No reason at all if your independently wealthy and can afford to waste blades on a regular basis...


Carbide saws for metal run at about 1/2 the RPMs wood saws do. At the higher RPM speeds you often dull or strip teeth fairly regularly. Most guys I know who have even tried the blades "rated" for higher RPM saws haven't had good luck with the blades lasting all that long. They cut, but blade life is dismal at best.

Note you can get away with this more with alum than you can with steel. Most alum will cut at speeds just slightly below what you use with wood, so if you go easy, it's possible to cut alum with carbide blades at normal wood cutting speeds.

 

I cut aluminum with normal worm drive skil-saw. I've also been known to use the table saw, router, on chop saw on aluminum. Nothing special. It's loud and the hot chips go everywhere.

Steel on the other hand, I use a Milwaukee dry cut saw. Lower RPM, works great. Metal cutting saw does 3700 rpm no load, wood cutting saw does 5800 rpm. In addition, the open vents are a recipe for a short circuit when cutting metal with a normal saw.

I'll sum it up with a story. A couple months ago, my Dad, the carpenter, called me because he was having a hard time drilling a 5/8" hole in some steel plate. He had burned it up the bit and was calling from the hardware store to see if he should buy some whiz-bang drill (read as $$) the dude recommended. I asked him what speed he had the drill press set at. As high as it would go, was his reply. What? Are you nuts, I scoffed. Slow that sucker down, as slow as it will go. Did you think to sharpen the drill? Nah, I figured it was faster to buy a new one, he mumbled. What? You live 35 miles from town? Go home, sharpen your drill, slow things down and drill the hole. The next day he thanked me. He said it drilled like butter. Nice to impress the old man once and a while. Remember, with metal, the harder it is the slower you go.

 

So I have a Milwaukee Dry cut saw and I use it when I need precision. (not to say the circular saws cant).

But I just bought one from the Harbor Freight guys and used it today cutting some coupons to test drive my shiny new welder.

It was so easy! I know if I used more than a knee on the stool to cut these things they could do quite a job. Wow. Makes me wonder if I spent too much money on the Milwaukee.

$60 with a coupon? Sold.

 

Yea, on the HF one. Here's a post that may have some insight if you missed it .
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?348421-Cutting-11-gauge-steel-plate


I second the HF saw. I bought it because I was too cheap to buy a real one for 10 cuts on 10 gauge. It paid for itself already. Now that I know how good a dedicated metal cutting saw is I might just buy a real one.
A metal cutting circular saw is designed to hold and or prevent chips, filings ,etc. from going all over. I can't believe the HF saw performed as well as it did. I even cut 1/4'' plate with it.
I bought one of these with the saw , worked ok. http://www.harborfreight.com/50-inch...ide-66581.html
Use a 25% off get it for $15.00.

 

I reckon--------------
Mine(Milwaukee -8") will be here the fourth.

 

I only use saws for cross cuts, not ripping long stuff, so my answer might not apply.

I have a cheap Harbor Freight 6X12" bandsaw that has seen several thousand cuts in the last two years and only eat up maybe 8 blades....I also have a quality abrasive chop saw that has maybe the same number of cuts and only used maybe 6 or 7 14" wheels.

For the long rips and curvy stuff I use plasma or gas...Plasma is NOT that expensive to use providing you supply dry filtered air and don't use it to penetrate but instead first drill a hole and then cut or start from the edge.

It's got to where the only time I use gas is to heat/bend or braze....even then the gas is expensive and a pain to refill.

I'm certain there are times a guy should use a cold cut saw, but I just ain't never discovered the need for it.

Edited to add, it prolly has a justified use if you need to cut metal for a weldment that might be affected by the heat imparted by gas or plasma cutting....In that case a cold cut saw might be demanded.

 

Long sheet of Diamond Plate cut straight for Fenders or Dump Truck Box wall/floor plates, then I put a Metal Cutting Blade in an OLD Craftsman "Skil" Saw that does only turn at 3600rpm. Pay for it in the SHARP HOT Chips flying every where!
Most of the time a Zip Disc in a 4-1/2" Grinder suffices or the Oxy-Pro Torch.

