Welding Tips and Tricks

I have an Evolution380 dry cut saw which I'am going to demo for my neighbour who is a commercial glazer . He mainly works with aluminium which he cuts with a chop saw with an aluminium blade. He also works with stainless which I forgot to ask him if he uses band saw or abrasive but he's having problems getting accurate cuts on pipe. I have some 3in steel exhaust tubing which I can use to show him how the saw works. Question is - if he likes this type of saw what is a real good stainless blade. He does a lot of precise cutting so quality and durability is very important. I have done some searching but not really finding anything definitive. Looking for ideas -Thanks.

I personally find precise cuts on stainless is best done with a bandsaw, not a chop saw. Even a small portable bandsaw, with a DIY table mount works especially well. The blades are thinner so they deflect less, usually have better tooth design, and can be used in/on/around a job site more easily than a chop saw.

Evolution does offer stainless blades for their saws. I haven't used one, but they are available if thats your choice.

homeboy wrote:I have an Evolution380 dry cut saw which I'am going to demo for my neighbour who is a commercial glazer . He mainly works with aluminium which he cuts with a chop saw with an aluminium blade. He also works with stainless which I forgot to ask him if he uses band saw or abrasive but he's having problems getting accurate cuts on pipe. I have some 3in steel exhaust tubing which I can use to show him how the saw works. Question is - if he likes this type of saw what is a real good stainless blade. He does a lot of precise cutting so quality and durability is very important. I have done some searching but not really finding anything definitive. Looking for ideas -Thanks.

I would call Evolution, they have a stainless blade and a thin steel cutting blade, both are a 90 tooth blade, not sure what other differences there could be.

Thanks for the replies. I guess what I am hoping for is hands on experience in cutting lighter gauge stainless tubing and the brand of blade that works best. Price is not an issue as he has aluminium blades for his chop saw at around C $350.00 ea. The other option may be the Rage 3 -10in sliding compound saw which I could look into also.

We bought the Rage-3 10" sliding chop saw where I work, and it works good, but I like my Rage2 14" multipurpose saw better. You can try www.carbideprocessors.com for some blades as well.

I checked the website you posted plus several others and haven't found anything very bulletproof yet. I just took in a couple of steel blades to be sharpened and asked the tech if he knew of a good stainless blade and he said no. Apparently quite a few places use them but they need a lot of blades to keep up because they dull fairly fast. Sounds like stainless is tough stuff to work with. Worth a try anyway.

At work, we have the Metal Devil saw, solid table and vice, precise cuts. We use the evolution 90t stainless blades. They don't stay sharp very long, but if you keep a few, and swap at the first sign of the blade getting hot in a cut, you can have them sharpened by any competent saw shop. If you say, "Just three more cuts and I'm done" when the blade is getting hot, you'll seriously reduce the working life and possibly lose teeth by de-brazing.

Steve S

Thanks for the reply. I now have a pretty good handle on what to expect. I'll run this by my neighbour and if he goes this way at least he will be prepared without false expectations.

One other point... These saws prefer to be used aggressively. The instructions will tell you press hard, but not enough to drag down motor speed.

Edit... Nevermind... I re-read the original post, and see you have one, so you already know.

Steve S