Metal cutting tools recommendation?

[Smokeydog]

Bought a grizzly 4x6” metal bandsaw about 30 years ago. Has cut, cut and cut. Made lots of fabrication and repair jobs possible.

 

[rScotty]

At some point many hobby guys will likely aquire all of the above. I couldn't imagine not having a dry cut saw ( or 2 ) a few angle grinders with various wheels, Plasma and Oxy-fuel, Band saw, shear and nibbler. Enjoy.

I'm the same way.... Welding is a major hobby of mine, and that means cutting metal. So I've ended up with lots of tools - like various grinders, horizontal bandsaw, power hacksaw, lathe, mill, nibbler, post drill, drill press, and half a dozen more. There's even a vertical jig saw in the mix. All for MIG, TIG, ARC, but oxy-acet torch welding is still my favorite.

If I had to have just one metal-cutting tool in the shop it would be a medium size vertical bandsaw on a stand. Actually it wouldn't necessarily be medium sized... I'd would be as heavy-duty of a vertical bandsaw as I could find and afford - but medium size would do it. Even in medium size it would probably have to be a used one as new ones are real expensive & this is one of the areas where used is just as good if you don't mind doing basic maintenance & adjustment.

With a bandsaw you can cut out odd shapes close either close enough to weld them and even trim them to fit. A medium size bandsaw is slow at cutting thicker metal, but it will cut up to about 1/4 to 3/8" thick fast enough for most projects....how thick & fast depends on the bandsaw. A bandsaw will also do some nice woodwork, and it's a sort of friendly tool.... not a frantic tool....

And if you just spend some time getting to know how to use it, your oxy-acet cutting torch will do a great job of cutting everything from sheet metal up to half inch plate and leaves a smooth bright shiny edge you can weld too without anything more than knocking some slag off.
rScotty

 

[Big Barn]

Bought a grizzly 4x6” metal bandsaw about 30 years ago. Has cut, cut and cut. Made lots of fabrication and repair jobs possible. View attachment 606650

That’s a sweet looking deck railing !

 

[Big Barn]

....

And if you just spend some time getting to know how to use it, your oxy-acet cutting torch will do a great job of cutting everything from sheet metal up to half inch plate and leaves a smooth bright shiny edge you can weld too without anything more than knocking some slag off.
rScotty

Up until I bought this Makita abrasive chop saw in 1983 O/A was the only way I had to cut metal on the farm. At the time it was like I had died and gone to heaven.

Still have and use both.

 

[rbstern]

Thanks for all of the helpful commentary and suggestions. A few things were jogged loose in my brain when reading all of the above.

I have a Ryobi cordless reciprocating saw and a bunch of metal blades I rarely use. I'm used to odd wood cutting jobs with that tool, or tree pruning. I don't think of it for metal working. Should press it into service.

I do have a 14" bandsaw. Fifteen year old HF model, from back when they were in made in Taiwan. **** good saw. Bought it for woodworking. My wife uses it in her crafts business daily. I could always throw a bi-metal blade on there if I really needed it. I prefer to leave her shop alone, since she has paying customers. In a pinch...sure could use it.

I've got at least one extra jigsaw around here somewhere. Again, same mentality: I think of it as a woodworking tool. D'oh! Get the right blade, it cuts metal. Hello.

My $10 HF angle grinder runs well, but the wheel swaps are a *****, because the manual stop doesn't engage well enough. Gonna pick up another $10 grinder or two, and I'll dedicate the existing one to just wearing a cutoff or grinding wheel. Might try the diamond cutting wheel discussed above.

Don't know if I'll ever graduate to justifying a plasma cutter, but I could see getting a portable band saw not far down the road.

 

[Big Barn]

The blade speed on your 14” bandsaw will be way too fast for cutting metal. Aluminum will be ok.

You would need to reduce the speed in addition to using a bi metal
blade. My Taiwan unit is prob the same as yours. I added a reduction gear to reduce the blade speed for cutting steel.



