Carbide chop saws

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I have seen these in the shop where I buy my consumables. They look just like a chop saw for wood but are designed for steel. Of course the sales staff says they are great but I would like to get info from someone who Im not giving money to. The use I would have for this saw would be stuff smaller than 4"x4" miters or maybe square cut on up to 6" channel.  I dont much care for the abrasive saws, at least the ones I can afford. Any of you have experience with these saws?
Reply:I've used one at work a few times.....and loved it.....Cuts mild steel like butter.....I ruined the blade cutting a piece of stainless though!Patrick
Reply:I've used a Dewalt "Multicutter" on mild steel and aluminum. Pretty noisy. It was pretty nice, but I still prefer a horizontal bandsaw. They both cut about as clean, I thought, the bandsaw just seemed to have more versatility. EITHER of them beat a chop saw though. If it were easier to set up miters like on a traditional wood cutting miter saw, then I'd give it a better vote. KevMiller 210 and 140 MigsBernard Q-Torches on bothMiller Syncrowave 200Spoolmate 3035 for sale, excellent condtion- PM for detailsThermal Dynamics 38XLShop OutFitters 20/20 Bending SystemLots of other cheap and not so cheap tools Still have LOTS to learn, but got some nice stuff to learn on!
Reply:ive been wanting one of these for awhile but have been waiting for the price to come down i saw that northern tool has one for 300 im surprised harbor freight doest have one yet i here there great saws better than throwing sparks everywhere and faster than the band saw 350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off
Reply:These things are worth their weight---the Dewalt is fair to good but you have to lose the dewalt blades and get the Tenryu blades---much longer lasting, quieter, smoother cuts, etc. I've cut many elevator rail splice plates (2"x4" bar stock) with no problems!! Used daily you can get 4 to 8 weeks between shapenings.Jerry
Reply:I own the DeWalt and have been very happy with it.  I hear there are blades out there now that can take the higher RPMs and are designed to be put into a regular chop saw now, also.
Reply:Thanks for the input folks. Looks like its a gotta have
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702I own the DeWalt and have been very happy with it.  I hear there are blades out there now that can take the higher RPMs and are designed to be put into a regular chop saw now, also.
Reply:No no no.  You need a clamping system designed for cutting steel which is far more an aggressive process than cutting wood or aluminum.  Miter saws and radial arm saws do not clamp the work.I'm talking about regular abrasive metal-cutting chop saws now have the availability of carbide blades for their RPM range.  The typical carbide chop saw is roughly half the RPM of an abrasive.Also, because of the toothed design, you must be much more careful with how you cut on a carbide saw.  The work must always be cut by a tooth that is on the leading edge of the blade, on the downstroke through the piece.  If this is not possible for a particular cut, a carbide chop saw has a secondary clamp designed to help keep the work from rising off the table.
Reply:Hmmm Looks like Ill need to do some reading. Im going to see if I can find an online owners manual for that Dewalt, there is a reconditioned one for sale at the steel yard
Reply:Haven't tried a chopsaw (yet!), but I love my 9-1/4" Evolution ripsaw. Getting more use now than the torch for steel platework (also seems to have the gas shaded very, very slightly on running cost). Can't cut curves with it sadly...Local welding shop has these (also Evolution brand):Evolution Compound mitre sawEvolution ChopsawI suspect that the saws are of ChiComm manufacture, but they have a nice solid "quality" feel to them.Cheers, Loopy.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702I own the DeWalt and have been very happy with it.  I hear there are blades out there now that can take the higher RPMs and are designed to be put into a regular chop saw now, also.
Reply:This literally took me 15 seconds on a Yahoo Search.  It was the second entry for "chop saw" "carbide blade":http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/...ead.php?t=1628
Reply:thanks i put in metal cutting chop saw blade on Google and got a couple but never these bullet guys350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off
Reply:That is an impressive comparison that guy did. Thanks for the link MAC702.
Reply:I have 9" evolution and 14" milwaukee. I highly recommend them for mild steel 3/4" thick or less. BUT, if you try to cut hardened stuff, say a quick goodbye to a $40 to $100 blade!If yoy need to cut hardened stuff, use a chop saw or bandsaw!
Reply:That includes bedframe.  And, oh yeah, don't try to cut chain with it...    Sometimes we forget just how much we cheat with an abrasive...
Reply:Interesting find MAC, I'll have to contact Bullet Industries and try one out!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:The Bullet blade works good in my Ryobi chop saw. And it wil make about 3 cuts in 4" stainless tubing before going south. Steel was great. Nice cuts and pretty quick too.Just dont cut stainless.Went back to abrasives for stainless.mm135HTP Invertig 201 With water cooler9" Southbend LatheLots of hand tools.
Reply:I have not had good luck with the Bullet blade.  About 10 cuts with the first blade and only a few on it's replacement before most of the teeth chip.  Any interrupted cutting (tubing, etc..), is a quick way to ruin it also.   The slower RPM metal saws like the Dewalt are a better investment IMO.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702No no no.  You need a clamping system designed for cutting steel which is far more an aggressive process than cutting wood or aluminum.  Miter saws and radial arm saws do not clamp the work.I'm talking about regular abrasive metal-cutting chop saws now have the availability of carbide blades for their RPM range.  The typical carbide chop saw is roughly half the RPM of an abrasive.Also, because of the toothed design, you must be much more careful with how you cut on a carbide saw.  The work must always be cut by a tooth that is on the leading edge of the blade, on the downstroke through the piece.  If this is not possible for a particular cut, a carbide chop saw has a secondary clamp designed to help keep the work from rising off the table.
Reply:Originally Posted by BobsawelderHey Mac, I wrote an engineering request to Milwaukee Tool asking them why they don't build a cold cut saw on a compound mitre platform, of course with appropriate beefing up and clamping. They have yet to respond.
Reply:I just think us metal guys get ignored. There are dozens of versions and improvements for anything wood working, but we are very limited in our selection, and it seems improvements/new models rarely come out.
Reply:In reality, the DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita, etc. offerings are cheap attempts at cold saws.  If you do serious enough work, you pay a few thousand for a low-speed cold saw that will do it all and last forever.They aren't going to make something special for us, sorry.  Most of us can get by with what they offer, and they know it.  For them to do otherwise would result in a low-sale, expensive product we couldn't afford anyway.
Reply:Ive got the dewalt also and love it, like said thou its real noisey and flings chips every where that the wife loves when they get embedded in my boots and I take a walk accross the wood floors.Ive also got alot of 18volt cordless dewalt tools and the metal cutting circular saw it works great.