need held choosing a circular saw

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I've got a lot of aluminium plate work coming up, and need a new saw.What are your favorites?needs to come with a guide, and it's to be used with toothed blades (not abrasive!) on 4mm (5/32") aluminum 60xx plates.random google image:
Reply:Pony up the cash for the 8" Milwuakee so you can cut steel too. I don't believe the blade that came with mine is to be used with aluminum but any standard carbide toothed 7 1/4 will work with aluminum in this saw. The Milwaukee keeps you from wearing the chips and catches the majority of them in the side cover.Thats a big help since you have a lot to cut.Last edited by Burpee; 03-09-2014 at 09:53 AM.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:What ever you get, make sure you get a worm drive. I had a Skilsaw for over 40-years. Gave it to one of my son-n-laws. Now I have a DeWalt. Took a little time to get use to the angle of the DeWalt, but so far it seems to work fine. Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Best saws I've ever used with a guide was a Festool circular saw. Very expensive and not my 1st choice for metal. With wood they are excellent. You can get industrial quality table saw results from a hand held saw.On alum plate, I typically just use my 7 1/2" worm drive. However if I had a ton of metal to cut, I'd probably  invest in a Milwaukee dedicated steel saw. I use my own guides. I have a 52" wide guide that clamps to material. Down side is with really thin sheet it doesn't clamp all that well as it will want to try and bow the sheet. I have several pieces of alum that I use as guides and straight edges and use C clamps.I've seen the ball bearing guide plates that are designed to be attached to a saws base plate and run on special guides. I haven't honestly been impressed by any of them guys have had. They don't feed smoothly and are jerky compared to my method without the carrier. I will say it's tough to get off the guide line with one, something I have to watch on occasions the way I do it.  When I've had a ton of sheet material to cut with a circular saw, I've made my own guides using good sheet plywood and melamine similar to what the pict shows. By running the saw down the guide and cutting the melamine, I end up not needing to measure off sets like I do when using clamps and guides. The edge of the material is my blade edge. You just have to remember if you see it, you loose it, so you stay on the right side of your line. Good pieces go "under" the saw and anything I see is waste most times. I have to be careful if I get down to the point where the pieces are too small that I need to cut and I have to rest the guide on the waste material. Then I have to allow for the blade width on layout..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Just don't buy a Skil brand saw. I had one of those anniversary P.O.S. worm gears and blew it up after about 30 hours of cutting cortez for truck beds.Like all things lately Skil is now junk. They used to be the best(worm gear).I've got the Makita hypoid gear now. Bad MOFO.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Don't forget the wax!  Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Make one of the cutting jigs mentioned. Use a good carbide thin kerf framing blade with wax applied on the alun. sheet. Supporting the sheet on Styrofoam board so you just cut into it cuts the noise and vibration down big time. Wear a faceshield as there will be a lot of chip flying around. The cuts will be as good as sheared but will have a real sharp edge that you would want to knock down with a course file.Miller xmt304,  Miller S22 p12, Miier Maxstar SD, Miller 252 w 30A, Miller super32p12, Lincoln Ranger 9, Thermal Arc 181I with spoolgun, Hypertherm 10000 ,Smith torches. Esab 161lts miniarc.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPDon't forget the wax!
Reply:Get yourself a cheap table saw...that will make cutting strips of aluminum plate easy.  I have a table saw and a worm-drive saw set up for my aluminum cutting.Kevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:Make sure it's a negative hook blade.  With the proper blade, I would not hesitate to use any of my woodworking saws to cut aluminum.  Festool makes the original track saw, now several others have entered the market.  They are all at least OK.  You get what you pay for within reason.  A Festool 55 will be about a grand with blade, track and gizmos.  A Grizzly or HF will be a fifth of that. Festool should last forever.Last edited by Rock knocker; 03-09-2014 at 12:45 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by kingnerorandom google image:
Reply:Originally Posted by Rock knockerM Festool makes the original track saw, now several others have entered the market.  They are all at least OK.  You get what you pay for within reason.  A Festool 55 will be about a grand with blade, track and gizmos.  A Grizzly or HF will be a fifth of that. Festool should last forever.
