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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