Richard D
Well-known member
I cut a lot of 2"x3" with an abrasive chop saw and I hate it. Anyone know of a light-duty coldsaw for under a grand that can cut this?
Cold Saw-2"x3" Rectangle Tubing
- Thread starter Richard D
- Start date
I would love to have one for under 1k used. Most I see ( and I have been looking for a few years are more like 2k or beat to ****. If you have a line on a nice 350cp low speed ( 480V ) machine please let me know!
BTW these are all 2 speed, 3 phase machines and are not dual voltage and will not run properly on a VFD unless you get the rare factory (single speed motor) installed VFD model.
William....
There was one on our local CL not long ago for 900.00. I called as soon as I seen it and it was already gone.
I used one in a shop for quite a few years. Best saw I ever used for metal cutting.
paranoid56
Well-known member
why not get a bandsaw? would be worlds better then that abrasive saw
rocklobster
Well-known member
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- Apr 1, 2011
- Messages
- 184
I second the bandsaw. I have a cheap 4x6 and with a good bi metal blade that thing will cut steel nicely. And plus you should be able to pick one up for around $100.
One thing is that the bandsaw takes a bit of tweaking to get it set up, so if you will be changing the cut angle much and you have the cash then go cold cut.
One thing is that the bandsaw takes a bit of tweaking to get it set up, so if you will be changing the cut angle much and you have the cash then go cold cut.
MatthewM
Well-known member
There are a few chop saws out there that will do what you need for less than $500. They use expensive Tungsten Carbide Tooth blades (that can be resharpened professionally) and spin at half the RPM of standard wood chop saws. I have a Milwakee and it works great. You can search google for "Dry cut chop saw" and find good results. Here are a few models:
Dewalt DW782
Evolution Rage 2
Milwakee 6190-20 (Mine)
There are tons of videos on youtube of these as well:
Matt
Dewalt DW782
Evolution Rage 2
Milwakee 6190-20 (Mine)
There are tons of videos on youtube of these as well:
Matt
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Graham08
Well-known member
I would not recommend a dry cut saw (like the DeWalt 872) for cutting 2 x 3. I have one. It is awesome for round tube, but cutting rectangular stuff, especially miters, seems to kill blades fast. A 45 degree cut across the long side of 2 x 3 would be the worst case. A marginally dull blade would be useless inside of a couple cuts, where it would last a long time cutting round tube.
I was reading the Amazon reviews of this saw; several complained about the vice. I think I can fix that. One machinist remarked, even though it is marketed as a "dry" saw, it should be used with lubricant anyway, and I agree. Do you use any lubricant? I have a Port-A-Mist I figured I would use.
DARK AGE 53
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- Jan 22, 2005
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Maybe not what you're looking for but this has worked great for me http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83622 .
demographic
Well-known member
Old style mechanical hacksaw, set it off and do something else for a minute or so. Cheap enough and works well.
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
You need to angle the material so that the saw isn't cutting into a flat surface. That dulls blades very quickly.
Jig up a piece of angle iron to hold the material when clamped so the corners are at the top & bottom.
And what thickness of 2x3? I got a Rage 3 multipurpose that I'd gladly put 2x3 in. Largest material cut so far us 3x3x1/4" angle.
If you're already cutting with a metal chop saw switch out the blade for a metal cutting blade instead of abrasive. Keep your rpms down which I assume is already done with the chop saw.
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shoot summ
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Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Cut square tubing as a diamond shape with a dry/cold-cut saw like the Evolution or the Milwaukee 6190-20.
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
Hmm....
Could it be a matter of jigging the material in the proper position? I'm just talking it through here. After dinner I'll go out to the garage and mess with things.
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I've made a lot of stuff, and never needed to make a miter cut for metal pieces. But if you did need to do it, you would just set the piece flat and cut away. I've cut a lot of swuare tubing with no jig in place, and my Freud Diablo blade just keeps going and going.
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GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
^^ That's what I was coming to as well. If a miter cut needs to be made, just do what you need. Go easy on the pressure and let the blade work.
On my saw I should be able to jig the sq tubing properly and do a miter cut using the bevel feature. Will test that out in the next day or so to verify accuracy of the cut. Of course with the sliding feature I can pull the head out and run the cut so I'm dropping the blade through a corner instead of a flat.
On my saw I should be able to jig the sq tubing properly and do a miter cut using the bevel feature. Will test that out in the next day or so to verify accuracy of the cut. Of course with the sliding feature I can pull the head out and run the cut so I'm dropping the blade through a corner instead of a flat.
Mickey_D
Well-known member
I have a pair of cold saws, an Eisele and one with no name tag, and cutting hollow tube is loud and more work than you think. Cold saws are awesome for small tube and solids, cutting down bolts and threaded rod, and small very accurate cuts, but big stuff *****. I do all of the big cuts on the big bandsaw and it is a lot faster and can get +-.20" all day long. Keep an eye out for a DoAll, Hyd-Mech, or the like and you will be a lot happier.
MatthewM
Well-known member
Richard,
I've not used coolant but I imagine it would indeed help. Those Porta-Mist systems are great, we use them on "one off" stuff on the manual mills at work and they don't create too much mess but get the job done. I don't have one at home or else I'd definitely try it for you. As you mentioned the vise does in fact **** for miter cuts, it’s inaccurate and hard to hold the work piece well, but from what I can tell most import band saws use the same system. As many of the previous posters mentioned it does struggle at cutting the flat sections (but I have seen cold saws that do the same). When cutting round, square turned to cut a like a diamond, or angle with the peak up the saw goes like a hot knife through butter. I'd say you just have to make the decision based on the design of your specific project.
Matt
I've not used coolant but I imagine it would indeed help. Those Porta-Mist systems are great, we use them on "one off" stuff on the manual mills at work and they don't create too much mess but get the job done. I don't have one at home or else I'd definitely try it for you. As you mentioned the vise does in fact **** for miter cuts, it’s inaccurate and hard to hold the work piece well, but from what I can tell most import band saws use the same system. As many of the previous posters mentioned it does struggle at cutting the flat sections (but I have seen cold saws that do the same). When cutting round, square turned to cut a like a diamond, or angle with the peak up the saw goes like a hot knife through butter. I'd say you just have to make the decision based on the design of your specific project.
Matt