chop saw

[RobertBrown]

I used an angle grinder for years and was getting pretty good at straight cuts. One day I was doing a routine cut, no binding, taking my time and wham! The disk came apart and a piece of it hit the lense of my safety glasses. Big slice in the lense and a dandy shiner to go with it. Hello Popeye..........Hello Milwaukee chop saw. No sermon...... just the facts.

It happen to me too. 1/3 of the wheel stuck in my thigh and I found the other piece a week later about 150 ft away.

 

[J_J]

Pecking order according to price.

Hack saw
Angle grinder
Sawzall
Chop saw-abrasive
Power Hacksaw
Band saw
Chop saw or Cold saw with carbide teeth.
Plasma cutter
Laser cutter
Water jet
EDM wire cutting and wire spark erosion

 

[tawilson]

J J and others have mentioned how well the metal saw with the carbide teeth work. One thing they didn't mention is they create metal chips while anything with an abrasive blade creates metal dust.

 

[moored4]

Can a metal blade be put on a abrasive chop saw frame?

 

[Deere Dude]

Harbor freight is pure garbage. I have a dewalt and have no complaints

Harbor Freight has different grades of saws like someone mentioned as does most companies. If you get a light duty saw and really take it easy and not horse it, it may work.
I got a medium duty 14" HF saw about 10 years ago and horsed it more than I knew I should quite often (3/8" or 1/2" thick x 6" angle iron). The brushes eventually failed but then it worked fine for 5 more years. Last year they failed again so I bought a heavy duty HF 14" chop saw because I thought the first one was shot.
The heavier duty one has a much heavier duty brush set-up at I can really horse that saw. In the meantime I bough new brushes for the old one and it works fine again, but now I have a good back-up.
You can't go wrong generally with a big brand name on anything and their prices are coming down because they are cheapening them up also, but the HF heavier chop saws can be had on some great sales and they are plenty durable.
I bought a 4-1/2 Milwaukee grinder 20 years ago for $80. A month or two later I bought a HF 4-1/2" grinder for cheap. $25 I think. The HF was more heavy duty and whenever I wanted to really force some grinding I would use the HF because I didn't want to wreck the Milwaukee. I was happy with both. I have bought cheaper grinders than those but they don't hold up at all.
No complaints here,

 

[Gary Fowler]

I cant say as to Harbor freight chop saw quality, but stay away from their abrasive blade. I put one on my Craftsman chop say and you have to hold it down to keep it from vibrating off the table, same thing with a 7" grinder wheel.
I did get their 4.5" grinder and after putting some grease in the final drive housing, the whine went away and it is smooth and as powerful as my Dewalt. When I opened the gear box, the gears were completely dry. There was a gob of grease in the case but it wasnt touching the gears at all. They would likely have worn out fairly quickly if I hadnt put in some lubricant. I also got the extended warranty for $5 on it just in case.

 

[tawilson]

Can a metal blade be put on a abrasive chop saw frame?

Usually metal saws are set up to run at a lower rpm. I don't know what would happen.

 

[tawilson]

Can a metal blade be put on a abrasive chop saw frame?

Usually metal saws are set up to run at a lower rpm. I don't know what would happen. I've got an old metal blade around and a couple of chop saws. Maybe I'll experiment this afternoon. I'm thinking it'll wear the blade out faster.

 

[J_J]

My 14 in Dewalt carbide cold cut saw runs about 1800 rpm. The abrasive chop saws run at about 3600 rpm. Rules are rules. I would not recommend running those blades faster than stated on your saw. Those carbide teeth imbedded under your skin probably hurts like he**.

I lost one carbide tooth, don't know where it went.

Use a magnet to help catch the metal chips.

Ear protectors are recommend also.

 

[georgia jeff]

I own a harbor frieght metal chop saw but I only use it about 4 times a year. I have cut 1/4 inch metal flat bar steel with it but that was all it wanted. If I were going to use it frequently I would buy a better quality one. However, I don't and the Harbor Freight works great for me so far.