Cutting Square Tubing?

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I am still just learning to weld, and see where I will be using a lot of angle and square tubing for my little hobby builds. Wondering if a Band Saw would be a good investment?I now use a Dewalt Chop Saw, Plasma Cutter but both leave a fair amount of grinding to do. I am wondering if a 200-300 dollar band saw would save time and work? I do not do enough to buy an expensive one, but for a couple hundred bucks, may be a tool worth having. If this price range tool would be a waste of money will skip it and continue grinding my cuts. Thanks
Reply:Just realized there is a difference in metal and wood bandsaws, (told you I was new) Anyways the saw I am considering is the Jet 5 X 6 1/2 hp and would be cutting mostly 1/8 inch and smaller size stock.
Reply:Just realized there is a difference in metal and wood bandsaws, (told you I was new) Anyways the saw I am considering is the Jet 5 X 6 1/2 hp and would be cutting mostly 1/8 inch and smaller size stock.
Reply:It depends on what you are cutting and how you are cutting it.  For example if you are cutting .120 tubing with a decent plasma you should be able to get dross free cuts.  A chop saw will need some cleaning but if you are cutting hunks off of sticks it may be the best way.  Depending on the tubing you may have to bevel the edge anyway.  The band saw is great for smaller pieces, finish cuts or even something like lexan.  Ultimately you'd like the option for all of them but if I was on a budget and had to pick one, it would be a chop saw, then plasma then the band saw.  But people have different needs so you'll need to take a bit and determine which tool is right for what you are doing.  Or if you're made out of money just go buy them all.
Reply:The Jet saw will give you nice repeatable cuts. They make a decent machine. For precision cuts I use my horizontal bandsaw, but it's slower. If I need a 30 deg angle, it's easier to get acurate angles with the band saw usually. For whacking lengths fast, it's the chop saw. Super thin stuff can be tough with a bandsaw if you've got a course blade. The teeth grab and the material bends easily. I actually use my bandsaw more for thicker sections than thinner ones (cutting 2" thick round stock or 4" pipe rather than say 1/4" round or 1/8"x 1" flat, but then I have a fairly course blade in mine right now). "Larger" thin stuff isn't as bad, say 20ga 1" square tube, because the shape resists bending. There's still a bit of clean up usually with the bandsaw. At the end of the cut there's usually a little tit left where the blade breaks thru at the end that needss to be sanded down..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:sorry for my double post above, not sure what happened there. Thanks for the replies, sounds like each has there use. I find with the chop saw, trying to keep it perfectly square can be a pain,  I was thinking the bandsaw would be the ticket, but not so sure now. I cut a lot of 1-2" 16 gauge tubing, stock.
Reply:Chopsaw, when tuned up to cut square, will do a decent job on about any small stuff.Over 2" square tubing you should be using a torch anyhow.  It's a waste of expensive tooling and blades to cut larger pieces with any kind of saw (IMHO).  Torch is the most cost effective cutting method out there for the small to medium sized operation.  Learn to use it right, and there's minimal grinding to fit up the part."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Used to use O/A to cut all heavy steel, lots of grinding.Then I got a chop saw for small stuff, cut way down on O/A cutting.Then I got a horizontal 7x12 bandsaw, precision cuts on anything that will fit in it, hardly use O/A anymore except for plate.Next on my shopping list is a plasma cutter which will eliminate O/A for me except for heating, brazing and the odd heavy steel cut."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:I have a milwaukee dry cut saw, like a chop saw but with a blade instead of an abrasive wheel. gorgeous perfect cuts every time (miters too) . Zero cleanup. You have to really respect and take care of it though.ars sine scientia nihil est
Reply:The best tool I have found to help get good mitres in a disc sander. Nothing I've tried has met my standards for precision straight from the saw (except a cold saw or a mitering bandsaw, but those are too expensive), so I gave up on trying to get it perfect out of the saw and instead I use the disc sander to do the final fitting. The harbor freight disc sander is underpowered but its cheap. If you use good sanding discs they cut surprisingly fast.http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch...der-43468.html Attached ImagesIan TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:I have a harbor freight band saw, as well as an evolution rage 2 cut off saw.I find that I use them both, but after getting the cut off saw I use it much more than the band saw anymore.They both make very good miter cuts (after getting the bandsaw dialed in and getting a good blade for it) but the speed of the cut off saw is so much faster is why I use it more.  Neither of the cuts require cleaning after cutting, but 45seconds to cut a 2x2x.25" piece of tubing vs 10 min on the band saw just makes things go much quicker.If i had to have 1 I would go with the cut off saw.  As noted above these types of saws need to be used with a lot of respect, not only because they are dangerous, but because a blade costs you about $100 and you dont want to chip a tooth or do something dumb.If you are interested check out their websitehttp://www.evolutiononlineshop.com/s...%202%20%20Saw/I have had that saw now for 3 months and have no complaints at all.
