Dry cut chop saw

JKR · Mar 6, 2016

It was mild steel. Maybe I put to much pressure on the handle. I don't know. All I know the motor smoked and my new saw on it's way. It it close to my Milwaukee 8" metal saw I will be happy.

Morning Wood · Mar 6, 2016

I bought an evolution dry cut saw and it was a complete piece of crap. Table was cast so badly it wasn't even close to flat or square to the blade. Looked at it for about 1 minute and put it back in the box. I'd stick to Dewalt, Milwaukee (discontinued) or what I ended up with, the Makita.

JKR · Mar 6, 2016

Good to know. I will keep a eye out for it. Thanks

Jim Timber · Mar 6, 2016

Milwaukee's base was cast aluminum and a sight to behold, but the handle ergonomics were bad. I got my Dewalt with the intention of mounting it to a stand and eliminating it's crappy stamped base completely, but I ran out of room. :laughing:

Dollar for dollar, my 4x6 bandsaw (happens to be a Jet - but they're all virtually identical) remains the king of quality for precision cutting and cost per cut on consumables. The only problem with it is how slow it is. If you're going to post-process the cut edge (say; mill it square), then an abrasive chop saw is fast and cheap. But if you're going to weld it directly off the saw, the bandsaw can be set up to make a near perfect end to go directly to the weldment. Grind off your tab burr and you're ready for fit-up.

My bandsaw blades (bi-metal, US made) seem to do well against things like 304 SS, chromed hydraulic shafts and hydraulic cylinder bodies, etc. Only downside is speed - which can be made up by the fact you're not trying to true it after the cut in some applications. Those tree plug planting tools I posted have a weldment on one end of 2 out of 3 pieces, and are fishmouthed in a mill before fitting on 2 mating surfaces. The ends of the handles are clean after deburring with a chamfer cutter and flap wheel, so the textured smooth face left by the dry cut is perfectly acceptable even if not precisely all that square to the axis of the tube.

JKR · Mar 6, 2016

I have a 4x6 bandsaw Jet also.
I have a 1" Starrett band saw. It cut great. But if you need to cut something out side you shop. A chop saw the tool.

tjkubota93 · Mar 8, 2016

got it today and cut a piece of angle. It cuts easier and is not as loud as an abrasive saw. I touched the cut edge right after the blade cleared, it was barely warm. It's perfect for occasional use. I was either going to buy this one or the harbor freight abrasive saw for once/twice a year mig welder projects.

crackerjack222 · Mar 8, 2016

I have the Northern version dry cut saw. I ruined the blade cutting 2 3/8 and 2 7/8 pipe for my pens. I quickly found out that when cutting pipe you have to rotate the pipe after about 3/4 of the cut. Trying to cut the bottom of the pipe without rotating it will wear out the blade very quickly. I can now cut pipe with torch, dry cut saw, abrasive saw or band saw. What I choose to use depends on what I am cutting, how clean a cut I need, how fast I want it cut and what is closer

In general, I save the dry cut for the precision cuts in mild steel.

BukitCase · Mar 9, 2016

Morning Wood, which Evolution did you send back? They make an inexpensive one with stamped steel base and no quick release on the vise, and a higher priced one with cast base and quick release vise. Curious which one you sent back... Steve

DXN1EL · Mar 10, 2016

Is the MK Morse CSM14MB USA made?:dance1:

Morning Wood · Mar 14, 2016

BukitCase said:
Morning Wood, which Evolution did you send back? They make an inexpensive one with stamped steel base and no quick release on the vise, and a higher priced one with cast base and quick release vise. Curious which one you sent back... Steve

Cast base. POS.

Xfaxman · Mar 14, 2016

Here is a recent thread on metal cutting chop saws: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/353061-can-i-use-miter-saw.html

BukitCase · Mar 14, 2016

Morning wood - good to know, thanks... Steve

Oldpath05 · Mar 14, 2016

I'm not herring many positive things about these so called outstanding dry cut metal chop saws, I was going to put it on my wish list, don't want it my, wish I never bought it list.

Big Barn · Mar 14, 2016

This is an interesting thread. All my "cutting to length" is done with my 6"x9" horizontal bandsaw or abrasive chop saw.

I would NEVER part with my 14" Makita abrasive. It's over 35 years old and hasn't missed a beat. QCD. **quick cheap & dirty***.

Having said that I'd love to at least TRY a dry cut saw one. day. Perhaps I don't know what I'm missing.....

Terry

BukitCase · Mar 15, 2016

HF was having a "closeout" sale about 6 years ago, and I bought a 14" carbide tipped "cold cut" blade for $40 - I knew it wasn't rated for the speed my Ryobi abrasive chop saw runs at, but decided to put on welding leathers, face shield, lean 'way off to the side of the "trajectory", and see what happened -

What happened, was about 20 cuts on .120 wall 2" square tube that looked laser cut - then, by about cut # 25, I could hardly put enough pressure on the handle to get it to cut.

Just gut feel, I blame about half of the short life on HF "quality", and the other half on running approximately 2.7 TIMES the speed those blades are rated for -

Even that "failed" experiment showed me these things have promise, but I'm like others have mentioned, getting the WRONG one isn't a very cheap mistake - plus, similar to Terry I have a larger Jet bandsaw (7x12) and two of the HF 4x6 saws, zip disks, abrasive chop saw, plasma, and O/A torches if things get thicker than 1", so I'm not in a rush to make a bad choice here.

Still looking... Steve

Xfaxman · Mar 15, 2016

Big Barn said:
This is an interesting thread. All my "cutting to length" is done with my 6"x9" horizontal bandsaw or abrasive chop saw.

I would NEVER part with my 14" Makita abrasive. It's over 35 years old and hasn't missed a beat. QCD. **quick cheap & dirty***.

Having said that I'd love to at least TRY a dry cut saw one. day. Perhaps I don't know what I'm missing.....

Terry

Yep, you don't know what you are missing

.

I use mine for precision cuts, it is very high quality and well built.

Jim Timber · Mar 15, 2016

Xfaxman said:
Yep, you don't know what you are missing .

I use mine for precision cuts, it is very high quality and well built.

View attachment 460947

No, you've never used a true Cold Saw - the kind with coolant bath.

YOU don't know what you're missing. Those run slower yet, and actually have blade life to offset the price of admission. HSS blades that you can resharpen time and again, and never blow out a carbide tip from too thin of steel. Those blades are a few hundred dollars, the saws are a couple grand. I think of it like growing up and being tainted. Remember when Mc Donalds burgers were the best and their slop of a milkshake was enough to make it a Kings feast? Then as you grew older and your exposure to finer foods grew, that happy meal became anything but... When you use a plasma it's better than a torch, but if you use a laser that plasma looks like a back-yard hack's worst day.

Dry saws have their place. They're not that high up on the totem pole in the grand scheme.

rocketfish · Mar 15, 2016

I can't comment on the dry cut saws (never used one). As far as the true cold cut saw with coolant goes... Top notch! I use one at work and they are awesome! We cut everything from very thin wall tube up to 2x2 solid stock and it just keeps going!

Oldpath05 · Mar 16, 2016

rocketfish said:
I can't comment on the dry cut saws (never used one). As far as the true cold cut saw with coolant goes... Top notch! I use one at work and they are awesome! We cut everything from very thin wall tube up to 2x2 solid stock and it just keeps going!

Do you mean a band saw with coolant?