Metal cutting blades on a skillsaw type metal saw can be pretty affordable and you can achieve quite a bit with one.
That or a porta bandsaw which depending on size would also allow a fair bit of versatility.
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Porta band is the one saw in my shop that never gets put away. I keep 2 or three different teeth count blades around and even 1 or 2 with the teeth gone, they work great for thin plastics.
I have more questions than answers
Josh
Josh
BillE.Dee
- BillE.Dee
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Weldmonger
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Posts:
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Joined:Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:53 pm
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Location:Pennsylvania (Northeast corner)
What I've found .... porta bands are great addition to the tool room. the porta band will give you the same cut as a lower cost band saw, but quicker. dry cut saw is even quicker. abrasive saws make sparks. no matter which saw you choose, there will be pros and cons.
i use a fixed band saw for most small stuff. its slow but its quiet and accurate.
for most other stuff its angle grinder, but recently i have a hand held battery powered metal circular saw. handy for cutting sheets etc.
of course clean up with deburring tool and file.
for most other stuff its angle grinder, but recently i have a hand held battery powered metal circular saw. handy for cutting sheets etc.
of course clean up with deburring tool and file.
tweak it until it breaks
In my opinion, the more options you have the better. I generally use cut off wheels on angle grinder. It’s cheaper to buy 10 wheels online than box stores. My jig saw was kicking back so much, I just use it for wood now. I have cut Freon tanks with it for gas forge tho. You’ve got to really clamp the work down securely. For thicker than 3/8” or so I use a chop saw. If the metal is square I have plywood v-blocks to cut on diamond. Much easier this way. Also, for non ferrous I anneal with propane torch first, even when hack sawing. With any power tools I wear an old style welding mask to keep flying metal out of my eyes. Goggles didn’t prevent this, because angle grinder fan blew dust under it.