hello my name is eric i am going to be a newbie welder and i am going to be creating furniture and little odds and ends things. i will mainly be using steel angle iron and steel flat iron and some square steel tubing the sizes i will be the most dealing with is 1/8 inch nothing huge. so my questions is what should i use to cut my steel angle iron with to get a good straight cut and a couple 45 degree cuts? i have a grinder but i was wondering if i should get a chop saw but i don't need something huge with a 14inch blade does anyone know of a good chop saw but not to huge in size again most of my sizes will be 1 inch by 1 inch by 1/8 inch thanks!
- Thread starter erics1019
- Start date
Lawnmowerboy
Member
- Messages
- 2,165
the rage chopsaws are good for the money but by no means as good as a bandsaw.
CompoSimmonite
Member
- Messages
- 5,930
- Location
- Werrington, Staffordshire Moorlands.
I've got one of the common 6x4 bandsaws sold by Machine Mart. Good piece of kit but not a patch on my Rage chop saw for speed and quality of cut. In the past I had an abrasive chop saw and Rage is far better even though a lot more expensive.
Any saw is useful but "at the end of the day" is still only a way of cutting the metal so it's what suits your budget as much as anything else. Bandsaw - £274.80 & 14" chop saw - £143.98 from Machine Mart. Rage saw just under £200.
For the thickness you are planning on using then careful use with a £9.99 supermarket special offer angle grinder will do the same job until you can see if the expenditure on a bigger saw is be justified.
Me - I just like my toys so can always find the justification
Paul H
Any saw is useful but "at the end of the day" is still only a way of cutting the metal so it's what suits your budget as much as anything else. Bandsaw - £274.80 & 14" chop saw - £143.98 from Machine Mart. Rage saw just under £200.
For the thickness you are planning on using then careful use with a £9.99 supermarket special offer angle grinder will do the same job until you can see if the expenditure on a bigger saw is be justified.
Me - I just like my toys so can always find the justification
Paul H
Country Joe
Argoshield Dark
- Messages
- 1,743
- Location
- Somerset - United Kingdom
I completely agree, and for the very same reasons as you.
Always seem to hear people griping about the noise, but I find it quite acceptable.
All the Best,
CJ
I've got both - the bandsaw was a bargain buy from someone I knew but the rage was new on an offer from screwfix (offer looks to have finished)
The bandsaw cuts nicely and will cut a wider range of sizes and can be left to auto switch off, the rage does cut steel ok but I would call it more like noisily chew its way through. I think the bandsaw is better as the speed is variable to suit the material but the saw is fixed speed - its designed to cut wood and steel but generally the two are cut at vastly different speeds hence the (in my opinion) awful noise when it cuts steel.
Plus after doing one piece of angle it never cut wood as well, I guess the blade lost the sharp edges on the teeth.
The bandsaw cuts nicely and will cut a wider range of sizes and can be left to auto switch off, the rage does cut steel ok but I would call it more like noisily chew its way through. I think the bandsaw is better as the speed is variable to suit the material but the saw is fixed speed - its designed to cut wood and steel but generally the two are cut at vastly different speeds hence the (in my opinion) awful noise when it cuts steel.
Plus after doing one piece of angle it never cut wood as well, I guess the blade lost the sharp edges on the teeth.
cumbriasteve
Moderator
- Messages
- 9,645
- Location
- Cumbria UK
I have a chop saw and a bandsaw, the chop saw sits unused most of the time, simply find the bandsaw 'nicer' to use, cleaner cut, quieter and less mess.
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
- Messages
- 13,099
- Location
- CX near Chesterfield
I have an abrasive chop saw and with decent inox discs it is good enough for anything I need to do and the discs last ages. At £3 ish each from a local supplier they are not expensive. It is noisy (not as noisy as my mate's Rage saw though) but doesn't make much dust if you let it do the work instead of forcing the pace. A band saw would be my ideal tool but my chop saw would still be used for quick jobs and thicker sections.
