chop saw for alu and steel tube?

[FASTdan]

My primary product is inlet manifold and i have been looking into chop saws. Materials being cut are mild steel tube with 1.5mm wall thickness and Ali with 3mm wall. I need accurate angle cuts but aside from that it doesn't need to be anything too fancy.

Anyone got any recommendations? What sort of rpm should i be looking for?

 

[Flathead_Dave]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19673&highlight=evolution

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19014&highlight=evolution


http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=18302&highlight=evolution

 

[NeilH]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19673&highlight=evolution

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19014&highlight=evolution


http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=18302&highlight=evolution

the only thing with these is rather than "cut" the metal, they just hit chunks out of it in a 360 degree direction. and they can be painful, especially when you get hit in the lip

at least with a conventional chop saw, you can just stand out of the way of the sparks.

 

[astro_al]

Get a proper cold saw. They have 2 speeds for exactly the two materials you're using. They are accurate, they cut burr-free mitres, cold, swiftly and quietly.

Al.

 

[hotrodder]

Abrasive chopsaw = messy, dusty, noisy and least accurate. Cutting capacity reduces as blade wears. Burrs to remove with steel and a right mess to clean up with ally. You really don't want one if you do much in the way of ally work

Dry cut (TCT blade) chopsaw = Faster cutting, very noisy, lots of swarf thrown about and blades are pricey and relatively delicate but used properly can be resharpened a few times. Pretty accurate and virtually burr free. Neil, sure you don't need to replace/sharpen the blade? They do make a mess but most of the chips should be directed away from the operator

Cold saw = different league price and features (workholding, mitring) wise. As said accurate, they cut burr-free mitres, cold, swiftly and quietly. Blades are resharpenable and harder to abuse since coolant can be used and there's a choice of speeds for different materials. Mitre scales are accurate and repeatable, often mitre both left and right

Saw RPM is a function of blade type and size. 14" abrasive around 3800rpm, 14" TCT dry cut around 1300 rpm and 14" cold cut (IIRC) around 52/26 rpm. With a TCT saw different blades are available for thin section steel, stainless and aluminium. General purpose blade would work for the materials/thicknesses mentioned but an aluminium specific blade would improve cut quality with Al and a thin section blade cleaner for the 1.5mm steel

 

[FASTdan]

Abrasive chopsaw = messy, dusty, noisy and least accurate. Cutting capacity reduces as blade wears. Burrs to remove with steel and a right mess to clean up with ally. You really don't want one if you do much in the way of ally work

Dry cut (TCT blade) chopsaw = Faster cutting, very noisy, lots of swarf thrown about and blades are pricey and relatively delicate but used properly can be resharpened a few times. Pretty accurate and virtually burr free. Neil, sure you don't need to replace/sharpen the blade? They do make a mess but most of the chips should be directed away from the operator

Cold saw = different league price and features (workholding, mitring) wise. As said accurate, they cut burr-free mitres, cold, swiftly and quietly. Blades are resharpenable and harder to abuse since coolant can be used and there's a choice of speeds for different materials. Mitre scales are accurate and repeatable, often mitre both left and right

Saw RPM is a function of blade type and size. 14" abrasive around 3800rpm, 14" TCT dry cut around 1300 rpm and 14" cold cut (IIRC) around 52/26 rpm. With a TCT saw different blades are available for thin section steel, stainless and aluminium. General purpose blade would work for the materials/thicknesses mentioned but an aluminium specific blade would improve cut quality with Al and a thin section blade cleaner for the 1.5mm steel

Thanks for that very concise breakdown - thats what i needed.

I'll have a good look through those links, funnily enough I was looking at the evolution stuff. The one thing that concerns me is the crude looking angle bed - need to see one in the flesh to get an idea. Didnt realise tesco sold them so i might call in and have a look.

 

[hotrodder]

The 'crude looking angle bed'... if you're talking about the vice/mitre fence design then pretty much all the abrasive and TCT saws have a similar set up with the exception of a couple of the Evolution 'multipurpose' models (build or project lines, read DIY quality) that are similar to woodworking compound cutting saws in layout. A good quality TCT will still cut accurate and repeatable mitres though...



Really need to set the fence with an angle finder/adjustable square though and for repetive cuts you'd want to make an adjustable endstop to avoid having to measure each cut. Only have to look at a cold cut saw to see why they are in a different league pricewise,
even second hand they cost a lot more unless you get lucky

 

[FASTdan]

The 'crude looking angle bed'... if you're talking about the vice/mitre fence design then pretty much all the abrasive and TCT saws have a similar set up with the exception of a couple of the Evolution 'multipurpose' models (build or project lines, read DIY quality) that are similar to woodworking compound cutting saws in layout. A good quality TCT will still cut accurate and repeatable mitres though...
View attachment 18117


Really need to set the fence with an angle finder/adjustable square though and for repetive cuts you'd want to make an adjustable endstop to avoid having to measure each cut. Only have to look at a cold cut saw to see why they are in a different league pricewise,
even second hand they cost a lot more unless you get lucky

To expand on my comment re the crude angle bed - I was referring to the Rage 2 - which appears to have a much more basic angular indicator - however the rage 3 and rage 3s seems to have a more conventional chop saw angular bed - perhaps these are what you refer to as DIY quality?

However as you say, if you are using an angle finder I guess the rage 2 would do fine?

I am still undecided between:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQitemZ370441387289

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EVOLUTION-RAG...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item56405450cb

 

[hotrodder]

The rage 2 design is the typical metal cutting chopsaw style, the rage 3-s is similar to wood working compound mitre saws in layout but with lower blade rpm and a multipurpose blade. Compare the technical specs carefully- ability to do compound mitres might be very useful but cutting capacity of the 2 saws is very different!

Evolution do a 'proper' metal working range too which is more expensive (the rage 2 appears to be a cheapened raptor 355) but obviously designed with a steady diet of metalwork in mind rather a bit of everything...

Have a look at the different lines Evolution tools offer and compare specs- note the different advertised claims for blade life (steel cutting) for the different ranges, note the differing cutting capacities and motor ratings etc.

I don't know whether we're talking daily use, a few times a week or a few times a month but if the former you want proper metal working kit imo which'd be a minimum of the Evolution steel range or equivilant from other manufacturers.

 

[johnakay]

bare in mind these evolution saw are extremely noisy, I had to sell mine. a forum member bought it of me.

 

[astro_al]

Why not just use a vertical bandsaw?

Al.

 

[gavuk]

At home i use a second hand 6x4horizontal bandsaw,which can be used vertical as well,quiet,versatile and accurate with less mess and noise than most alternatives,£100 well spent..I use a bi-metal blade and get reasonable life from them ,they do require careful setting of the blade /hinge to get accurate cuts,mine is a clarke..Other methods are quicker ,but bandsaws can be left to cut while you do other things ....Bandsaws do have limitations ,but they represent a good compromise for me and my neighbours

 

[peter99]

Check out Jancey Slugger stuff. excellent.

 

[FASTdan]

Band saw will take much longer and I also dont have the space.

I ended up getting the rage 3 (full size, not the 3S), so far so good I'm very impressed apart from the poor clamps. The cheesy laser guide actually works really well for my application too.