Frame rail cutting - Lateral-g Forums

19,69camaro · #1 10-05-2012, 09:54 AM

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.

**GregWeld** · #2 10-05-2012, 03:52 PM

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.

bdahlg68 · #3 10-05-2012, 07:08 PM

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!

Roberts68 · #4 10-05-2012, 08:06 PM

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.

**GregWeld** · #5 10-05-2012, 08:36 PM

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...

**GregWeld** · #6 10-05-2012, 08:38 PM

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

**Sieg** · #7 10-05-2012, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdahlg68

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!

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

**GregWeld** · #8 10-05-2012, 09:15 PM

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.

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

**GregWeld** · #9 10-05-2012, 09:26 PM

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...

**GregWeld** · #10 10-05-2012, 09:44 PM

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!

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