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.

To get accurate cuts get a cutoff saw.

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

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

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.

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. There are guys that make repair panels for the longs and stuff. Let us know what your up to.

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

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

Be a man and get out the torch



seriously, I usually use a sawzall.






(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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, If someone asks about it I'll fess up.)

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

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.

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 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 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 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?

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.

-Ben M.

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.

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.

KT

Gint/KT,
Yes, that's the bandsaw I'm talking about. Like all HarborFreight tools it's a little rough, but you will not find a better bandsaw for less than 3x the price. I know several full-time knife-makers who've been using that saw daily for 10+ years. It comes with a junk blade. Don't even bother trying to cut anything with it. Throw it away and get some good bi-metal blades (enco has them cheap - about $13 ea.). You want 5'-4.5" x 1/2" and 18 to 20 teeth per inch. That will let you cut just about anything (including thin sheet).

Other tips: The table is a little wimpy. A lot of people build a larger more rigid one. I'm still using the one it came with 'cuz I'm too busy (lazy). Also, the blades will jump off the wheels if you don't have the tension set right. The proper tension is 3 grunts. One of my friends bought a tension guage and was dissapointed to find that the propper tension was just about as tight as he could get it (don't need a guage to do that).

I don't know where I'd be without mine. Used it less than an hour ago in fact. If you get one don't be mad at me if it doesn't feel like an Etalon micrometer - like I said, they're a little rough, but they are reliable and cut anything you throw under them, and for $169 that aint bad.

-Ben M.

Thanks Ben. My expectations are low on HF stuff anyway, so if it works and does a decent job cutting without falling apart, I'll be happy.

QUOTE (trekkor Posted on Jan 8 2005 @ 07:17 PM)

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.

I'd prefer the band saw. The chop saw makes a gawdawful mess. I hate cleaning up the slag left behind and grinding to fit after making the cut.

I need another tool

KT

If you guys are serious about the bandsaw you might want to check out some of the online community info. Here's a good place to start.

-Ben M.

I think JET makes a very similar band saw for about 199, I have been very happy with the 1hp grinder I got from them, and I might go with their bandsaw also...their stuff seems to be a little above the HF in quality without much more money.

Tony


PS...here is one for 279 but I have seen them for as low as 199...

http://www.westerntool.com/product.htm?pid=421001

I just got a rigid metal chop saw, accuracy is what everyone says. My first welding project was a work table, had to do several cuts on angle stock from 1" to 2.5" doing miter cuts. Did it with an angle grinder and metal cutoff blade. Worked fine and actually you can get decent cuts if you work at it slowly and carefully. I did the 45 degree cuts on the angle stock then found another (and supposedly the correct way to do miter joints on angle iron) way to make the cuts. Just do regular 90 degree straight cuts, on the piece that intersects the other, cut off the bottom of the "L" about the width of the opposing "L" lay it up, jig it and mig it. Very quick if you are doing this with an angle grinder, if you have a chop saw the 45 degree cuts are quicker.

Don't expect it to be absolutely perfect, the heat will bend the metal from welding so you will have to clamp the parts down really well when welding and let them cool for a minute or two to reduce the distortion. When welding the angle stock together, buzz 3 tacks one at each corner of the joint, then one in the middle, that will also stabilize distortion over running a bead from one corner to the other.

My 2nd welding project was to make a corner jig out of 2.5" angle stock and a piece of strap for reinforcement. I could have spent less on buying a corner clamp, but it was fun non the less.