Dry Cut saw or Band saw

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Hey Everyone, I'm interested in purchasing a cutting tool, wondering if I should spend 500 dollars on a dry cut saw like the milwaukee 6190-20 or dewalt dw872 or I can get a 7x12 King industrial band saw horizontal/ vertical , with coolant system and auto shut off for $1000, Ive never used a dry cut saw before so I don't know much about them. I will be cutting mostly 2x2 3/16 and lower tubing and some 1/4" or  thicker angle at times.  Need some opinions on what I should purchase.ThanksLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln AC/DC 225/125Lincoln Precision Tig 225Hypertherm Powermax 45Victor O/A torch
Reply:Dry cut saws cut very fast. Portable. Can cut steel and aluminum, no stainless. Blades are expensive. Cut accuracy is pretty good but not perfect. They make a horrible mess with hot sharp chips.Band saws are slow, but can cut without supervision. Most are not portable. With some tuning, they can make very accurate cuts, and they can cut most metals as long as they have variable speeds. They make a mess with coolant.Both can have trouble with very thin materials, for thin stuff abrasive saws are better.Last edited by fortyonethirty; 06-29-2012 at 01:34 PM.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:If you're needs are more production -- repeated cuts of the same material in large quantity -- then a horizontal band saw makes sense.  You can bundle stock and make 12 cuts at a time.If the work is more 'this and then that,' a dry cut saw is awesome.  Very quick.  Very clean.For me, the Milwaukee 6190-20 is my go-to tool most of the time.  I also use a portaband with a base for some cuts.  A dry cut blade on a circular saw is also very handy for straight cuts on sheet stock or even plate.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:I find that a band saw is the most versatile, it will allow you to cut a wide variety of material very accurately. If you're only going to cut 2x2, angle and other similar for the rest of your metalworking life, I would go with the metal cutting saw, but otherwise I would have to say bandsaw. What are you going to do when you need to accurately cut 5" heavy wall box, I beam or 2" solid stainless stock? Bandsaws will let you do other work while it's cutting. I think you'll find that over time bandsaw blades will cost less and last longer, bry cut blades aren't cheap. It should be easy to find a decent bandsaw for less than a g-note, esp. if you buy used and in my situation bandsaw is cleaner. Neither is perfect, but again let accuracy/versatility be your guide and don't forget the safety glasses Last edited by bearston; 06-30-2012 at 09:39 AM.When a welder tells you to "stick it", what do they really mean?"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Reply:In our shop we use both, but to tell the truth our band saw is idle most of the time. We have three Makita LC-1230's. Two for cutting lengths and one set up for just angles. Blades will run about $100.00 each, but you will get a bunch of cuts out of a blade. I recommend getting Tenryu blades, as they make them for Makita without the mark up of the Makita name. As explained before eye protection, and ear are a must. They throw hot sharp chips and are very loud, especially on 2"x2"x.065" square. We have had one of ours since it was first released...at least 7 years now, and it is still running strong. It has tens of thousands of cuts on it."If you live in Sacramento you have seen my work."
Reply:Have you thought about a cold saw? Low RPM and coolant so they don't throw hot chips everywhere, yet they cut faster and have a much smaller footprint than a bandsaw (of course, you're not going to be able to cut big things with them like you can a 7x12). I've been lusting after them, but they start just below $1k and work up from there.The soldering toys pay for the welding toys.Hakko 928 dual iron, 4xHakko 936Madell 850D Hot Air SMT ReworkMiller 252, HTP Invertig 201 AC/DC, and a Hypertherm 45.
Reply:I'm gonna have to vote bandsaw.  But everyone's situation is unique.First of all, I live in a residential area, sometimes i'm using my horizontal bandsaw to cut stock at 1am, or 3am.  Depending on whether I feel like sleeping.  A dry cut saw is just not gonna allow me to do that.  But you might not have neighbors within several miles, so noise might not even be an issue to you.Second, I'm working out of a 2 car garage crammed with a bunch of other tools.  I rather not have metal shaving flying all over the place and get all over my mill and lathe.  Those shavings make their way into unimaginable places, besides, I rather not spend 30 minutes sweeping every time i use the cold cut saw.  But if you got a large shop where you can set up a make shift enclosure, maybe dry cut could work for you.so, both noise and the mess factor made the dry cut saw impossible for me.  I never actually had a real dry cut saw, but I've use abrasive blades on my chop saw that was designed to cut wood.  I'm glad i switch to the bandsaw.
Reply:I started with an abrasive saw.  Worked pretty well, but was noisy, smelly, and threw hot sparks out the back and I had to stand there and hold it by the hand.  Accuracy wasn't perfect but close, but it would only cut mild steel or cast iron.  Its not happy with stainless and refuses to cooperate with non-ferros alloys.Then I bought a 5x7 dry band saw.  I haven't used the abrasive saw since.  I can set the band saw and walk away to do other things while it tends to itself.  It is almost dead-to-nuts accurate, relatively quiet, the dust-like chips fall to the floor under it without fear of starting a fire, and it cuts any metal I put in it without speed changes.  I'm running a 24tpi band at the slowest speed, 80sfpm and I am more than happy with it.If you have a production shop you may want a faster saw with liquid coolant and a dial-in speed adjustment (mine requires removing the belt guard and moving the belt, a small nusiance) and maybe even a swivel stand (or compound angle capability) to facilitate easier angle changes.-MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:I have both a Milwaukee 14" dry cut and a 4x6 hf bandsaw. I use the dry cut the most, its my go to for about any cutting need. I dont think I have used the band saw but a few times in the past year. If I could only have one, it would be the dry cut with out a doubt.Making as much progress as a one legged duck in the middle of a pond, just going in circles.
Reply:I would vote for a band saw like most of the people here in this thread. A band saw can cut almost all kinds of metals. I always use band saw when I cut metals in my shop. I never mess up  my work with my band saw.
Reply:On the 6190, with 2x2 and cutting 90's, the blade contacts the tubing right on the edge of the tube when the saw's fence is in the deepest of the 3 positions. That is the ideal place for the blade to contact the tubing. It will cut great, even on 3/16ths. Angle is always a B.... to clamp down. The vise of the dry cut saws usually suck and deflect if you crank down on them trying to secure the tubing. You won't be cutting a 90 any longer.  But the cut is pretty darn clean and you can cut & weld depending on how picky you are with fitting, etc. The metal flakes go everywhere and feel like an ant bite when they land on exposed skin. I use mine everyday.
Reply:bandsawa used ellis is to die for
Reply:Originally Posted by CapillaryAction~Hey Everyone, I'm interested in purchasing a cutting tool, wondering if I should spend 500 dollars on a dry cut saw like the milwaukee 6190-20 or dewalt dw872 or I can get a 7x12 King industrial band saw horizontal/ vertical , with coolant system and auto shut off for $1000, Ive never used a dry cut saw before so I don't know much about them. I will be cutting mostly 2x2 3/16 and lower tubing and some 1/4" or  thicker angle at times.  Need some opinions on what I should purchase.Thanks