Ryobi chop saw

[Achilleus]

I've had this 14" chop saw for 20 years now and love the thing. But I want to support work pieces from both sides, like when I need a short section of rod or something and don't want it to go flying. Is there an easy way to support stuff like this from both sides of the cut? (I can't bring myself to hold the RHS with my hand next to such a monster)

 

[lbhsbz]

Pliers?

Also, That looks like aluminum hex stock....not a good idea to cut aluminum with an abrasive wheel

 

[Achilleus]

not a good idea to cut aluminum with an abrasive wheel

Thanks for that, I didn't know. I'm mostly cutting harder stock from bronze to Cr-V to S2. Also - too scared to use pliers, I'm only cutting off 30mm lengths and those bullets can fly at least 60 feet!

 

[RTM]

If your frame is ferrous, is a magnetic clamp hold down safe to use?

 

[RTM]

Or how about drill and tap for a DeStaCo toggle clamp or two, maybe attached to a rail to slide if your stock sizes change. Many options.

HEAVY-DUTY, VERTICAL HOLD-DOWN LOCKING CLAMPS – 533/535

DESTACO’s 533 and 535 Series heavy-duty, vertical hold down clamps feature hardened steel bushings at pivot points.

www.destaco.com

 

[Wamsutta]

Or how about drill and tap for a DeStaCo toggle clamp or two, maybe attached to a rail to slide if your stock sizes change. Many options.

HEAVY-DUTY, VERTICAL HOLD-DOWN LOCKING CLAMPS – 533/535

DESTACO’s 533 and 535 Series heavy-duty, vertical hold down clamps feature hardened steel bushings at pivot points.

www.destaco.com

You're getting into some serious stuff when you start recommending DESTACO.

 

[BTL-A4]

My 2¢:
-Get a backstop that goes farther to the right to back up the smaller pieces.
-Use a different tool to cut the small pieces. I have a Swag Off-Road table and portable bandsaw set up that works well enough. You will have to dress the ends to get them square, though.
-Cut the smaller pieces with a handsaw.

I'm not sure you want to clamp the part on both sides of the cut; something has to give if the part or saw twists.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Thanks for that, I didn't know. I'm mostly cutting harder stock from bronze to Cr-V to S2. Also - too scared to use pliers, I'm only cutting off 30mm lengths and those bullets can fly at least 60 feet!

For aluminum I use a 80 tooth 10" blade on my miter saw and a liberal spray of wd-40 as lube. Same set up on my table saw for aluminum plate. I've cut up to 3/4" plate.

 

[Achilleus]

It's mainly the question of cutting s2 hex rod into small sections for a project. They are the replacement bits from a handful of 10mm snap-on long hex drive sockets. If I don't use the chop saw, I have a few tools - which do you think would be best here - I've never dealt with super tough stuff like this. I have an el-cheapo delta band saw that can hardly cut through a slice of bread (I do have a new metal-cutting blade somewhere). Or, a dewalt recip saw and dewalt bi-metal blades, or I could try the milwaukee deep band saw. The bits are expensive so I dont wanna mess up any.

I can tidy up the cuts on a bench grinder.

 

[tarbellb]

Band saw is the answer

 

[Achilleus]

Band saw is the answer

Which one - I mentioned two. I assume the milwaukee

 

[tarbellb]

Milwaukee. Your Delta sounds like a std vert wood saw and will burn up blades?

Create some sort of jig to hold and measure your cuts for the Milwaukee,
you can clamp a temporary table to one fairly easily.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I would be inclined to use a hand held grinder and a zip disc. Hex goes in the vise with enough stickout to cut the length you want. Clean up on a regular bench grinder if needed.

 

[Achilleus]

I would be inclined to use a hand held grinder and a zip disc. Hex goes in the vise with enough stickout to cut the length you want. Clean up on a regular bench grinder if needed.

Do you have a particular disk in mind you could link to here, just so I can see exactly what you mean? I have the dewalt 4-1/2 grinder.

 

[Achilleus]

Well it was amusing to me so let me relay my attempts: I was trying to cut a 10mm Armstrong hex drive bit:

1. Delta band saw, metal-cutting blade. After about 5 minutes, got about 0.5mm through one of the hexagonal corners before quitting that. I would be standing there till Tuesday before it got through, which I doubt would happen.
2. Milwaukee band saw. Better, I got about 2-3mm through after sweating away with it for 5 minutes. Gave up pending the following...
3. Chop saw. @lbhsbz I didn't use pliers but a vise-grip, that was a good idea. It cut through like butter. Nice clean cut too.

