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View Full Version : Metal Bandsaw or Cut-Off Saw?



Gytis
15-02-2015, 04:52 PM
Hello,

What would be your choice between these metal cutting saws to achieve accurate and square cuts as possible, in the same price range? (500-600 eu)
I need to cut metal box 60*60*6 up to 100*50*8mm

Thanks in advance!

Sealey Metal Cutting Band saw Saw

http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14671&stc=1

Bosch Dry Cut Metal Cut-Off Saw

http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14672&stc=1

EddyCurrent
15-02-2015, 05:12 PM
Bandsaws of any kind do tend to wander sometimes, especially if the teeth on one side are more worn than the other. Also which has the cheapest consumables ? blade band vs disc'
I imagine the bandsaw could cut bigger cross section material, but if all you want is 60x60 than both would do.

T0rnado69
15-02-2015, 07:12 PM
i have the clarke version of that bandsaw
and found the stand was made from 2mm sheet
and bent where the rear wheels where.
great for cutting big stuff as you can just leave it to get on with it.
without having to hold the handle etc.
but as eddy said. they do tend to wander.

for straight cuts i got an evolution rage 2 cut off saw.

Boyan Silyavski
15-02-2015, 09:47 PM
I have both similar band saw and the RAGE 2.

I use much more often the Rage. Its faster. However my advice will be to get the Makita, Dewalt or Bosch dry saw, as the Rage is a hype, nothing more than geared Chinese crap. Its flimsy, the base is twisting when loaded with 100x100, no fast lock clamp. I knew that before but there a was a momentary monetary weaknes, so i bought it against my better judgement. Well, it payed itself on my first machine, so who cares.

Apart from steel the dry cut saw cuts aluminum and wood like a butter.

However if i had 500-600 quid budget, i would look at second hand pro liquid cooled dry cut saw or a bigger real liquid cooled band saw. cause these are toy really for a serious workshop.


By the way i buy my band saw blades from here- http://www.tuffsaws.co.uk/ top quality and service.

Web Goblin
15-02-2015, 10:29 PM
I have just bought myself a small engineer series bandsaw from Axminster power tools. Not a bad little saw. Its fine for the workshop seeing as I wont exactly be killing it with work. It took around 20 minutes to cut a 75mm square aluminium block but again I wasn't pushing it hard, I just left it to cut while I did something else. Cut is not bad at all. Major bonus is that you can use it indoors without worrying about sparks flying.
I also have a dry cut abrasive chop saw which I use for my fencing jobs. Quick and dirty on mild steel bars and tubing but I wouldn't like to use it indoors with anything flammable around.
Really depends on what you want it for and where you are going to use it.

JoeHarris
15-02-2015, 10:56 PM
I've got a rage 2 and whilst its not the highest quality bit of kit, for the price it's awesome and when patient setting up I've cut within a fraction of a millimetre with it.

Trispectiv
16-02-2015, 12:51 AM
No fans of the vertical band saw around here?

T0rnado69
16-02-2015, 01:41 AM
they have there uses trispectiv.

but for a straight cut end, il use the cut off saw.

JoeHarris
16-02-2015, 08:55 AM
they have there uses trispectiv.

but for a straight cut end, il use the cut off saw.

Agreed. I love my vertical bandsaw but not for this kind of work. You would be standing there for ever and the cut wouldn't be straight in the end anyway. Get a cold cutoff you won't regret it!

njhussey
16-02-2015, 12:28 PM
I got this horizontal band saw http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...utting-bandsaw which I use for chopping up small billets etc. You've got to set it up and keep an eye on it bt it's pretty accurate. Advantage is that it'll cut at angles too which comes in handy and you can leave it going whilst doing something else.

14675

If you're cutting lots of 90° cuts then a cut off saw would be better.

alboy
17-02-2015, 12:12 PM
I used to cut a lot of steel and aly section, started off with a bandsaw but moved on to the cut off saw, would definitely say the cut off saw. Bandsaw was very slow and the cuts were not as accurate as the cut off, just need to be aware that the cut off saw produces a lot of swarf and plenty of sparks if cutting steel although the blades with teeth produce less sparks than the grinding wheel type. Would also choose the Bosch brand over sealey any day. I have also used the Fury saw, a capable machine for the money although a bit 'light weight'. Dewalt also make good machines but are not cheap but then again my dewalt sliding mitre saw has been going for over 15 years without a problem.

