dumb guy wants to weld, how to cut steel Options

[JerryP]

I'm trying to start my amateur welding career and work my way up to fixing my rusty '74 parts car. For now I just need to miter cut some 1/8 " angle iron.

I have an angle grinder, sawzall and miter saw but never miter cut steel before. Will one of these do with a metal cutting blade or should I just bite the bullet and buy a real cut off saw. If so, any suggestions on what to buy? TIA.

[914GT]

To get accurate cuts get a cutoff saw.

[elocke]

I cut square tubing for my rotisserie with a 10" cutoff wheel on my table saw. I did 45 degree cuts too. It takes time and can get pretty hot. If I was cutting thicker stuff regularly I'd consider the proper tool, but I learned to weld mostly to fix the thin, rusty sheet metal on my 914. For that I use either a hacksaw, hand-held hacksaw blade, dremmel, or tin snips. I don't like to cut with my 4 1/2" angle cutter because it's very jumpy. With the dremel, the cutoff wheel just breaks.
Have fun...welding is fun! Now I wonder how I could have done this project without one. I highly recommend it!
Ed

[cha914]

might as well try throwing a metal cutting blade on your miter saw and see if it works...but I do have a chop saw...it works nice, but is quite loud.


You can also use a sawsall...or a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder, just hold the angle in a vise...

just be sure to wear proper eye/hearing protection...and have fun (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smash.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif)

[zabo]

I too am just starting my welding amature career and needed a cheap chop saw. Here is what I did. Lowes sells a compound miter saw made by gmc. It is a pretty generic set up and small. I got it to cut trim when I remodelled my house last year. Anyway. I got a skill saw metal cutting blade to put on it. Funny thing though being a foreign saw, the mandrell was too big for the blade. I used my grinder to grind
the mandrel smaller to fit the metal cutting blade and viola', I have a cheap compound chop saw. Works like a charm. the hard part is that you have to be careful to grind the new smaller mandrel on center of the old one or you will have a wobley (and thus quite dangerous) chopsaw. I got lucky
and I managed to center the new grind well. It works like a charm. And cheap too.

Take this for what it is worth... a Free idea to a cheap solution. I dont want to be giving bad advise.

good luck.

[rick 918-S]

QUOTE (JerryP @ Jan 7 2005, 01:01 PM)

For now I just need to miter cut some 1/8 " angle iron.

What the heck are you installing 1/8" angle iron on? These cars are for the most part 18 GA. sheet metal. There is no need to replace any of the factory parts with any more that the same gauge metal. Let us know what your doing and maybe we can help you through it. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smash.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) There are guys that make repair panels for the longs and stuff. Let us know what your up to.

[mharrison]

Well, the first welding project is usually the welding cart. Maybe that's what it is?

[spunone]

Get yourself a cold saw Makita makes a fairly cheap model or get a used one.Makes very little mess not like a dust throwing chop saw .Just my .02 I can cut just don't know how to weld yet (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer.gif)

[jd74914]

Be a man and get out the torch (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)



seriously, I usually use a sawzall. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif)






(Disclaimer: I was born into a family of old-school welders. Do not attempt this at home without proper gear or supervision. James Dayton is not responsible for any injuries.)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[scotty b]

metal cutting blade on the miter saw will work fine or if you want really nice cuts...invest in a cold cut saw or a hydraulic band saw for about $2500 !!! I started out fabbing heavy stuff with a circular saw and a metal blade.

[JerryP]

Thanks for the replies guys. First project is a simple welding table, hence the angle iron. Next is the welding cart. Then, hopefully, my rusty 74 2.0. Thanks for the good ideas.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Just remember that sheet metal is different than the thicker stuff i.e. punching thru and warping will be your main concerns.

Good luck, it's fun-n-easy with a MIG.

[airsix]

Guys,
If you want to start working with metal you need to get metal working tools - not buy wood-working tools and try to convert them. Why? Couple of reasons. First, woodworking tools spin too fast and everything gets too hot. You ruin your belts/blades/bits, warp and shrink your workpiece, and end up with blisters on your thumbs. Oh, and you end up ruining a tool designed to cut soft matterials.

Go to Harbor Freight and get a little chop saw and/or a metal cutting bandsaw. I've got their little 6" chop saw (something like $40) and the metal cutting bandsaw ($160) and they were money well spent. I used to think "Now what would I need a bandsaw for?" Now I think "How could I possibly live without my bandsaw?" Go to www.use-enco.com and order a couple of bi-metal 18tpi blades because the blade that comes on the HF saw is junk. I've been using the same bi-metal blade on tool-steel and titanium for a year. They are awesome. Do that and you'll be in business with a smile.

-Ben M.

