Can I use a miter saw for steel ?

MayesFarm · Feb 25, 2016

I have limited space and a limited tool budget . With that said I am needing something better than a skil saw and a speed square for wood and an abrasive wheel on a grinder is getting old for steel. My question is " Can I use a miter saw for wood with an abrasive blade to cut steel ? " It won't be used a lot , just for repair and maintainance . I am open to any advice or suggestions.

4570Man · Feb 25, 2016

It will work, but I wouldn't use it again for wood. Miter saws are pretty inexpensive. I would recommend buying one for each task.

MayesFarm · Feb 25, 2016

Thanks for the input, but can you tell me more ?. In looking at the saws at lowe's the biggest difference that I can see is that the miter saw pivots . I'm sure that there is more than that.

4570Man · Feb 25, 2016

I forgot I'm not on the woodworking forum. The metal shards will be sure to ruin any nice woodworking project, but if you are just doing a crude construction project it won't hurt anything. Another possible problem is the wood saws don't have a vice.

crazyal · Feb 25, 2016

The short answer is yes but you probably will not want to. Wood saws are designed for the blade to never change sizes while a cut off blade will wear down. You might find a carbide metal blade but chances are your wood saw will run at too high of a RPM and ruin the metal blade. Also wood saws have lots of plastic parts. Hot metal will melt plastic. If you have a cheap saw and don't mind damaging the plastic parts and having to shim the metal to offset a worn cut off wheel then try it. If you have a nice name brand sliding compound miter saw then I wouldn't do it.

Ed of all trades · Feb 25, 2016

I tried it and was far from impressed, It did work but was not a good choice. I got a small delta off of craigslist for that purpose and put an abrasive blade on it. It was very slow and the sparks were going into the motor. It is just not designed to deal with metal grit in the motor. Get an abrasive saw and get it over with. You can get them for a little over $100 and it will work much better. Ed

JerryK · Feb 25, 2016

You can actually use a circular or miter saw to cut steel.. using a steel blade. Not good on the saw, and you definitely want safety glasses/etc. AND EARPLUGS. Does not seem to do much visible damage to the saw blade, but I'm sure it is duller than krap afterwards. When you start the cut, the blades will quickly create enough heat to basically let you burn your way thru the metal. Probably not very easy to do with thick metal, but I have cut 1/4" thick angle this way. A guy at work years ago told me, and I told him his was crazy... until I tried it with an old saw. Again, safety and EAR PLUGS...!!!

LD1 · Feb 25, 2016

Buy one for each task. There are many reasons , most listed here, to not use an abrasive with a miter saw. I'll summarize

1. Miters typically have plastic guards and other stuff.....not good for metal
2. Miters are usually 10 or 12". Most chop saws, and common abrasive blades are 14"
3. Miters only allow the saw to go so low. Chop saws are designed to go a few inches "below" the table to account for blade wear
4. Miters have alot more moving parts that will not work very well if full of grit....especially a slider type
5. No clamp

oosik · Feb 25, 2016

I have used my radial arm saw to cut AL trim and 1"x1" angle iron. The angle iron shot back so much sparks it caused the wood dust on the wall behind the saw to start smoking. Anyhow, I took a shop towel and LIGHTLY dampened it in water, wrapped it around the intake grill to the saw motor and held it there with rubber bands. IE - no krap into the motor and the damp rag retarded fires. I wore safety glasses and a plexiglass face shield and ear muffs.

It worked OK but I only had a few cuts to make and I would not do it again. I now use a Makita hand grinder with cut-off wheels.

KennyG · Feb 25, 2016

If you are going to do a steel cut once in a long while, use and angle grinder with a cut off blade.

If you have occasional needs to cut steel, get the Harbor Freight cut off saw (the higher horsepower one and find it on sale or use a coupon).

If you are going to cut steel regularly, get a band saw.

Don't ruin your circular saw/miter saw on anything heavier than sheet metal.