Cold cut or band saw?

[WhiskeyRanger]

Debating getting an inexpensive horizontal band saw, or a cold cut chop saw. I'm leaning toward the DeWalt 14" cold cut saw right now. Mostly cutting steel tubing, have access to bad saw that I can use if I really need to cut anything solid. Another consideration is the footprint. I'm working in my already pretty full garage so taking up less space is a big concern. Since I'm in a garage I also don't want to be using an abrasive saw.

 

[fourjeepin]

In for the education. All of the band saws I am familiar with are big. And I thought the cold saw blades are kind if spendy, as is the saw. I have an abrasive and do not enjoy using it.

 

[Thumper68]

There are many threads about this subject.

I have both and a vertical band saw as well.

In all honesty I use my dry cut saw the most, followed by the vertical saw, the horizontal saw is used the least but it has it place.

The dry cut is fast, accurate and really good for what it does. it will plow through tube and angle all day long, it does throw hot chips and make a bit of a mess but the speed makes it worth it to me. The blades are around $100 a piece, I get around 600 cuts before it is resharpened, the last resharpening cost $15 and you can figure that it can be resharpened about 5 times, my math says that each cut then costs $.048 not to bad for the life of a blade.

The horizontal saw is great for thick stuff and can be very accurate when it is tuned up and has a sharp blade, as soon as it dulls a bit it starts to pull to one side of the cut.
The blades cost around $14 for a good bimetal and I get around 75 cuts, so $.18 a cut.

They each have their place in the shop but if I could only have 1 it would be the dry cut saw, cheaper to use and way faster and I could get the same results for the horizontal saw with a portaband.

 

[tarbellb]

Boom ^^^^ this.

Also FYI, dry cut saws are different then cold cut saws.

A dry cut (the Dewalt you mentioned) is a slow spinning abrasive chop saw basically. Often $200-400.

A cold cut saw is a very expensive highly accurate machine that is a dry cut on steroids. Typically in the $5-10k range.

 

[machine_punk]

The only experience I've had with a metal-cutting bandsaw is the Milwaukee portable band saw (I have is semi-permanently set up as a vertical bandsaw, with a table.)

I have the 14" DeWalt DW872 Multi-Cutter Saw (the carbide-tipped metal-cutting blade). I like it a lot, for cross-cutting steel pipe, tube, and profiles. The clamp on the base only moves one direction (you can do up to 45-degree cuts, but only in one direction), so it can be challenging to set up the opposite miter on angle iron ("L" profile). Setting "non-45-degree" miters can be tough, if you don't have a very thin protractor.

As far as cutting, it does a great job. I'll probably replace the original blade with another brand, when it is dull, based on reviews I've read of other metal-cutting blades.

I'm very happy with the DeWalt. It will quickly cut the same angle/miter over and over.

Kev

 

[Milton Shaw]

I have all of those. The dry cut Milwaukee is the fastest cutting of the saws when the blade is sharp. The cold saw with coolant feed is the next fastest but you have to use a lot of pressure down on the blade to keep it cutting. Blade spins probably about 100 rpm. Not a saw you can walks away from and let it keep cutting like a band saw. Band saw take the most floor space but is a walk away saw that is fairly quiet and does a good job on straight cuts. The dry cut and bandsaw will not do a miter cut without extra clamps to keep the material from moving and ruining the blade. The cold saw has a vise that holds both sides of the material and the head swivels to get miters. It works ok on miters but still take a lot of pressure to keep it cutting.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Skip the DeWalt and get the MK Morse Dry Cut 14" saw instead. The vise is SUBSTANTIALLY better. It's cast and machined rather than stamped steel. There is no quick release anything on it (allen/hex key head bolts everywhere), but when you tighten the bolts down, unlike many quick release features, the vise stays where you put it.

Here are a few photos I have of mine
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6275387#post6275387

Plus, the MK Morse one has machined V-groove blocks you can screw into the vice which is very useful, and way better than the stamped steel v-grooves other brands use. Unless you have a mill yourself, you won't get V-groove blocks anywhere as nice as the ones you can buy for the MK Morse.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I think every fab shop I have been in has a pro grade horizontal band saw with a roller feed table right next to the tube stock.

 

[Farmall450]

There are many threads about this subject.

I have both and a vertical band saw as well.

In all honesty I use my dry cut saw the most, followed by the vertical saw, the horizontal saw is used the least but it has it place.

The dry cut is fast, accurate and really good for what it does. it will plow through tube and angle all day long, it does throw hot chips and make a bit of a mess but the speed makes it worth it to me. The blades are around $100 a piece, I get around 600 cuts before it is resharpened, the last resharpening cost $15 and you can figure that it can be resharpened about 5 times, my math says that each cut then costs $.048 not to bad for the life of a blade.

The horizontal saw is great for thick stuff and can be very accurate when it is tuned up and has a sharp blade, as soon as it dulls a bit it starts to pull to one side of the cut.
The blades cost around $14 for a good bimetal and I get around 75 cuts, so $.18 a cut.

They each have their place in the shop but if I could only have 1 it would be the dry cut saw, cheaper to use and way faster and I could get the same results for the horizontal saw with a portaband.

Thanks for the breakdown. I've been looking into both lately.