Metal Cutting

[Spinal_Tap]

Hi all,

I'm fabricating some stuff in my garage, and I have a small chop-saw for cutting square stock and angle iron, etc. And the chop saw miters, but not real well, and it's setup in such a way that it's tricky to measure the miter angle, and easy to mess up the angle you just spent ages dialing in.

I do this as a hobby, and I'm not looking to dump tons of money into tools.

So I was thinking of getting a cheap miter saw, and using some kind of steel cutting blade on it. But all the miter saws explicitly state not to cut metal with it.

Does anybody know a way to get consistant 45-degree angle cuts in steel?

Cheers!

 

[GregW]

I use drafting triangles to set my angles on the chop saw. The issue I have with abrasive blades on angle cuts is deflection. The blade will always push out to the right. A band saw will give a better cut, though it is slower. Harbor Freight sells one that isn't horrible for about $150. I'm talking about the one where the blade lowers onto the work piece.

I've had bad luck putting an abrasive blade on a wood miter saw.

 

[bill_young]

I haven't tried it yet, but have thought of the same thing using the inexpensive miter saw I bought for $50 a couple of years ago. There are some plastic parts in the saw that might not like the heat from metal cutting, but with a metal cutting abrasive blade I don't see why it wouldn't work. I routinely cut metal with my skill saw with an abrasive blade, it's just handier in many cases rather than to set up the chop saw. Just take is slow and don't overload the motor and it should do the job on small stock.
Another method I've used is to use my skil saw and clamp a guide piece onto the stock if there's room at the desired angle. For a common 45 I just clamp my small square on, it's handle is thick enough and long enough to form a good guide for the saw.
As for setting up the chop saw, I've made some jig pieces at the angles I usually use from 1" square tubing and I just lower the blade down, run the jig up against the blade and then adjust the guide to the side of the jig. A magic marker of the angle on the side of the jig or a metal stamp and you're in business. One section of tubing makes two different angle jigs.

 

[GregW]

I bought a Delta compound miter for wood, and use it successfully for aluminum too. When I put the abrasive blade on it would oscillate badly. If I had tried to cut anything with it, the cut would have been wider than a half inch.

 

[ChrisS]

A cold cut saw or a bandsaw are the best. If you are patient aren't doing this in a production shop a porta-band is a nice tool to have. Lay the cuts out with a sharpie and adjustable bevel and you can follow the cut line every time.

 

[weewillie]

I used a Black and decker wood mitre saw (not compound)for years with a metal cutting blade with never a problem as long as I took it easy and didn't force the blade through. Now I did have a piece of sheet metal pop riveted to the inside of the guard to stop the sparks from burning through the plastic guard. I now have a 14" metal cutting chop saw.

 

[AweMan]

F.W.I.W.
Before I retired I worked in the Welding/Fabricating field for 30+ years
whenever I required any degree angle and there was no cold saw available I always marked my metal with a machinists combination square and soapstone or toolmakers ink and a sharp scribe. That way I could follow the line with any method available for cutting including an Oxy/Acetylene torch.
I have looked into purchasing a cold saw for home use, I havnt as of yet found anything that isnt cost prohibitive that is worth having.
Friction disk cutoff saws are ok .... but ..... IF you try to cut too fast you will inevitably not be able to follow your angle accurately {go slow}
quality friction disks are a must! The cheapies just dont do the job correctly plain and simply put.
Hints: When cutting, especially aluminum but steel too, dress your blades with Bees Wax {this applies to ALL types of cutting blades}
Bees wax will not interfere with welding, as it is repelled by the heat away from the weld puddle. Of course consider you should remove as much of the bees wax as possible just as added insurance.

Setting your fence:
An adjustable angle machinist square is invaluable for attaining the desired angle/s if there are no markers on your particular saw. The non scaled end goes against the blade and the scaled {ruler} goes against the fence.
Again .... when using a cutoff saw ..... progress SLOWLY with your cuts you have much more accurate angles when done.
Just my 2 cents worth on this subject

 

[thegoodbeamer]

Some time ago I bought the 4.5 inch metal cutting band saw.Before that I used an abrasive blade on my table saw.I used cutting torch also.
I don't know how I ever managed before after getting the band saw.I also use the cutting discs on the 4,5 inch grinder when cutting panels.
I dream about getting a good plasma cutter.I think I can sell my wife on that if I say it will be used to do sculpture work.

 

[bill_young]

Chuck, for cutting tubing or angle stock I like the abrasive cut off wheels, either my large 14" chop saw or the 7" in my Skil saw. I have a small band saw for small work and recently aquired a plasma cutter. For longer straight lines on plate up to 3/16" I still like the skil saw as my hand wavers too much for the plasma cutter, but for curves it is great. Check out places like craigslist for deals, I got my unit through an ad there. It wasn't working and I wound up picking it up for $125. Figured if I couldn't fix it I wouldn't be out more than I could stand. As it worked out the problem was nothing more than a loose ground cable inside the case, no cost! The guy I bought it from was also a sculptor, doing major works for buildings and landscapes and just didn't have the time to mess with it when it failed in the middle of a job, he just bought another one and kept to his schedule.

 

[aeronca65t]

I have a vertical band saw for this purpose, but I also use my ~Sawzall~ , depending on the situation.

You can do lots of stuff with a Sawzall....very useful tool.