So I am new to metal fabrication, but I am starting my own side company after graduating from welding school and having worked at a fabrication shop welding for the last 6 months. I have already purchased pretty much everything I need to start fabricating but I am completely stuck at which saw to purchase. I will be cutting any and everything. Some will be mild steel (square tubing, angle iron, etc). Some will be pipe up to 1/4" thick. Some will be rebar and possibly some hardened steel.
So in all my research it seems like most people prefer a carbide steel blade (cold cut) for a saw, but the downsides seem to be that if you have to cut rebar or something fairly hard, you run the risk of breaking teeth off a $100+ blade, or at least dulling it very quickly. So then there is a chop saw with a abrasive blade, but everyone says it makes a **** of a mess and breathing that crap in is obviously not good for your health in the long run. By the way, we use abrasive chop saws at work but its in a shop that stays messy, this will be in my garage where I prefer not to cover everything in black dust. Then my most recent research brought me to benchtop band saws... yes they are a little pricey but I want to get something that can cut through almost any metal (up to 1/4") and not have to worry about it breaking a blade. I have a hard time finding much info on band saws so I figured I would ask here. Can the bench-top band-saw with a bi-metal blade cut through stuff that a carbide metal saw blade can't?
I appreciate any help as this is the last piece of the puzzle I need to start doing side jobs. Thank you!
So in all my research it seems like most people prefer a carbide steel blade (cold cut) for a saw, but the downsides seem to be that if you have to cut rebar or something fairly hard, you run the risk of breaking teeth off a $100+ blade, or at least dulling it very quickly. So then there is a chop saw with a abrasive blade, but everyone says it makes a **** of a mess and breathing that crap in is obviously not good for your health in the long run. By the way, we use abrasive chop saws at work but its in a shop that stays messy, this will be in my garage where I prefer not to cover everything in black dust. Then my most recent research brought me to benchtop band saws... yes they are a little pricey but I want to get something that can cut through almost any metal (up to 1/4") and not have to worry about it breaking a blade. I have a hard time finding much info on band saws so I figured I would ask here. Can the bench-top band-saw with a bi-metal blade cut through stuff that a carbide metal saw blade can't?
I appreciate any help as this is the last piece of the puzzle I need to start doing side jobs. Thank you!
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