Get an air saw? Which one?

[FigureItOut]

I have occasional need to cut nice looking oval, oblong or rectangular holes in thick sheet metal, like bumpers, trailer skins, trailer sides, service bodies etc. I usually struggle along with a recip saw, grinder or lately my M12 cutoff tool, then A LOT of filling.

The need is somewhat seldom, but will an air saw completely change this task from something I dread to just another routine task?

If so, any recommendations on a saw and blades? Because I wouldn't need it frequently, I can't see going top of the line, maybe Astro or one of the lower end Ingersoll Rands models?

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[metaleltr]

I have the metal bodied Ingersol rand. It works fine doing collision repair. Not great on thick material but they are really designed for sheet metal. Last blades I bought were Ingersol Rand and fairly expensive. I have yet to find a reasonable source for blades. Some people cut down hacksaw blades but I often need the fine profile for tight turns.

If the budget allows I would consider an SP air gear driven air saw. Lower speed higher torque, supposed to be better on blades.

 

[rtz]

Just grab a cheap one and see if you like it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/high-speed-metal-saw-91753.html

I have that one and it cuts through sheet metal like a knife.

 

[finn]

Stay away from the HF air saw.

It’s beyond useless, even with quality blades.

 

[Youngfd]

Snap On. Have tried the cheaper ones. J

 

[LXCam]

Stay away from the HF air saw.

It’s beyond useless, even with quality blades.

I bought three of these one time cause they were like $10 each. Good thing I did because that way I can change them out when trying to get something done

I'd suggest getting the Astro unit, it seems to be the best value.

 

[plinker]

I bought an Aircat saw, pretty quiet. Dont use it much, mainly for cutting tubing and such. Hacksaw blades work work good for general cutting.

 

[dnschmidt]

Astro are good units but the king of the hill is SPAir. SPAir has a relatively new (last two years) GEAR driven air saw that's the absolute bomb. Torque up the gazoo.

 

[FigureItOut]

Astro are good units but the king of the hill is SPAir. SPAir has a relatively new (last two years) GEAR driven air saw that's the absolute bomb. Torque up the gazoo.

I don't think I can quite stretch it to $200. In the $100 range would you go Astro over IR or Aircat?

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[sevt_chevelle]

Ir imo lacks power,I have one and cutting thicker then 18 gauge would be tough and time consuming. My money would go to the SP air geared version.

 

[danielbuck]

aircat seems to be good, haven't had problems with it. Haven't had it catch and stall very often.

I'd love to try the SP air, but I don't use an air saw enough to pick up a 2nd one.

I don't cut sheet metal with mine, I usually use it when I need to cut metal where I can't get a wheel in place. Sometimes it's 1/4" steel.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If so, any recommendations on a saw and blades?

I think the expert will agree, a lot of it is in the blades you use.

I don't know if this is really practical, but I saw a video (which I can not find now) where a body guy bought a M12 Fuel Hackzall primarily because he like the size and weight and handling. He took a stack of 5 or 10 of his favorite blades, clamped them in a vise and went to ton grinding the end profile to fit the Hackzall. His only complaint was using the 3.0AHr battery it would not last all day.

 

[FigureItOut]

aircat seems to be good, haven't had problems with it. Haven't had it catch and stall very often.

I'd love to try the SP air, but I don't use an air saw enough to pick up a 2nd one.

I don't cut sheet metal with mine, I usually use it when I need to cut metal where I can't get a wheel in place. Sometimes it's 1/4" steel.

Which aircat do you have?

Edit: Never mind, I see they just make one. I think I'll go that route.

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[Graham08]

Astro are good units but the king of the hill is SPAir. SPAir has a relatively new (last two years) GEAR driven air saw that's the absolute bomb. Torque up the gazoo.

I know this is an old thread, but thanks for the tip! I did a little more research and ended up buying the gear driven SP Air. It's tiny! But also very powerful...I was notching 1/8" thick steel angle to bend it and didn't stall it out once. More expensive than some of the other options, but still $200 less than Snap-On.

 

[Monte]

Shinano has gear driven air saws too

 

[Hohn]

I have occasional need to cut nice looking oval, oblong or rectangular holes in thick sheet metal, like bumpers, trailer skins, trailer sides, service bodies etc. I usually struggle along with a recip saw, grinder or lately my M12 cutoff tool, then A LOT of filling.

The need is somewhat seldom, but will an air saw completely change this task from something I dread to just another routine task?

If so, any recommendations on a saw and blades? Because I wouldn't need it frequently, I can't see going top of the line, maybe Astro or one of the lower end Ingersoll Rands models?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

When I had a similar need, I went with a big boy Makita corded electric die grinder and some burrs. The burrs last longer and let me choose the level of aggressiveness vs control that I need. Because it has insane torque (vs an air die grinder) I find it gives very good control. Yet it will hog away material with amazing speed if you want it to.

It's had to describe exactly why, but the same burrs on the electric die grinder vs the air die grinder just work better on the electric. I don't know if it is the torque, ( specifically the ability to keep speed under load), or if it's the weight of the tool giving stability or what.

But when I need to make some precision holes freehand now in thin sheet, I use a small diameter burr at high speed in the corded die grinder and it works very well for me so far. For some reason it doesn't seem to jump and gouge the way it wants to from the air tool.

I bought the corded die grinder as a bandaid for my undersized 120V compressor, but I didn't expect that it was just all around a more useful tool, the only downside being physical size.