Reply:Metal cuts much different than wood. Take the time to learn about the saws that are designed for metal cutting. Notice that they turn at about 1/2 of the speed that wood cutting saws do. This is important for getting these metal saw blades to cut metal properly and to last longer. A wood saw will not cut metal nearly as well and it will kill even a good blade very quickly. Using a guide to keep the saw from binding in the cut is also important because when the saw binds it will break the teeth on that expensive saw blade. We have the Milwaukee 8" metal cutting saw and learned the hard way to use a guide with it. The blades last so much longer now. A light spray of PAM or WD40 occasionally on the blade teeth when cutting aluminum keeps the chips from sticking to the blade teeth. They make special blades for cutting non-ferrous metal as well as the special blades for cutting ferrous metal and each works best for it's designed purpose. Notice the recommended maximum blade speed on these saw blades when compared to wood cutting blades. Waxing the shoe of the saw makes a big difference, as suggested by CEP.  The 7 1/4" metal cutting blades from Harbor Freight work quite well on steel and are about 1/3 the price of the Milwaukee metal cutting blades, about $20 each right now. Wearing leather, safety glasses, gloves, ear plugs, and a face shield when cutting metal is highly recommended. The chips fly everywhere and are both hot and sharp. With the Milwaukee saw and others designed for cutting metal many of the chips will be caught in a tray inside the blade guard, but not all of them. Cutting steel or aluminum with a dry cut circular  saw is also a very noisy, so make certain that you have good hearing protection. We have cut steel up to 1" thick with the Milwaukee saw. It's slow cutting when that thick, but it produces a much better and more accurate cut than plasma or a gas axe.We have also modified a Delta Contractors table saw by installing a jack shaft, additional belt, and pulleys between the motor and blade to drop the blade speed roughly in half to something around 2000 rpm. Since the saw kerf doesn't close up around the blade when cutting metal like it can when cutting wood, cutting steel and aluminum on this saw has not produced the feared kick-back that is very common when cutting wood. Still, you should wear leather, a face shield, gloves, goggles, hearing protection, and use good table saw practices like standing out of line with and to one side of the blade when making cuts and to use push blocks, etc. that hold the work down and push it forward while making the cut. We also use a dead man type foot switch, so power to the saw can be quickly cut off if things start to go wrong. With this belt driven saw it is possible to stall the blade and not the motor if you try to over feed the stock. This can be considered as somewhat of a safety feature and the work can be pulled back slightly, letting the blade come back up to speed and then the cut resumed. This modified saw has allowed us to make accurate miter and angle cuts, something not easily possible with the Milwaukee metal saw.Very clean and accurate cuts can be made, allowing for much easier and more accurate fabrication of work. We use the blade guard whenever possible to reduce the number of hot chips from hitting the operator. Again, you need to use a guide fence or the miter fence to keep the blade from binding, and a much slower feed rate than when wood cutting. The 8" Milwaukee or 7 1/4" Harbor Freight blades are what have been used in this saw so far since 10" metal cutting blades have not been available. I hope this changes soon, but either the 7 1/4 0r 8" blades will still cut up to 1" thick material.Our smaller curved work is done with a DeWalt Port a band saw mounted in a SWAG Offroad table, again using a dead man type foot switch. This too has worked out very well for us. CharleyMiller MM252Miller Bobcat 225NTMiller DialArc HF / DIY Cooler2 Victor O/A TorchsetsMilwaukee 8" Metal SawMilwaukee Dry Cut "Chop" Saw 5 Ton Wallace Gantry Various Grinders, Benders, etc.
Reply:Blades :Alum:http://www.amazon.com/Oshlun-SBNF-10...n+10%22+bladesSteel: http://www.amazon.com/Oshlun-SBF-100...2+metal+bladesBubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:My evolution skil saw has always treated me well with both steel and aluminum and i think i only paid $150 bucks for it at KL jack Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkHobart Handler 190W SpoolgunAirco Dipcor 300 (I WANT A SPOOLGUN FOR THIS!)Lincoln Ranger 8Thermal Arc Arcmaster 185 tig.Hypertherm PM45Evoloution Chop Saw and SkilsawIs it weird that i get exited when anything steel breaks?