missing the point here you do have to hold up and keep the milwaukee stedy yes/no

Yes, even with the optional stand you have to hold the portable band saws. The sawzall is not designed for this type of metal cutting. HAwk welds for a living and doesn't always have the luxury of having a stationary saw with him; this makes the Milwaukee portable important. For a home shop I think the stationary band saw would be best followed by the chop saw. You can get by with $200-400 for a 4"x6" stationary horizontal saw and a good chop saw runs $180-250 depending on the make and model.

[HAWK]

FUN4NOW,

WHEN YOU ARE OUT ON THE ROAD AND ALL YOU HAVE IS ON YOUR TRUCK THE PORTABLE BAND SAW IS A REAL GOOD FRIEND. MANY TIMES I HAVE CUT MY MATERIAL WITH A 1/4" CARBON ROD BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION OR THE QUICKEST WAY. ON A JOB TIME IS MONEY. WHEN YOU CHARGE $75/HR WITH A 2 HOUR MINIMUM + TRAVEL YOU HAVE TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. I'VE FLAT EDGED MANY A BANDSAW BLADE AND SMOKED LITERLLY THOUSANDS OF CARBON RODS EVEN WHEN I'VE HAD MY 2050 PLASMA BY MY SIDE. WHEN I AM IN THE SHOP I PREFER ONE OF THE 2 HYDRAULIC COLD SAWS OR THE BURN TABLE WITH PLASMA AND 2 O/A TORCHES, BUT THOSE LUXURIES THAT MAKE FAB WORK EASY ARE NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE.

FOR PRECISION WORK THE COLD BAND SAW IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO! REVLIMIT IS ON THE MONEY. WHEN YOU GET OVER STICKER SHOCK CONSIDER THE AMOUNT OF CUTTING YOU DO AND THE COST OF BLADES AND SHARPENING VERSUS THE INITIAL INVESTMENT AND LONG TERM BENEFITS OF LONG BLADE LIFE ON THE COLD SAWS. FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

[cope]

Originally posted by HAWK
FUN4NOW,

WHEN YOU ARE OUT ON THE ROAD AND ALL YOU HAVE IS ON YOUR TRUCK THE PORTABLE BAND SAW IS A REAL GOOD FRIEND. MANY TIMES I HAVE CUT MY MATERIAL WITH A 1/4" CARBON ROD BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION OR THE QUICKEST WAY. ON A JOB TIME IS MONEY. WHEN YOU CHARGE $75/HR WITH A 2 HOUR MINIMUM + TRAVEL YOU HAVE TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. I'VE FLAT EDGED MANY A BANDSAW BLADE AND SMOKED LITERLLY THOUSANDS OF CARBON RODS EVEN WHEN I'VE HAD MY 2050 PLASMA BY MY SIDE. WHEN I AM IN THE SHOP I PREFER ONE OF THE 2 HYDRAULIC COLD SAWS OR THE BURN TABLE WITH PLASMA AND 2 O/A TORCHES, BUT THOSE LUXURIES THAT MAKE FAB WORK EASY ARE NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE.

FOR PRECISION WORK THE COLD BAND SAW IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO! REVLIMIT IS ON THE MONEY. WHEN YOU GET OVER STICKER SHOCK CONSIDER THE AMOUNT OF CUTTING YOU DO AND THE COST OF BLADES AND SHARPENING VERSUS THE INITIAL INVESTMENT AND LONG TERM BENEFITS OF LONG BLADE LIFE ON THE COLD SAWS. FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

Last year a couple of guys over at Hobart Weld Talk showed pictures of how they modified regular dry cut saws to coolant cooled. The also added a hydraulic system. I had always thought that coolant wopuld cause the blades to come off the tires but they said there were no problems. They scrounged the parts from Ebay and so forth and the cost was not too bad.

[fun4now]

HAWK

sorry i didnt mean to offend you or your advice .when i was building custom homes for a living i made do with many things and used what i had at times . including a portable bandsaw (on wood)but now in my present phisical condition i could not hold it for long and shurely not stedy enough to make a good cut thats why i asked about the horizontal mounted type and if you could mount 1 if milwaukee made an atachment to mount it. i verry much appreceate your advice and would like to get the milwaukee if it could be mounted so i could use it. if it cant be mounted then ill have to get another brand that can. when i built houses i only bought milwaukee tools as they will last you forever if cared for i still have and use my sawsall and drill from nearly 20 years ago.

[hankj]

In my old trade, we fabricated support steel (3", 5# channel,2" flat bar, 5/8" allthread and 2" x .250 angle), lterally by the ton. For days on end. Building bay after building bay. Cutting method? Milwaukee deep throat portable band saw. I never wore one out in 32 years.

Be well.

hankj

[HAWK]

Re: HAWK

Originally posted by fun4now
sorry i didnt mean to offend you or your advice . my

fun4now,

No offense taken. I understand your position. I too have a few health problems that keep me and my tools from performing as needed at times. We just do the best we can.

[cope]

Re: HAWK

Originally posted by fun4now
sorry i didnt mean to offend you or your advice .when i was building custom homes for a living i made do with many things and used what i had at times . including a portable bandsaw (on wood)but now in my present phisical condition i could not hold it for long and shurely not stedy enough to make a good cut thats why i asked about the horizontal mounted type and if you could mount 1 if milwaukee made an atachment to mount it. i verry much appreceate your advice and would like to get the milwaukee if it could be mounted so i could use it. if it cant be mounted then ill have to get another brand that can. when i built houses i only bought milwaukee tools as they will last you forever if cared for i still have and use my sawsall and drill from nearly 20 years ago.

There is no auto shut off on the Milwaukee so even stand mounted you would need to stay with it. The 4X6 horizontal saws let you start the cut and go off to do something productive (no fun watching paint dry or a saw cut).