Reply:Since you're just starting out I'd spring for a portaband and get one of the plates to convert it to use as a vertical band saw.  I'm a fan of dewalt but milwaukee is good too.
Reply:I've found square or round stock has a tendency to creep when cutting miters with my makita chopsaw, so I clamp the piece to the stationary side of the saw clamp w/ the vise grip c-clamp. Get good miters now.                      MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Originally Posted by mla2ofusI've found square or round stock has a tendency to creep when cutting miters with my makita chopsaw, so I clamp the piece to the stationary side of the saw clamp w/ the vise grip c-clamp. Get good miters now.                      Mike
Reply:I had an abrasive chop saw for several years.  I sold it and got a horizontal band saw and have absolutely no regrets!The chop saw is truly abrasive!    Lots of noise, lots of mess, lots of irritation.  I can set up a cut on the band saw and walk away and do something else while it cuts without me having to hold a trigger down.  It's also 10 times quieter than the chop saw.  I've cut steel in my garage at 4am in the morning.  Try that with a chop saw and your neighbors will try to kill you!I vote for the band saw all the way.
Reply:abrasive chop saw, for me, is emergency/desperation only.chop/cold saw cuts GREAT, but blades are expensive and its loud.  It still a little messy, but less then the abrasive chop saw.  If your shop is in an non-residential area, noise isn't a factor, speed is.  chop/cold saw are brutally fast.horizontal bandsaw cuts just as GREAT (provided you have it set up correctly), but not as fast.  the blades are cheaper, and you can carry on a normal volume conversation while its cutting because its very quiet. (great for us home-shops)one thing is for sure: this is the piece of equipment that you spend A LOT of your time with.   chop vs. band saw is really a debate of how much speed you need and how much noise you can tolerate.  When properly set up, they both make accurate cuts.
Reply:HIOne thing not said is with a horizontal metal cutting band saw you can also use it in a vertical position.  This is great if you make a table to fit on it and then you can do freehand cuts on most small thickness metals.  Over the years I have worn out 3 band saws and now have 2, one with a rotating head. It seems the rotating head makes angle cuts easier but it will not to vertical.  I mostly use 24 tpi blades and don't change very it often.  It take about 1 minute to change from having a table or back to not.have funTom
Reply:One thing not said is with a horizontal metal cutting band saw you can also use it in a vertical position.  This is great if you make a table to fit on it and them you can do freehand cuts on most small thickness metals.  Over the years I have wore out 3 band saws and now have 2, one with a rotating head. It seems the rotation head makes angle cuts easier but it will not to vertical.  I mostly use 24 tpi blades and don’t change very it often.  It takes about a minute to change from table or back to no table.Have funTom
Reply:Originally Posted by Denny Kysersorry for my double post above, not sure what happened there. Thanks for the replies, sounds like each has there use. I find with the chop saw, trying to keep it perfectly square can be a pain,  I was thinking the bandsaw would be the ticket, but not so sure now. I cut a lot of 1-2" 16 gauge tubing, stock.