Al

magicniner
18-02-2015, 12:05 AM
I like the Rage cutoff, I used mine to cut a lot of old type thick walled steel scaffold poles into 6' lengths, if I need a lot of cuts fast then out it comes, it would be nice to make a better base & vice arrangement for it. The Rage is not for Titanium or any but free-machining stainless though.
The Rapidor Manchester power hacksaw does most of the cutting in my workshop, it's not fast but it runs unattended up the corner leaving me free for other work during cuts, it handles just about anything up to about 6" diameter and the blades last an unprecedented length of time, my last blade was over a year old when it's cuts slowed noticeably signalling time for replacement.
The Sealey horizontal band saw fits between the two in terms of capabilities and doesn't get much use at the moment,

- Nick

paulus.v
16-01-2017, 12:57 PM
Hi all,
I intend to build my own cut off saw and now I'm searching for a good blade primarily for steel cutting. I am looking for a 355 mm dia. blade.

I see that the Evolution steel blade has a new model at half the price. On the expensive one is written "made in japan". 100 vs. 50 EUR.
The Bosch blade is 90 EUR reduced from 264 EUR on amazon.de (https://www.amazon.de/BOSCH-Kreiss%C3%A4geblatt-Expert-Steel-2608643062/dp/B00FEGAQAO/)

I am confused about these price changes.. Could be that the "made in japan" blade will last twice as long as the cheaper one (probably chinese)? Is the bosch blade a better option? As I intend to occasionally cut other materials than steel, should I look for the evolution rage blade? Bosch says that their blade will not cut aluminium.

Any thoughts are really appreciated.

20383

Dangle_kt
16-01-2017, 02:49 PM
intersting, I have just bought a band saw, but have a chop saw (albeit with abrasive discs) in the garage already. Reason for the change is I really dislike the sparks and nearly offensive noise level of a chop saw.

It works a treat, but if I am going to be more regularly chopping stock up, I dont want to get lynched by the local neighbourhood watch witches. :D

So I'm going to give the bandsaw a whirl and see how I like it.

I'd be interested to know though if anyone has successfully fitted one of the steel blades (like above ^^^^) onto a chop saw that runs an abrasive disc currently?

paulus.v
16-01-2017, 03:02 PM
I'd be interested to know though if anyone has successfully fitted one of the steel blades (like above ^^^^) onto a chop saw that runs an abrasive disc currently?

As far as I know the abrasive discs needs much higher RPM with lower torque. For a 355 mm steel blade you need 1400 RPM

Edward
16-01-2017, 04:08 PM
I had an Evolution Fury but didn't like it mainly on account of how dangerous these saws can be. And they need to have a good grip on the material, and mine was rubbish in that respect. So instead I bought a chinese made powered hacksaw. Yes, it is slow and rather noisy, but it cuts amazingly square and it is reliable and not dangerous. Typically a piece of alu 20mm thick and 80mm wide will take maybe 7 minutes or so. But at least the stress levels are under control:)

Edward

Boyan Silyavski
17-01-2017, 07:56 AM
These saws are not more dangerous than an angle grinder or any other machinery . Provided you wear the proper protection. I wear face shield and ear protection.


The difference between the blades is that the orange one is multi material blade, look tooth profile. I still have the original one and its been sharpened at least ~7 times already. It has ~5 more lives. The teeth that are in between the cutting teeth should be be lowered also after 3-4 sharpenings. I pay 12 euro and is done on a pro CNC sharpener, not diy.

Bosch on other hand as CMT / Freud/ in woodworking are the best blades, especially the multi material ones. I would not doubt the Bosch blade.

IMHO buy the cheapest, if they say its for that machine, then its a no brainer, half the price or not.

I remember myself bragging about creepy chinese cutter 2 years ago. Now i use mainly chinese carbide cutters and i can assure you the quality now is 100% as brand micrograin carbide ones, if not even better in some cases, what i found in real life. Of course i look from whom i buy.

magicniner
17-01-2017, 10:41 AM
These saws are not more dangerous than an angle grinder or any other machinery.

+1
Tools don't kill people, people kill people, sadly it's often themselves and unintentional ;-)

paulus.v
17-01-2017, 11:33 AM
[QUOTE=Boyan Silyavski;87734
IMHO buy the cheapest, if they say its for that machine, then its a no brainer, half the price or not.

I remember myself bragging about creepy chinese cutter 2 years ago. Now i use mainly chinese carbide cutters and i can assure you the quality now is 100% as brand micrograin carbide ones, if not even better in some cases, what i found in real life. Of course i look from whom i buy.[/QUOTE]

Hi Boyan, I cannot fully agree with you.
There are a lot of different grades of micrograin carbide. You cannot say that a tool made of chinese carbide has the same quality as a Swiss or Japanese one. Even with the same carbide grain size and amount of cobalt used, the difference in manufacturing techniques will give different results of the properties of the resulting material.