Your advice was very helpful and appreciated.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Do you have a particular disk in mind you could link to here, just so I can see exactly what you mean? I have the dewalt 4-1/2 grinder.

Walter is the "zip" trademark holder. Its being used as a generic name for a very thin grinder wheel designed for cutting not grinding. Pic is of Canadian website, american site should be significantly cheaper. Your local welding shop, lumber yard, or harbor freight will have singles for sale for you to try. Cheap is OK, but brand name is significantly better lasting.

 

[Achilleus]

Walter is the "zip" trademark holder. Its being used as a generic name for a very thin grinder wheel designed for cutting not grinding. Pic is of Canadian website, american site should be significantly cheaper. Your local welding shop, lumber yard, or harbor freight will have singles for sale for you to try. Cheap is OK, but brand name is significantly better lasting.

Nice. The width is 3/64" (1.2mm), that's incredibly thin! I'll get some of these one day. Thx

 

[Beerhippie]

Best-lasting cut-off wheels (the generic term) in my experience are 3M Cubitron II. Spendy, but pay for themselves. I use them in a 4 1/2" angle grinder.

If you haven't used cut-off wheel in a high-speed grinder/die grinder before, be warned: any binding from twisting or otherwise malaligning the wheel can cause it to explode with potentially bad consequences. Wear appropriate PPE, especially a good face shield. I once pierced an ear with a fragment of a disintegrating cut-off wheel that went right through a cheap face shield. That was a 3" disk in a high-speed die grinder.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Best-lasting cut-off wheels (the generic term) in my experience are 3M Cubitron II. Spendy, but pay for themselves. I use them in a 4 1/2" angle grinder.

If you haven't used cut-off wheel in a high-speed grinder/die grinder before, be warned: any binding from twisting or otherwise malaligning the wheel can cause it to explode with potentially bad consequences. Wear appropriate PPE, especially a good face shield. I once pierced an ear with a fragment of a disintegrating cut-off wheel that went right through a cheap face shield. That was a 3" disk in a high-speed die grinder.

Thanks for the correction on generic term. There is another word I was grasping for and that was all I could come up with.

And you are very correct about using PPE. The handheld grinder is at the top of the list for most dangerous tool IMO!

 

[Beerhippie]

Thanks for the correction on generic term. There is another word I was grasping for and that was all I could come up with.

And you are very correct about using PPE. The handheld grinder is at the top of the list for most dangerous tool IMO!

The piece of wheel that pierced my ear stuck in my earlobe. I went up to the office (no one else was on the brewery floor) to ask my boss to pull it out. That was when I found out he reacts badly to the sight of blood. Me, half-covered in blood, him, unconscious on the floor. A day to remember.

 

[lbhsbz]

Well it was amusing to me so let me relay my attempts: I was trying to cut a 10mm Armstrong hex drive bit:

1. Delta band saw, metal-cutting blade. After about 5 minutes, got about 0.5mm through one of the hexagonal corners before quitting that. I would be standing there till Tuesday before it got through, which I doubt would happen.
2. Milwaukee band saw. Better, I got about 2-3mm through after sweating away with it for 5 minutes. Gave up pending the following...
3. Chop saw. @lbhsbz I didn't use pliers but a vise-grip, that was a good idea. It cut through like butter. Nice clean cut too.

Your advice was very helpful and appreciated.

Bandsaws don't work well on heat treated tool steel....good way to take all the teeth off the blade in a hurry.

Also, shop Mcmaster or some abrasive suppliers (not home depot/harbor freight)...even welding supply places that sell Forney....get some cut off wheels that are real thin. I think I have some 0.020" wheels. Since you're "grinding" through about 1/2 the material, they cut twice as fast and create half the heat.

 

[Achilleus]

How do the above compare with the diamond cutoff blades? For safety at least the steel disk isn't gonna shatter. (I cut concrete with a 9-inch diamond blade on a huge dewalt ag and its always rock solid)

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I think, but don't have direct experience, that a diamond blade cutting metal would create so much heat that the blade would "oilcan" and potentially grab in the cut. You would end up with a much wider kerf, and maybe a curved cut.
I'm going to test this with my 4.5" grinder tomorrow.

 

[Achilleus]

I think, but don't have direct experience, that a diamond blade cutting metal would create so much heat that the blade would "oilcan" and potentially grab in the cut. You would end up with a much wider kerf, and maybe a curved cut.
I'm going to test this with my 4.5" grinder tomorrow.