Reply:Originally Posted by joedirt1966 I've cut steel in my garage at 4am in the morning.  Try that with a chop saw and your neighbors will try to kill you!
Reply:Another saw to consider is the Evolution Rage III . It's a cold saw that will cut/miter square tubing with ease.
Reply:+1 for the horizontal band saw.  Use it all the time.  Mine's a 7 x 12 w/ coolant system and feed damper.  Great for cutting tubing.  Very useful in vertical position too.  I highly recommend it.  Clamp is kind of quirky....to move from 90 deg to 45 deg you have to remove/relocate bolts...PITA....I'll bet someone has designed a workaround for this.Used to use an abrasive cut-off saw.  Actually a miter saw with an abrasive blade (and all the plastic parts removed!).  Hated it.  Grit everywhere, tons of smeared metal on the workpiece that had to be ground/filed off, noisey as hell, and just looked plain dangerous.Miller 211 w/ spool gunMiller Dynasty 200DXLongevity 60i IGBT plasmaO/A w/ crappy chinese torch/gaugesSouth Bend 10K latheGrizzly 4029 10x54 millGrizzly 7x12 hor bandsawangle grnders, bench grnder, bench belt sndr7.5 hp 80gal cmprsor
Reply:Originally Posted by Denny KyserJust realized there is a difference in metal and wood bandsaws, (told you I was new) Anyways the saw I am considering is the Jet 5 X 6 1/2 hp and would be cutting mostly 1/8 inch and smaller size stock.
Reply:I would love to have a large mitering band saw, but space is very limited for me.  My answer to the mitering problem was to buy an Evolution Rage 3 mitering cold saw.  It makes very accurate, clean, repeatable cuts.  It's not TOO loud and is fast.  It makes a mess of chips everywhere, but no worse than using the abrasive chop saw.  Blades are expensive, about $70, but I have them sharpened locally for about $15/blade, so it's not so bad.  I keep 3 blades in rotation so I always have a sharp blade available.  Saw cost about $300 at Airgas and takes up no more room than any other 10" compound miter saw for wood working.   I got the Evolution miter saw stand for it after having the saw for about a year without the stand.  I like the stand very much.  Cost about $150, if I remember right.   I also got the Evolution Rage One, 7-1/4" circular saw that I use out on the truck.   I liked it so much, a year later I bought the Steel One, which is the same saw but with a bit more powerful motor, for use in the shop.  The Rage 1 was about $150 and the Steel 1 was about $175, both at Airgas.  The Evolution stuff has been alright so far.  Next, I'll likely try the Rage 2 cold chop saw with 14" blade.   I think it's about $300-350.  The Steel 2 is more expensive, maybe in the $400-450 range, so the Milwaukee cold saw would be about the same money as the Steel 2, I think.I bought the Milwaukee Compact portable band saw for use on the truck and I like it alot so far.  I don't use it nearly as much as the abrasive chop saw and 7-1/4" circular saw, but it is very handy for making accurate, burr free cuts on tube and whatnot and sometimes fits into areas the circular saw doesn't fit into.  Cost about $200 at Tool-Up.com.My most-used saws, both in shop and on truck, are still the Makita 14" abrasive chop saw in the shop and the Milwaukee 14" abrasive chop saw on the truck.  They are just very handy, reliable and the blades are cheap and easy to buy anywhere.  I can't see being without either of them, even if I had a nice big mitering band saw and/or a 14" cold saw.Of course, both the shop and truck have Milwaukee Sawzalls and multiple angle grinders  that get used quite a bit. I would not want to be without a Sawzall, or angle grinder with zip cut disc, in either place!Last edited by DesertRider33; 09-20-2010 at 09:28 AM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I have the jet horizontal band saw and it works very well and makes miter joint easy and accurate. I find I use my plasma very little now except on plate or for cutting shapes and my o/a set up even less.