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?
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...
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
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