[URY914]

QUOTE (airsix @ Jan 8 2005, 12:48 PM)

Guys, If you want to start working with metal you need to get metal working tools - not buy wood-working tools and try to convert them. Why? Couple of reasons. First, woodworking tools spin too fast and everything gets too hot. You ruin your belts/blades/bits, warp and shrink your workpiece, and end up with blisters on your thumbs. Oh, and you end up ruining a tool designed to cut soft matterials. Go to Harbor Freight and get a little chop saw and/or a metal cutting bandsaw. I've got their little 6" chop saw (something like $40) and the metal cutting bandsaw ($160) and they were money well spent. I used to think "Now what would I need a bandsaw for?" Now I think "How could I possibly live without my bandsaw?" Go to www.use-enco.com and order a couple of bi-metal 18tpi blades because the blade that comes on the HF saw is junk. I've been using the same bi-metal blade on tool-steel and titanium for a year. They are awesome. Do that and you'll be in business with a smile. -Ben M.

You're right. The band saw in sweet. You have much more control because the blade moves slower than a sawzall.

Also right about a metal cutting blade in a miter saw. Blade spins too fast in gets too hot. Use a real chop saw.

Here is my Porta-Band by Porter Cable. Pricy but the company bought it I borrowed it. (but they don't know it, (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif) If someone asks about it I'll fess up.)

[Trekkor]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif)

The metal chop saw is very good.
It has a built in vise to hold the work solid in the saw.

Very loud. Will cut any metal stock.
Used it to cut all the 1 1/2 inch sq tube steel for the BBQ.

KT

[JerryP]

That's good news. I was looking at the HF chop saws but was afraid they wouldn't be good enough quality. That mini cut off saw is only 19.99 right now. I may opt for the 14" one for $59.00 or if the bandsaw is more useful, I'll just do that. Thanks.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

I'm pretty weary about HF tools. Very, very cheap...er, inexpensive...but many of their items are cheap. I know cuz our VW shop uses a lot of their stuff (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) I say get the right tool for the job and don't go ubber cheap and you'll never be sorry but be extremely happy. It sucks getting a tool that works okay a couple times then craps out. Then you're out a tool AND the money (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mad.gif) Sometimes ya gotta buck up and pay the extra $ for quality.

However! if someone has a good recommendation about one of their tools I'm for it (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif) When their car dollys went on sale I bought four sets (one set contains two dollys), two for my 914 and two for our shop. They are very nice to have and work well...$80 well spent (yeah, that inexpensive)!

I'm gonna look into that bandsaw cuz I know I need one. My poor saber saw just ain't cutting it (pun intended). Luckily, it does have an adjustable cutting speed. What part number or specific name is the bandsaw?

[airsix]

QUOTE (JerryP @ Jan 8 2005, 02:24 PM)

That's good news. I was looking at the HF chop saws but was afraid they wouldn't be good enough quality. That mini cut off saw is only 19.99 right now. I may opt for the 14" one for $59.00 or if the bandsaw is more useful, I'll just do that. Thanks.

Jerry,
How accurate do your cuts need to be? Chop saws are NOT very accurate. If accuracy isn't really an issue then a chop saw might be fine.

Something that I forgot to mention... If you are doing a small project and just need to cut a few pieces then I'd just use a $2 plastic miter box and a hack-saw. Seriously. This would be a good way to get good accurate cuts for a very small investment. Use a little cutting fluid or light oil on the blade - it'll last longer and cut faster. Don't buy cheap blades.

Do NOT expect to get accurate cuts from a chop saw. Yes, I do have the little HF chop saw. Yes, it is a POS. All chop-saws are. They weren't designed for precision work. Anything I cut on a chop saw is cut long and then ground to length on my belt grinder. Mostly I use my bandsaw. Your best bet for low investment is the miter box and hack saw. I know hack-sawing a bunch of stock does not sound like fun, but if you don't want to invest in big tools right now the hacksaw/miterbox method will give you a good end result for little money. I wouldn't use the chop-saw unless you have a good grinder you can use to trim to length and touch up the angles of your cuts - unless your project doesn't require highly accurate cuts.

Hope that helps some. I'm trying to share lessons I've learned the hard way so you don't have to. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

-Ben M.

[Gint]

Ben,

This one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Disp...temnumber=37151

Works good huh? I buy lots of stuff at HF. But it's usually inexpensive stuff that won't piss me off if it turns out to be junk. I have a Bosch metal chop saw, but I'd prefer the accuracy of a band saw. I've been considering purchasing one for some time now.

[Trekkor]

The HF tools I would never recommend if you used it every day as a contractor/builder.

For the home shop...Great. affordable.

The chop saw will get your cuts very close.
Mark your cuts with a soap stone, make the cut, grind to finish.
You'll be good, all day long. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

KT