straightest cut? bandsaw, chopsaw, dry saw, cold saw???

[dsmdude]

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!

[dsmdude]

[HuFlungDung]

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

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.

[bcromwell]

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

[posix]

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.




and chopsaw:

[vmax549]

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

[greybeard]

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

[dsmdude]

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!

[vmax549]

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

[miljnor]

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.

[ViperTX]

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....

[miljnor]

I don't do outside jobs!

but I wasn't kidding!