Frame rail cutting
 

Besides spending thousands on a Dake, what are the options for accurately cutting frame material? Dewalt seems to have a decent one that uses a carbide blade vs and abrasive. Any other recommendations?

horizontal band saw? quieter too those carbide cutting blades in chop saws are noisy as all hell

What type of material Brian? Flat stock or tubing? Mitered or straight cuts ?

Mainly tubing (2x3 or 2x4) at various angles. Since it will be a fab as I go kind of project, my other option would be cardboard templates that are then laser cut.. but that might get pricey?

Band saws are nice, hard to keep them square espec' if you use it alot.

I use my chop the most. The 14" Evolution blade is $100 but I have used it about 70+ cuts with no issues. The Stainless blade is very good. But as Matt said it is loud. But no sparks, cold metal and a nice smooth edge makes it worth it.



If you can find a 14" miter saw with a nice 180 degree graduated base for cheap you would have yourself a nice set up.

You have to watch out and get a saw that is made for cutting metal. Most saws you will find are designed for either wood or running an abrasive blade. They will run far to fast for the that blade and thing could blow up in your face.

I have a band saw - a cold cut saw - a Raptor style mitre saw - an abrasive blade saw - a torch and a plasma cutter....


I'm not bragging - I'm just saying that I have them because I use them.

The band saw is not for what you want to do with it - rectangle tubing for a chassis - with various angles. Fugidaboudit.

A cold cut saw is fantastic but to get one to cut your size is 3 grand and runs 3 phase power. Best saw in the entire universe... quiet - smooth - fast - wonderful finished cuts! Fugidaboudit.

My 14" Raptor style saw works fantastic - but let me tell you it's a messy noisy saw. Cuts fast - cuts clean - throws SUPER SHARP little bits of 'saw dust' everywhere... I use this saw the least of any of them for that reason.

An abrasive saw is slow - noisy - cuts clean... but throws dusty crap everywhere... but it's relatively cheap to buy - blades last "long enough" - it's easy to use... and will cut everything you need. They're $200 and blades are cheap enough. Get a 14"

Torch is handy = it's too crude.

Plasma is expensive - not as crude as a torch... but buying an abrasive is the best for you.

Do the abrasive saws really cut cleanly? It's been a while since I used one, but I never remember straight cuts and I remember lots of cleanup after the cut.

Greg - I think you missed a few key tools. Sawzall, cut-off wheel, metal file, and teeth. Those are the ones I currently have!

Crappy cutoff or chop saws produce crappy cuts, but a good one does a nice job in the right hands. An impatient or careless operator can produce terrible cuts with a great chop saw and even damage the saw permanently.

I work in Public Works so I have seen a guy destroy a near new Porter Cable 14" saw in just a few sessions. Leaning on it through some fencepost so bad it distorted the blade enough that it cut into it's own table. It must have wandered 1/2 or 9/16 of an inch. No surprise the same guy busted the handle off a replacement a couple years later.

I think with good setup and a little patience chop saws do a good job. Cleanup is what it is, both on the part and the work area.

Yeah -- Abrasive cut off wheels will produce a good clean cut.... But you have to let the saw work! It's an abrasive wheel -- you can't power through the metal.

Same reason dumbazzez ruin perfectly sharpened drill bits... they try to push the bit through the material...


It's the only saw in my arsenal that will trim the end of an axle! But you have to let it do the work...

Sawzalls should only be used to remove old exhaust... and Fred Flintstone floors... because you can't cut ANYTHING straight with one!

:rofl:

I have a cheap Harbor Freight 14" abrasive cutoff saw.......a ten year old with a sawzall could produce similar results. The chassis flexes bad so even with light handle pressure it can't produce a square cut.

I imagine this Milwaukee might produce reasonably square cuts: http://www.milwaukeetool.com/tools/m...achine/6180-20

I have a DeWalt --- 14" --- it's about 200 bucks at Lowe's or Home Depot. Works great - I just don't use it much because it's slow and messy...

But then again -- I have a super spiffy Cold Cut Saw that is quiet - clean - fast - and makes perfect cuts. :unibrow:


Get ya one of these bad boys and you'll forever by a happy metal cutting man!




http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...x/IMG_0998.jpg

I should have posted this pic up -- which actually kinda shows the saw!

I mounted mine on "slides" because I have limited room in the "shed" - and have a wall to contend with - so I can move the saw back and forth on the slides to gain an extra couple of feet...

These use machining coolant... and that gets a little messy -- but the water evaporates and the oil is water soluble...




http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...x/IMG_1022.jpg

I hope you guys realize I'm just being funny here....


A decent quality abrasive saw will be a very versatile tool if used correctly... The Raptor style would be my choice if the guy can stand the noise and is willing to clean up afterwards... I think you have to be MUCH more careful with the Raptor style - they're higher speed - and the blades are mean and nasty. Fail to secure a part and it WILL fly across the room and imbed itself in a plywood wall! Ask me how I know that!:woot:

I totally get that most people don't have the space or $$ to be buying all this stuff.

I'd love to get a cold saw, my buddy scored one at a Goodguys swap meet for $300. The guy thought is was dead but it had a plugged pump screen and a loose switch connection...on top of that the guy didn't want to take it home. Win some loose some.

You aren't kidding about launching end cuts if you aren't carefull. A good center blade miter base would solve that. I like the Raptor blade, I cut very slow and let the blade do the work, the only think I do after a cut is deburr the edges. The dust from the abrasive chop saw gets to e, and it smells 3 hours after you had used it.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...er%2520Saw.JPG

Another "plus" of the Cold Cut saw --- 50 RPMS.... no flinging parts... No heat in the part with the coolant/lubricant.... It just feels nice to use it. Sadly the cost and the power required are major impediments to home ownership.

A minor annoyance --- switching blades for different materials. They ain't cheap blades - and you need one for Al U mini Um --- and another for Stains Less Steel... and another for mild steel...

So around a "hot rod shop" where we're always cutting different stuff... it can be cumbersome.

Change blades even with the cold saw? Yeah I hear the blades are around $200.

Only takes a min to change mine. I think if I was a high output shop I'd just run 2 different saws with blades set. Like I have my die grinders. Haven't swapped a collet/disc support in years.

It doesn't take but a minute or two to swap - but it's annoying. I want to take a piece to a machine - whack it - and move on.

Obviously for a commercial shop - having a couple saws isn't that big of a deal - but for the most part - on Lat G we're a bunch of home garage guys....

I've found that in my own situations -- a guy can't have too many ways to whack stuff -- and stick stuff together.... and bend stuff. It allows you to think in a different way. My thinking is never "how the heck am I going to build X" -- it's just "how do I want to build X"... without limits. That frees your mind up to just gettin' 'er done and makin' it kool.

I never have the change blades with the band saw for different materials.. teehee 6 tpi blade and let it eat.

Yeah so lets see how you're handling that 6' length of 2X4" .120 wall - mitre cut...


:wow: :rofl:


I was thinking VERTICAL band saw when I posted this...... DOH!!

You must have a horizontal band saw.... and that's the one more saw I'd like to own - but don't have room for -- thus the abrasive and the Raptor style... they're portable and I can put them away when not being used. I have a vertical band saw - and it sucks cause it's too small... and not powerful enough... and the table is too small and the throat too small... and can you tell I don't like it?

its what I say.