Metal cutting - Abrasive disk or dry cut carbide blade?

[jwt873]

I don't cut much steel. I usually get the supplier to do custom cuts for me... I just tell him the lengths I need.

I'd like to be able to buy bulk and saw off chunks of steel as needed. I still won't be cutting that much, so the saw would only see very light duty.

The abrasive disk chop saws work OK, but they make a lot of sparks.. There is a carbide tipped dry cutting chop saw for sale at a local supplier here in Canada..

I wonder which would be the better choice.. Abrasive disk, or carbide tipped saw blade? I did a quick currency conversion from CDN dollars to GBP... The carbide blade cutter is £65 more expensive than a similar sized abrasive disk cutter... And replacement blades are around £70

This link shows the kind of carbide blade the cutter uses: http://www.amazon.com/Porter-14104-14-Inch-Cutting-1-Inch/dp/B00006AE43

 

[the snooper]

blades £70 how long do they last ?
abrasive cutter would be my option i cant imagine the other to last long

 

[hotrodder]

The carbide blades are relatively fragile but as long as they're not abused are long lived (what's being cut affects things but around 1000 cuts per blade is touted by the manufacturers and from what i've seen with mine over the years it's believable), can be resharpened a few times and cutting capacity isn't reduced as the blade wears. A lot more accurate too.

There'll be cheaper sources than amazon for replacement blades. Don't know what the deal is in Canada but Freud steel demon blades have a good reputation and are cheap in the States, hard to find and silly money in the UK though.

 

[jwt873]

OK, thanks for the input... I've never seen one of these blades in action but they are supposed to produce very clean cuts with much less heat and sparking. I have used abrasive disk cutters before.

I guess I'll pick one up Monday and report back to the forum

 

[piman]

Hello jwt873,

have you considered a band saw, (not the horizontal table type)they vary in cheap and cheerful to expensive, and versatile.

I use one of the former and it serves well for my limited cutting requirements. it's capacity is up to 6" x 4" in section and will cut solid as well as hollow sections.

Alec

 

[Sam]

I don't cut much steel. I usually get the supplier to do custom cuts for me... I just tell him the lengths I need.

I'd like to be able to buy bulk and saw off chunks of steel as needed. I still won't be cutting that much, so the saw would only see very light duty.

The abrasive disk chop saws work OK, but they make a lot of sparks.. There is a carbide tipped dry cutting chop saw for sale at a local supplier here in Canada..

I wonder which would be the better choice.. Abrasive disk, or carbide tipped saw blade? I did a quick currency conversion from CDN dollars to GBP... The carbide blade cutter is £65 more expensive than a similar sized abrasive disk cutter... And replacement blades are around £70

This link shows the kind of carbide blade the cutter uses: http://www.amazon.com/Porter-14104-14-Inch-Cutting-1-Inch/dp/B00006AE43

The type of blade you have in the link is the blade I would use for aluminium in a higher speed chop saw. I use a HSS blade which can be resharpened but is used in a slow speed cold saw as they call them here. I bought four 10yrs ago and have them resharpened as needed they started off at 350 dia and one is now down to around 275 dia.
Peronally I hate the abrasive discs accuracy is not something I would expect from a chop saw but with the cold saw it comes out like a milled finish and very accurate with angles.

 

[jwt873]

have you considered a band saw, (not the horizontal table type)they vary in cheap and cheerful to expensive, and versatile.

I have considered a band saw... Actually a friend of mine recommends I get one instead of a chop saw.

The problem is that I haven't been able to find a new or even a used one locally for the price of the cold cut saw that's on sale right now at my neighborhood dealer. The saw uses a 355mm blade and will take up to 120mm stock, so I'll will be able to cut all the sizes of mild steel that I normally work with.

 

[hotrodder]

OK, thanks for the input... I've never seen one of these blades in action but they are supposed to produce very clean cuts with much less heat and sparking. I have used abrasive disk cutters before.

I guess I'll pick one up Monday and report back to the forum

Dry cut chop saw in action, there's some pics of cut quality i posted a while ago (several different materials and some lobster backed tube cuts) on the forum somewhere. Not as versatile as a bandsaw but a good quality dry cut will **** all over a similar priced bandsaw 'out of the box' in most areas with cut quality approaching the proper cold cut saws that Sam mentioned

Dry cut weaknesses are larger diameter solids or a steady diet of stainless both of which give the blade a harder time as unlike the other choices coolant isn't used.

 

[jwt873]

That YouTube video made up my mind.. (I should have checked YouTube first ) Thanks for posting the link.

I picked one up today and I'm VERY happy with it. It sails through 35mm angle iron like a hot knife through butter... There are no sparks and no dust created like you see with abrasive wheels. The cuts are burr free with no bluing caused by heat.

It's a Chinese jobbie... Really coulorful and hefty at 25 Kg.. It would probably fall on its face in an industrial setting, but I'll only be using it maybe 10 times a year for hobby use so hopefully it will last a while.

Below is a shot of it in my shop and below that is an example of how a cut looks:

 

[Archie]

From the marks in the metal it looks like you cut that with the angle in an L position. If you want you can make life a bit easier on the saw by cutting angle in the ^ position. Hope that makes sense!

 

[jwt873]

From the marks in the metal it looks like you cut that with the angle in an L position

You noticed

I did that deliberately... I wanted to see if the motor loaded down when it got through the vertical part and then hit the flat 'bar' portion of the angle. It didn't.

Here's a shot of a freshly cut 75mm X 75mm X 6 mm angle cut from the point of the the 'V'.. The blade sailed through it like I was cutting wood.. The cut off piece was barely warm to the touch.... Sorry for all the pictures, but it's been a long time since I bought something that impressed me so much.

 

[Archie]

Ah fair enough. Sounds like you're one happy camper then!