I have both a miluakee chop saw and a 4x6 bandsaw. The chop saw cuts a little straighter but leaves alot of cleanup work plus its loud, dusty, and shoots sparks everywhere. The bandsaw is quiet but is slow and usually doesn't cut super straight.

The main question is should i be thinking of a multi purpous type cold saw? From what i have read they cut the straightest and are also fairly quick. I'm looking at the dewalt 14" multi cutter saw (about $409 shipped on ebay) The $100 a blade sounds kind of steep, how long do they normally last?

Basicly i'm looking for something that can cut straight. I mainly am having trouble cutting round and square tube (usually 11-14ga) upto about 5 inches in size and getting a nice straight edge on it. I'm not using it for a ton of cuts but would like the cuts that it does do to be pretty straight and accurate. I'd be willing to spend upto about $1000 on a good unit. Can anyone point me in the right direction?? Thanks in advance for all help!

http://www.toolsteal.com/store_images/DeWALT/l_RAF-DWT-NEW-DW872.jpg

I'm doubtful that a 14" blade will reach across a piece of 5" square tubing, you would have to flip it.

I've never used these high speed dry cutters. I suspect they are noiser than a chop saw if that is possible :D

I have a 14" cold saw, but it is the slow running type of saw using a hollow ground HSS blade, more like a machine tool and costing something like $4000 on up. These do cut very square, but it is in a different league than the multicutter.

Cutting thinwall tubing off square with a bandsaw is difficult. The blade needs to be in excellent condition, any dull teeth on one side will make it wander like crazy. It is also worth considering how accurately set up your infeed table is. This would apply to any saw. But this can be one prime reason why the cuts are not square. The squareness in the other direction should be readily adjusted by checking the fixed jaw of the vise.

Do not let the saw feed down through the thin vertical sections too quickly. This seems to have a great effect on the blade's tendency to wander.

I use a 3/4" wide bandsaw blade. I have good luck with square cuts if I follow my own advice.

I don't know about the 5' but they are quieter than chop saw and do a nice strait cut.

I don't think it gets any better than this. Down to 0.1mm precision. And I think it fits within your budget. Just about.


http://www.festool.de/cat/images/internet_zoom/zoom__hks_ts75_561183_p_01a.jpg

and chopsaw:

http://www.festool.de/cat/images/internet_zoom/zoom__cat_symm_p3f_1.jpg

Just a little experience here. The bandsaw if poperly tuned will give excellant results. The table has to be square to the blade and the blade SQUARE to the cut vertically and in good condition and tensioned properly. Also the feedrate has to match the application. If all things are correct it will cut as straight and true as needed for a long long time. Now it is not always as fast as the others but over the long haul it is usally better. Unless you are wanting instant grits and need the cut instantly. One other tip when cutting tubing. Look for the welded seam and make that the bottom side. On a small saw it will make a difference. (:~)= Terry

On the subject of tension in bandsaw blades. Is there a rule of thumb for how much ?
I've only ever had a small bandsaw(56" x 1/2" blades) and for the last thirty years reckoned the tension by ear ! If it "pinged" right when I plucked it, that was ok.
Something a little more scientific and a little less musical would be appreciated.
Especially now I have tinnitus in both ears :tired:

I've just gotten sick of constantly adjusting and fiddling around with band saw settings to get it to cut good. I used to have a larger ellis bandsaw and had the same problems. Seems like 1/2 the bandsaws i've seen cut crooked.

Most of our material I have cnc saw cut at the metal supply place before we pick it up. Its worth $50/hr to me to have them cut it straight and to presicion accuracy. They can cut about 100 pieces of 4.5" tube in an hour.

The saw is mainly for prototype one off work and building jigs/fixtures. Anyways I just ordered one of the dewalt multi cut saws like the picture above i'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks!

You do realize that most CNC cut off saws are bandsaws. :-) Terry

i can get my bandsaw +- .005. I have a 30 year old import that can get +-.015 no problem.

You just cant have an idiot run it after you set it up.

darn....I'm sending all my =-0.005 work to miljnor....now I won't have to mill anything....that's cool......I wonder if that applies to all the axis....

I don't do outside jobs! :D

but I wasn't kidding!