Awesome! Do you have any old S2 bits you could cut? Would be great to hear how it goes.

 

[FigN⋅m]

*not legal advice*

If I was trying that in my shop, I would probably just try to use a decent painter's tape to
stick the dropped part to the base. Or maybe a welder's magnet right next to it and when
the part is cut off, it jumps to the magnet instead of the other side of the garage.

 

[Beerhippie]

How do the above compare with the diamond cutoff blades? For safety at least the steel disk isn't gonna shatter. (I cut concrete with a 9-inch diamond blade on a huge dewalt ag and its always rock solid)

My experience with diamond cut-off wheels for steel--particularly hard steel--has been less than stellar. They seem to shed the nickel-plating the diamonds are embedded in pretty quickly. I may have been pushing the cut, but....

One more suggestion I have is to put the stock in a drill or lathe while cutting with a cut-off wheel. This results in very nice, square ends to the cut as the spinning stock tends to "average out" any off-angles. Done well, it looks like the pieces were cut with a cut-off tool on a lathe.

My brain spent too much time last night trying to come up with a simple method of auto-feeding the stock through a chuck... and failed.

 

[Achilleus]

Thank you @Beerhippie that's an interesting report. I appreciate you. I'm good for now as the chop saw is working out fine and I can get 3 whole test peices out of a hex bit. The disk is a little thick but it works and I can hold it from flying ok.

I will get a diamond cutoff some time, as like that kind of thing and will use it.

 

[david3921]

My experience with diamond cut-off wheels for steel--particularly hard steel--has been less than stellar. They seem to shed the nickel-plating the diamonds are embedded in pretty quickly. I may have been pushing the cut, but....

One more suggestion I have is to put the stock in a drill or lather while cutting with a cut-off wheel. This results in very nice, square ends to the cut and the spinning stock tends to "average out" any off-angles. Done well, it looks like the pieces were cut with a cut-off tool on a lathe.

My brain spent too much time last night trying to come up with a simple method of auto-feeding the stock through a chuck... and failed.

I've cut stock like this by chucking it a drill press and using a hack saw or cut off wheel in a grinder.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Achilleus, you need to make a “zero clearance fence” for your Ryobi saw like in this photo. It is basically an L shaped component that becomes your table. You may need to get creative if you still want to use your screw clamp. It may be possible to remove it and use a hand clamp when you are using the zero clearance insert on the saw.

Once it is securely fastened to your saw, you then make a cut to the zero clearance insert with whatever blade you are using for your metal pieces. That way when you are cutting your metal pieces and they are almost cut completely through the blade cannot pinch the loose piece in the small clearance when you don’t have a zero clearance insert, the loose piece is supported completely. You can also add a piece of tape to your metal, cutting through that and the small piece will not jiggle away as the saw blade is coming to a stop.

Here is a wood saw version of the fence.

 

[Achilleus]

@gahrajmahal Thank you for that! I have made such contraptions for my table saw for wood, it's an interesting idea. I might be able to get away with a simple piece of angle iron and mount it forward a little so its at the middle of the disk. (Then just be careful not to cut right through the thing!)

Thanks!

 

[Achilleus]

@Beerhippie I've got some of the 0.045" cutoff disks now for my grinder. Would you say I could get a more-even cut using both the drill press and the grinder together like this (this is not the correct disk installed in the pic). Too dangerous? I'd be wearing full face and neck protection and decent gloves. Alternatively I can just wing it in a vice and eyeball 90 degrees.

 

[Beerhippie]

@Beerhippie I've got some of the 0.045" cutoff disks now for my grinder. Would you say I could get a more-even cut using both the drill press and the grinder together like this (this is not the correct disk installed in the pic). Too dangerous? I'd be wearing full face and neck protection and decent gloves. Alternatively I can just wing it in a vice and eyeball 90 degrees.

I wish to hell I had that set-up!

Advance the grinder slowly, be sure it's as close to 90 degrees to the material as possible and I think you'll get lathe-like results!

Show us how it works out!

 

[Achilleus]

I wish to hell I had that set-up!

So I got that drill press free (well, for the cost of the chuck only) from amazon, as they got the order messed up. Gotta love amz sometimes.
The Wilton I actually paid for, but I hate it - everything seems bent and unless I keep everything a little loose I can't turn the handles. But it has its use.

 

[tarbellb]

Build a zero clearance fence like @gahrajmahal suggest and incorporate one of these de sta co copies - push/pull toggle clamp

Amazon.com

 

[Achilleus]

@Beerhippie it worked out great - with some magnificent sparks too