This bench model equipped with a narrow blade at regular wood cutting speed is used for aluminum.

 

[rbstern]

The blade speed on your 14” bandsaw will be way too fast for cutting metal. Aluminum will be ok.

You would need to reduce the speed in addition to using a bi metal
blade. My Taiwan unit is prob the same as yours. I added a reduction gear to reduce the blade speed for cutting steel.

I've got the model with the four speed gearbox.

 

[Big Barn]

I've got the model with the four speed gearbox.

That’s awesome. You’re all set!

 

[Smokeydog]

Have really enjoyed adding hypertherm plasma cutter to the shop. Repurpose and scrapyard much of my metal. Tools have to pay for themselves. Requires less skill and somewhat safer than oxy-acet.

Regulation and cost are are getting high for oxy-acet. Owner own tanks are getting smaller and harder to get. Really need some professional instruction. Lucky it was taught in my high school (1970) with graphic movies of shop accidents. OA is a chemical cut. Heating iron hot enough to react with oxygen instantly forming rust. Rust (oxide) melts at a lower temperature than iron. Doss not slag. Unique among metals and handy for us red blooded animals needing oxygen. That is why cut steel but not aluminum with OA.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm getting a bit more into welding. Mostly light duty stuff so far, done with inexpensive wire fed MIG and arc welders.


Is there a decent, one tool cutting solution for a casual/occasional welder?

You will find that the cutting & fitting of parts is really where the "work" is in a welding project.:thumbsup:
After a simple o/a rig, it's hard to beat an abrasive wheel weather on an angle grinder or a "chop" type saw. That's where I started and I'm still looking for a better way after having everything up to my ironworker & plas. One big step for me as a kid was a hand held bandsaw, that old Milwaukee is now about 38 years old and still in use.
It was about $350 back then, they're still almost that much but in today's dollars!

 

[TractorGuy]

Do yourself a favor and buy a real grinder. Those cheap HF grinders don't have enough grunt and will fail quick trying to cut metal. I burned two of them up after my 30 year old Craftsman failed. Broke down and bought a DeWalt.

 

[Gofast]

I am in the same boat as you and have been doing more welding projects. Cutting thicker and thicker steel.
The porta band saw is my go-to first until recently. I build a simple stand for it and I highly recommend welding one up.
Buy a HF foot switch for it. Then zip tie the power switch.
Foot Switch - Save on this Momentary Power Foot Switch





Some HF stuff is good some is not.
Get 7 In. 11 Amp Heavy Duty Angle Grinder this is great and can handle hard work.
7 in. 11 Amp Heavy Duty Angle Grinder
This 4 1/2" HF grinder is decent if you get it on sale.
4-1/2 in. 11 Amp Heavy Duty Angle Grinder with Paddle Switch

I have been building backhoe buckets and cutting 1/2" plate. I am going to make a metal brake for my 20 ton press and the base is 3/4" plate so I just bought a plasma cutter.
Cutmaster 60i X it will cut 3/4" plate. I built a 12" backhoe bucket using only my plasma cutter and I am loving it.
Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 6i | ESAB Welding & Cutting

But I was able to build a 16" backhoe bucket with grinders and a porta band saw it just took longer and did not look as nice as my 12 when done. It digs the same.

 

[ArlyA]

HF tools are great until you're trying to get some job done and they fail in the process. Someone told me that HF really means "Hot then Fix". I try to go with tools that you can use till the end of the project.... Then still good for the next?

 

[rbstern]

HF tools are great until you're trying to get some job done and they fail in the process. Someone told me that HF really means "Hot then Fix". I try to go with tools that you can use till the end of the project.... Then still good for the next?

If you were playing tennis for the first time, would you run out and buy a $2500 custom tennis racket, or do you think a $100 racket from Sports Authority might get you through some games?