Yes the saw the metal place uses is a $20,000+ cnc bandsaw that is huge. I'm hoping this multi cutter saw will leave as straight of cut. Its also supposed to be faster than a bandsaw and leave a cleaner cut. I just hope the blades last a long time because at $120 a peice it could cost a bit to use.

min cost about 27k and thats on the lower end of the high end scales!

Miljorn the jest of the cnc saw comment was that if that bandsaw can cut straight his bandsaw can cut straight if setup and run correctly. :-) Terry

Additional Notes on Bandsaws
Make sure your guides are in good shape (roller type preferred) and avoid placing any lateral pressure on the blade. When this happens one side of the blade will wear faster and cause those left or right drifts.

Additional Notes on Band saws
Make sure your guides are in good shape (roller type preferred) and avoid placing any lateral pressure on the blade. When this happens one side of the blade will wear faster and cause those left or right drifts.

Most of the high end saws that I’ve seen use Carbide pads as their main guide.

Maybe I just don't get out enough though, what saws do you know have rollers as the primary guide?

Miljnor the jest of the CNC saw comment was that if that band saw can cut straight his band saw can cut straight if setup and run correctly. :-) Terry



I am assuming your talking about Vipers comment. No worries mate I don't take offense easily, I just assume he was just being ornery tonight! (wedge) :stickpoke I still got nothing but love here! :banana:

I'm not a bandsaw guru but I've cut my share of steel, wood, plastic and on occasion my fingers.

sorry...I prefer the roller guide.
Amada, Marvel, Grob, Dake-Johnson are ones I have used or seen in operation, have used and seen the carbide guides and rollers in operation side by side.
Through observations found the rollers are better for consistant straight line cutting, last longer than carbide guides and don't cause any damage on the the blade spine.

I realize that I could probley adjust and fiddle and set the band saw up to cut straight and when it starts to cut crooked again some day I can adjust and fiddle and replace parts and funky around with the thing so it cuts right maby try a better blade and lube the thing give it a good kick or 2 maby mess around with the tension and feed rate. Point is, who has time to mess with this when you could be making money instead?

my band saw is an Amada and granted its at the low end of thier scale for saws but all the one that I have seen use carbide guides.

And as Ive said I don't get out much So I probably just havn't seen anything better than what I have. :D

Just a follow up, I went ahead and bought the Dewalt Multicutter saw. All I can say is WOW this thing cuts smoother, faster, and straighter than anything I've used before. The cuts are perfectly straight and there are no burrs to grind off. The cut looks like a machined surface. The saw cuts fairly fast and is quieter than a chopsaw but probley a little louder than a bandsaw. The machine is smooth and tight and definatly has enough power. I have yet to see how long a $120 blade lasts but assuming it can hold up for a while I would highly recomend this saw. Thanks!

I use one as an electrician cutting conduit. The blade can last for years or minutes (seconds actually), it depends on who is running the saw. Don't let the blade bounce while cutting. Don't jam it into the work, but keep pressure on it once it starts cutting. Make sure the work piece it tight in the vice. I watched a guy try to hold a piece of 3" conduit without clamping and make the cut. The conduit spun as soon as the blade hit the piece and it took about 3 milliseconds for all the teeth to fly off the blade. I have cut thousands of pieces of conduit and other pieces of steel and aluminum on one blade.

Vince

I'm completely new, but I've found with my bandsaw if I'm not too agressive with the down feed my cuts are within +_ .010" at most. Of course my bandsaw has hydraulic down feed.

dsmdude, now that is a user name i didn't expect to see.

i was looking at that a while back, the lack of coolant bothered me at the time. most of my precision cutting is small which is why i think i'll most likely go with the little 9" hyd-mech coldsaw. i hate having to constantly tweak my bandsaw to get a good cut.

i don't know if they can do it for the dewalt, but vansant enterprises can retooth and sharpen regular cold saw blades. its much cheaper than buying new blades, around 30 if i remember correctly.

I bought the Dewalt saw around a year ago. I had a fairly large project with 100 to 200 cuts through 1 x 4, 1.5 x 1.5, etc solid steel. The saw did the job well. The straightness of the cuts weren't terribly critical on this job though. My biggest problem with the saw is the base sucks, couldn't get a straight cut if you had to. My blade is due for sharpening now, so I haven't been using it. If I'm not in a hurry, I prefer my 4 x 6 bs.