Cutoff saws

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Is this a good saw?   Jepson 9515 SUPER CUT OFF SAW?How much life can be expected from an abrasive blade? A carbide blade?ThanksMillermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:The best chop saw I ever had was a makita which I used day in and day our for about three years.  I made hundreds of cuts in one inch square cold rolled steel, continuous  hour after hour.  That plus other materials.  I bought a ridgid from home depot after the makita gave up the ghost.  Lifetime warranty.  It burned up in one day.  Home depot gave me another one and it burned up in one day.  I got my money back and I bought a dewalt instead of a new Makita because I liked the handle on it.  The dewalt is holding up fine.Get good blades.  Very important.  I buy mine mostly at King architectural metals thirty at a time.  Just buy them where fabricators get their blades.  You will get the best price too.Don't know anything about the carbide.
Reply:I just bought one from HF. Seems to be OK, and the blade is square to the table. Probably not strong enough for the industrial folks, but should be fine for the hobbiest...
Reply:have  about  6 months  dewalt  dw 871  works  great  about  199.00 lowes  i think
Reply:The Jepson saw is about the cheapest, lowest quality saw you can buy- the only thing lower would be no-name chinese.But a lot of people have cut a lot of stuff with em.The price is right, and when it breaks, you can always buy another one...
Reply:Thanks, I was afraid of that. I just didn't have any idea.  Originally Posted by RiesThe Jepson saw is about the cheapest, lowest quality saw you can buy- the only thing lower would be no-name chinese.But a lot of people have cut a lot of stuff with em.The price is right, and when it breaks, you can always buy another one...
Reply:This is one of those things where the luck of the draw has a lot to do with it so you're better off buying at a large retailer or someone else that will replace it if your purchase was the bad one of the lot.Over the years I've had just about every brand and had them fail.  Like Riley I've had good luck with Makita.  But I've also had good luck with Rigid, Milwaukee, and DeWalt.  I had no luck with Ryobi, twice.Do try to buy good blades.  Also buy thinner ones if you can, they cut better, die faster, but you're into cutting, not living long.For a chop saw to cut good with minimal wear on the machine there's this magic place you need to find.  It's the perfect combination of pressure on material and load on the motor.  Too little pressure and the motor is in no load but you're overheating the blade and it will gaul, no cut for nothing.Too much pressure and you're overloading the motor and the speed of the wheel will slow down to the point of not cutting well either.  You can walk up to where a saw is being used and know if the operator is doing it right just by the sound.life is good
Reply:We have switched from Milwalkee to DeWalt with carbide blade. Six months on the blade so far with daily use. I really like the cut, no bluing of material, no sparks.
Reply:I got the Ridgid chop saw just the other day.  I liked the design the best of the ones that I have looked at.  It's very powerful, so much so that I couldn't stall it without throwing a 20A breaker.  It hasn't burnt out yet, but I'm not really worried about it.Harv, thanks for the tip on thinner blades.  I saw some the other day and presumed that they might cut faster.  On the other hand, folks have complained that the thinner blades deflect more on angles.  Have you had that problem?Cheap chop saws are just ok.  If you get one and it doesn't die immediately, it'll probably lost a long while.  They work well for cutting EMT, rebar, and other easy stuff, but they're annoying as hell on thicker material or anything with a flat.  I've had to fiddle with the brushes on mine, but other than that, it's made thousands of cuts.-Heath
Reply:Originally Posted by halbrittI got the Ridgid chop saw just the other day.  I liked the design the best of the ones that I have looked at.  It's very powerful, so much so that I couldn't stall it without throwing a 20A breaker.  It hasn't burnt out yet, but I'm not really worried about it.Harv, thanks for the tip on thinner blades.  I saw some the other day and presumed that they might cut faster.  On the other hand, folks have complained that the thinner blades deflect more on angles.  Have you had that problem?Cheap chop saws are just ok.  If you get one and it doesn't die immediately, it'll probably lost a long while.  They work well for cutting EMT, rebar, and other easy stuff, but they're annoying as hell on thicker material or anything with a flat.  I've had to fiddle with the brushes on mine, but other than that, it's made thousands of cuts.
Reply:Originally Posted by wroughtn_harvI look at a chop saw as an ax.  I don't see where one can expect great cuts from a chop saw.  So blade deflection has to be considered a given when you are cutting large bundles of pieces.I've never seen a chop saw consistantly cut true.  Invariably they cut at a slant tapering out at the bottom away from the vise.  I'm sure an engineer will be able to explain why that is but all I know is they all do.  This is with carborundum blades of course.
Reply:http://www.steelmax.com/2802_Saw.htmThese blades are rated to outlast fiber blades 25 to 1 Saws and blades are sold thru Cronatron Welding.  The thing I like about our machine is it's weight compared to the competition.  The Milwaukee weights 50 lbs. compared to ours at 72 lbs.  The Steelmax is a stronger more ridgid machine.Last edited by Cronatron Rep; 02-04-2006 at 11:10 PM.
Reply:"Ridgid" is a brand of tools.  "Rigid" is an adjective that is used to describe something that is stiff, inflexible, or able to resist deflection.  I suspect that you probably don't want to continue to refer to the tools you sell as a "more ridgid machine".-Heath
Reply:I like Black & Decker  3/32 blades.  My ol' B & D chop saw just keeps on diggin'.  I'll probably buy another. This one is about 12-15 yrs. old.RG
Reply:I recently bought a Rigid chop saw as well. I like the saw. I use it to cut stainless tube for nice 45deg mitres. Unfortunately I only get about 12 cuts before the blade requires sharpening. It seems to be the lesser of evils other than buying a horizontal band saw. Any thoughts on more efficient ways?
Reply:I never heard of sharping  a chop saw.  These are abrasive blades.  You can get a glaze if you are feeding too light.  Also a crummy blade tends to glaze.  What size stainless tube are you cutting?  I can get about 70 cuts in one inch diameter solid mild steel from a good 14 inch chop saw blade.  The stainless should be no problem.
Reply:most chop saws are about the same....the cut off wheels howeverwill only last as long as the person behind the handle....i dont care what you say or use...if you have someone without a clue doing the cutting the wheels will not last long no matter what there made ofand thats a fact jack!!( i see it every day )...zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by zapstermost chop saws are about the same....the cut off wheels howeverwill only last as long as the person behind the handle....i dont care what you say or use...if you have someone without a clue doing the cutting the wheels will not last long no matter what there made ofand thats a fact jack!!( i see it every day )...zap!
Reply:I saw the DW871 at Lowes last weekend for $199 - and it also is advertised with a FREE DW28402 4.5" grinder worth $89.  Sounds like a good deal.