Need Help!- what saw should i use to cut metal stock?

[yang_cnc]

Hello:

I buy a cheap (about 32) 6" cut-off saw from HF, which has a cut-off aluminum oxide wheel. But I feel it is not as good as I expect, the cut itself is pretty wide, the speed of cutting is slow, and tons of noise lilke screaming. I do not feel it is surely safe to operate it.

What is the good saw to use?

thank you for any help

[blades]

Unless you buy a hacksaw, $32 won't get you much of anything different than what you described. These types of cut-off saws are going to be noisy with a wide cut (1/8"), but that's the nature of the beast. They are safe if used properly, and ALWAYS wear safety glasses when using something like that.

A better choice may be their small metal-cutting horizontal band saw, but those are much more $$, I think I've seen it for around $160 on sale if I recall correctly.

[Dorsal]

Morse Metal Devil blades - http://www.metaldevil.com/
I bought a 10" "thin metal" blade and it's awesome as it cuts through Unistrut and 8020 aluminum extrusions. Watch the videos, and spend the money.

[yang_cnc]

I just returned the cut-off saw, and bought a portable bandsaw, hopefully the new saw will do well

[yang_cnc]

The new portable saw is doing well, cutting off a 1/2" alum round stock is less than 1 minute. happy with this result. This morning I cut off one 2" section, will put it on my lathe for the first lathe run.

One more question: I bought a 3" mini grinder from HF, which has a fibre wheel and a pink grinding wheel. Now I am kinda of feeling it too small and will wear out soon, is that true? I am considering sending it back to HF and getting a somehow serious 6" grinder.

[TroyO]

I have been using my table saw for cutting AL as well. So far just 1.6 Inch solid round bar and hollow tube. (It's 6061 I think)

I use an "old beat up" fine tooth blade (Freud finish cut) and wear gloves and goggles when I do it as the swarf is hot and flies around pretty well. (Just owwie hot if it lands on you, not melty metal hot or anything)

I'm also using a cross slide table with the bar clamped to it which keeps everything pretty square and controlled. Facing the ends is a one pass operation after it's cut.

Repeatability is decent too... certainly within .01 (But that's because of setup time and accessories for the table saw... probably not worth it just to cut AL bar but if it's already available... heck, use it!)

I've heard you can use most woodworking tools on AL if you don't mind beating up the bits quickly. Including routers! (I haven't tried that yet.)

I may invest in the Metal Devil blades... especially for cutting steel. That would kick butt, LOL!

Anyone here have input on that? The ability to use woodworking tools on AL was mostly brought up on woodworking forums... so there may not be full awareness of safety issues involved.

[blades]

Originally Posted by yang_cnc The new portable saw is doing well, cutting off a 1/2" alum round stock is less than 1 minute. happy with this result. This morning I cut off one 2" section, will put it on my lathe for the first lathe run. One more question: I bought a 3" mini grinder from HF, which has a fibre wheel and a pink grinding wheel. Now I am kinda of feeling it too small and will wear out soon, is that true? I am considering sending it back to HF and getting a somehow serious 6" grinder.

Glad to hear your new saw is doing the job for you.
On the grinder, it really depends on what you're grinding with it. 3" is very small, but suitable for sharpening drill bits. It shouldn't wear out too quickly, unless you are really trying to work it beyond it's capacity. I suspect the motor will stall out if you load the wheel too much. If you want do do any deburring or heavier grinding, it would probably be advisable to take it back & swap for a 6" grinder.

[yang_cnc]

thank you for the advice.

actually two days ago I swapped with a 6" grinder, HF has super good deal with it, I only paid 26 for it.

strong and sturdy, I grind my first lathe bit with it easily(well, the only limiting factor is my skill ).......

[Dman65]

Hello Dorsal,

How thin is "thin metal" for those blades? I have considered getting one to use on my miter saw for cutting some square steel tubing for building a table.

Thanks,

Darrell