 

My Steel Max 7" is much better than my Northern Tools dry cut. I could never find a blade that exactly fit the northern arbor. It was also very difficult to dissamble for blade replacement. Blades in northern saw didn't last as long as in the steel max.

 

Buuuuurp

 

Buuuuurp
View attachment 591731

Nice discount.

 

are you a carpenter or a welder? a circular saw is a woodworking tool no matter what kind of blade is on it. jmvho

 

Check out Lanse with a new Milwaukee metal cutting circular saw. This thing looks like It will do the trick and it's not a carpenters tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VwFPXh1oo8

After watching this you may want to reconsider if a circular saw is appropriate for metal or not(made intentionally for metal). He even cuts thru 1" plate with the thing right out of the box. Then some channel, square tube rectangle and angle iron.

 

@ docwelder - check. You can use a framing hammer to shovel snow, doesn't mean you should.

@ BrooklynBravest - as 'ForHire' stated, a standard (worm-drive better) circular saw ok to rip Al. And, a lower-RPM saw for use on ferrous/alloyed materials.

 

when you're cutting away with that beefed up wood saw don't forget your nail apron lol

 

Formerly a carpenter...

Now just a hobbyist. Can't really justify the cost of the above tools.


But lets say hypothetically I got creative, and I reduced the RPMs of my 10" mitre saw to that of a dry cut saw with a variable speed control, now where do I stand if I put a metal cutting blade on the saw.


or for my purposes should i just get this for $60

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-14-inch-heavy-duty-cut-off-saw-91938.html

 

I think of you just lowered the rpm you would probably lose power.

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk

 

From my research before purchasing, the slowing of a wood-specific saw motor in RPMs creates an attendant reduction in power or more appropriately torque. As a result, cutting efficiency suffers greatly. Metal cutting systems are designed to work in concert for a specific purpose such that the motors are designed to produce a high torque for power but at a lower RPM blade speed. Lances Milwaukee is excellent because it was designed specifically for the job at hand and he demonstrates it well.

 

Best bet on a budget is an abrasive chop saw like what you posted a link for. They have their issues, but they do cut material relatively inexpensively. I've picked up 2 name brand saws for less that that HF one though.


As mentioned, when you drop the RPM's, you will loose power, and the saw will not cut well, so I doubt a speed controller is worth the investment.

 

Best bet on a budget is an abrasive chop saw like what you posted a link for. They have their issues, but they do cut material relatively inexpensively. I've picked up 2 name brand saws for less that that HF one though.

Yea I used to use them for cutting bundles of steel studs. I just hate the cuts they make. Its never spot on for precise measurements and always needs to be cleaned up.

I did purchase the diablo steel demon blade and the videos for it look promising, but i am curious how long the blade would last for $40. Home depot takes damn near anything back though if I tell them its dull theyll replace it lol.



Update: I just called my local harbor freight and by some miracle even though it was discontinued, they still carry this saw

Looks to be the same as this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbymtijmuBA

So this saw is $90 and I can get it for like $75 with coupon. In searching i've seen very good reviews for it considering its a harbor fright saw. Think its worth a trip over there to try it out?

(side note, if anyone else is interested in one of these the store has a few left and this item is no longer in production I would be happy to grab you one)

 

So I got the harbor freight saw and its going back... What a piece of crap. Made jagged disgusting cuts would have thought I was using a wood blade. I'd rather buy an abrasive chop saw for that money.



I did however test out the steel demon in my wood saw, works wonderfully.

 

I found a Steelmax metal cutting saw at a pawn shop a couple of years ago. $100.00 out the door. It came with a complete set of blades for different materials. It cuts great. The high torque/low rpm motor really makes a difference. I have cut 3/8 and 3/4 plate with it with no problems. Makes a straight and "cool" cut. No grinding or sanding necessary after the cut. If I had a lot of plate steel to cut, I would buy another one, even if I had to buy new at full retail.