Pros should by pro quality stuff. Casual/hobby users, if they have the coin and want that level of quality, sure thing. On the other hand, I've used the heck out of the $10 grinder and made some very decent welds with a $100 MIG welder. And I probably wound't have started down that path without those cheap tools. Now I can decide if I want to move up the tool quality food chain, with a better understanding of how this stuff works. I won't be welding or cutting on any building structures, nuclear power plants, or metro rail systems, and certainly not cutting or welding to make a living. It's purely hobby stuff.

And to boot: HF stuff has gotten dramatically better over the years. In my estimation, many of their entry level tools are roughly the quality equivalent of the consumer brands found at the big box stores (and probably sourced in factories with very similar capabilities). The "better" HF brands (Hercules, for example), I can't say because I generally don't buy them.

Example: My wife uses the HF Central Pneumatic 23ga pin nailer every day in her crafts business. We bought two, for exactly the reason you suggest (potential breakage at a critical time). The first one is closing in on 100K pins fired. We thought it broke a couple months back, turns out it just needed a good cleaning (user servicable!). Still going strong, with the backup still in the box. Any tool that can do something harsh like hammer pins 100,000 times, at a price of $20, represents good quality and value.

 

[Stomper]

Lots of great advise on tools given here and with time building projects you will find out what tools you want to spend money on to make things easier for you. I have most of the above equipment, plasma, band saw, evolution dry cut saw, oxy/acc torch, reciprocating saw and angle grinders. You know what tool of them is my main go to tool........my angle grinder and zip cut disc. It's so fast, simple and effective. I do agree that you need several of them though. I have four, one for zip cut wheels, one for flapper discs, one for wire wheels and one for the standard grinding disc. For just chopping I realy like the dry cut saws. I had a makita abrassive saw and just cringed everytime I used it in the shop because of the sparks it produced. I started only using it when I could set it up outside but that became a real pain and it got used less and less. I sold it and bought the evolution saw and couldn't be happier with it. The other tools definately have their strengths but for most things an angle grinder works for me.

 

[11B2620]

Been doing custom metal fabrication for 5 years now. Bought en evolution metal saw which is awesome. Then I heard about eastwood garage tools and found a plasma cutter a lot cheaper than most. I actually drove a few hours and went to their store and looked it over. The warranty is 3 years which is better than most. Price was great, so I bought it. It has been 5 years and I use it quite a bit. If you plan ahead, consumables are cheap if you buy from china ( you have to wait a month to get them.) I also bought their 250 amp mig welder. I am very pleased after 3 years not having any issues whatsoever. I have used 15 12 lb spools before doing some research on the 44 lb spools. I converted my welder to that and have used 6 of those so far with no trouble. I also have the normal abrasive saw and cut off wheels. I will try that diamond cut 4 1/2 inch, that sounds great! But give eastwood a look.

 

[3Ts]

Do yourself a favor and buy a real grinder. Those cheap HF grinders don't have enough grunt and will fail quick trying to cut metal. I burned two of them up after my 30 year old Craftsman failed. Broke down and bought a DeWalt.

I have a "cheap HF grinder", a Black & Decker, and a DeWalt grinder. The DeWalt is the heaviest. They all work well and have for years and years. I suspect the DeWalt will last the longest, but I expect all of them to outlast me.

 

[mike48130]

metalbender I think you値l be quite pleased with the Lennox.

I really should order a 4 one for my extended reach cut off tool but I still have three boxes of 3 and 4 inch abrasive discs.

To the OP. Another great tool is the extended reach cutoff tool. I wouldn稚 put it on your priority list as what others have mentioned well do you well. But it is an awesome tool.

View attachment 606529

I'm going to try the Lenox disc. $11.99 on Amazon Prime.

 

[mike48130]

Angle grinders for sure. I get them from garage sales and flea markets, when I can. I bought an 18V ridged one, and it is handy for the little jobs where you just grab it and go.

Good 90 deg die grinder too. Always using it.