I bet that your Rage blade is the "made in japan" version :joyous:

ned
17-01-2017, 01:44 PM
I have as makita abrasive cut-off saw and have never been able to get a 90 degree cut with it. I bought the unit second hand.

Lets say I'm cutting 40x40 box section. When it reaches 10mm from the bottom it seems to veer off to one side.

If i force it down quite hard that helps to keep it straight. Personally I was quite disappointed, I'm not sure if its faulty or damaged.

Looking for an alternative saw now myself. I expect the cold cut versions wont have that flex in the blade.

edit: having read the thread below, it seems that skew is a characteristic of abrasive cut-off saws. I think I'm going to start looking around for a cold-cut saw.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?58104-Chop-Saw-Skew-bad-saw

magicniner
17-01-2017, 06:56 PM
I'm stepping outside the OP's question but -
Having a cutoff saw, band saw and power hacksaw I have to say that the power hacksaw get's most use as it will cut anything and can be left unattended to do it's job,
Nick

Neale
17-01-2017, 09:58 PM
Can't you do the same with the bandsaw, Nick? I'm also in the market at the moment for something like this and I'm leaning towards the bandsaw (slower but quieter, no sparks/mess) rather than cutoff saw partly because I've been assuming that "let it run and get on with something else" is true. There aren't a lot of choices out there for powered hacksaw, as far as I can see, in a "small workshop" size rather than ex-industrial big beasts which I couldn't house.

magicniner
17-01-2017, 10:26 PM
Can't you do the same with the bandsaw, Nick?

Neale,
Probably, but my Manchester Power Hack Saw (which has a similar footprint and volume to a small band saw) cut cast iron, titanium, stainless steel and anything else I threw at it up to 6" OD for over a year on a single Sheffield made blade ;-)

- Nick

Edward
18-01-2017, 11:55 AM
I've got a hacksaw like in the link bellow and I am pretty happy. Like a lot of this kind of machinery, it is not perfect, it has a few minor design faults, but nevertheless, it works. It cuts pretty much square, but the finish is not as clean as with a cut off saw, a few burrs, that's all. It's slower than a bandsaw. But as people have said, bandsaw blades can wonder a bit and the cut may not be square.

It is a bit noisy, low pitch noise, and the grip tends to mark the material a little if not protected. Other than that, it's safe, it can be left alone to do the job. I am still on the first blade after regularly cutting aluminium for two years.

Edward

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-engineer-series-g1-powered-hacksaw-200024

Boyan Silyavski
18-01-2017, 06:28 PM
Hi Boyan, I cannot fully agree with you.
There are a lot of different grades of micrograin carbide. You cannot say that a tool made of chinese carbide has the same quality as a Swiss or Japanese one. Even with the same carbide grain size and amount of cobalt used, the difference in manufacturing techniques will give different results of the properties of the resulting material.

I bet that your Rage blade is the "made in japan" version :joyous:

I used mainly 3mm and 6mm bits on my CNC for a couple of years/ now 12mm mostly/ . 6mm Kyocera micrograin carbide which is maybe the finest example of carbide tool and super polished, was my golden stabndard. will cut as 5 times as long as Freud similar tool. Now i buy chinese ones that cut as 1/3rd as more than the Kyocera. Kyocera 25-30 euro per bit new. Chinese 4 euro.

But just FYI now i try to use mainly insert tools. OMG, they last forever !!! The best carbide possible, look at CMT. And cut perfectly.


Neale,
Probably, but my Manchester Power Hack Saw (which has a similar footprint and volume to a small band saw) cut cast iron, titanium, stainless steel and anything else I threw at it up to 6" OD for over a year on a single Sheffield made blade ;-)

- Nick

Hack saw is the cheapest and best saw possible. Almost no material loss and will cut everything. Finding a good cheap one as the Rage Pro is another matter. And the rage pro speed is tremendous, if you are counting your time.


I have a small bandsaw but i dont use it as the blades brake too much due to short length and twist

black5f
18-01-2017, 08:36 PM
Hi
Having something that cuts off square is very useful, especially if you scrounge off cuts like, we do. We had a band at work and it was quite rubbish. Wasn't cheap and couldn't cut Ali square. We have great big one now which is really good but very expensive. I like the old reciprocating types, they are rare now. I got one free. It was being skipped because of a broken gear. I grabbed it (quite legally and with consent), it's a sealy last listed at £1000 or so, well beyond my means, rang Sealy and £12.50 got me a replacement gear. So my advice, keep your eyes open wide!
Work threw out a lovely pre war band saw while I was on holiday, because it didn't have interlocks on the door! Eyes open wide. I guess you're not local to me but for a very small contribution (to pay for blades), you can use mine for free. Capacity is 20cm x 20cm.

I wouldn't buy the 45 degree bad type again.

T