what to use to cut metal

[milesstarkey]

i just got a welder, i cannot afford a plasma cutter. and i'm not going to become a master metal fabricator overnight. a jigsaw will go through blades real fast. a torch doesn't make a neat cut. what do you guys use? for body metal and for 1/4", like for boxing in the frame and stuff.

[Pin_Head]

1. Sheet metal: Jig saw with bimetal 24 tooth blade. Or pneumatic nibbler. Or cut off wheel in pneumatic die grinder.
2. Shapes, like tube and square tube: Abrasive cut off wheel.
3. Plate: OA torch (yes, you can make a neat cut with practice) or a sawsall with bimetal blade for 1/4 inch and less. Keep the blade oiled.

[Jetboy]

all options are limited by $. A hand held band saw is great for lots of stuff, but is limited by the depth of cut, also a cold saw ( saw with a circular blade that cuts the steel not burns it away abraisivly) is a good way to go, but also limited by size of the blade, sears sells a grinder specialy fitted with two counter rotating blades that works as a cold saw. I havent used one of these, but the idea is great, the problem with cold saws is they spin at low rpm so they tend to catch and jerk alot if not used stationary with a vise. so by having two blades spining oposite directions it smooths out the operation. also a cutoff disk in a 4.5" grinder is pretty common. If your buying a grinder, the best one is the dewalt paddle switch. Much safer, because it wont stay on if you drop it after you cut your self because you werent wearing gloves. In fact I think all the on/off switch ones should be illegal.
There is also a "nibler" tool that works great for sheet metal, but is limited to very thin material... works kinda like sheers. Beyond these a sawzall can be very handy, and if you use a slower blade speed the blades will last much longer because they dont over heat.
HTH

[woody]

jig saw and metal bandsaw

[Chase77]

My booty fab tool combo includes a Jig Saw, Chop saw, Circular saw w/ cutoff blade, angle grinder, cut off wheels, & sawzall for when the shit hits the fan. I actually use the Jigsaw the most out of any tool when I did my bodywork. Blades arent really an issue if you know how to use the saw with the proper blades.

[Planet_X]

1) torches can make clean cuts.
2) jig saws & sawzalls have their uses.
3) skil saws w/abrasive blade can be handy.
4) Jilson tin snips have some advantages
5) Aviation tin snips work for some things
6) Evolution (like a skil saw) type metal cutting saws would be nice.
7) Horizontal bandsaws shine on tubing
8) Chop saws have been in use for some time
9) Carbide tipped low rpm chop saws are replacing some abrasive cutting
10) Hi-tension hacksaws are cheap
11) Dremels for the tool impaired
12) small hand grinders w/cutting wheels are can do unusual cuts
13) Air or electric die grinders do what #12 & # 11 do, but faster

There are more, but this may help spur ideas.
Invest in some good eye/ear protection for most of these cutting tools- $$ wasted at the ER is $$ that wont go toward Landcruiser stuff.

[woody]

Originally Posted by Planet_X

Invest in some good eye/ear protection for most of these cutting tools- $$ wasted at the ER is $$ that wont go toward Landcruiser stuff.

worth repeating....a cutoff blade in a hand grinder shattered on me 7 years ago, butterflied my nostrils and left nice grooves in my safety glasses....without those, I'd be split like a watermelon....I have a face shield now for "odd" cuts and have about 20 pairs of safety glasses scattered thru the shop so they are convenient.

60 stitches in your nose sucks.

[Planet_X]

Dont know if you fella's know about these, but they are quality so here's the link fwiw.http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/html/Paulson.htm

[Junk]

I've seen guys cut cleaner with a torch than I can with plasma, so don't say it can't be done. Plasma cutters are one of the most overrated tools out there.

Definitely always keep safety in mind.

[Gumby]

You can make some nice cuts with a torch and a clean tip. Nice big grinding wheel to make it clean. Plus both those tools have lots of other uses.

A die grinder with lots of cut off wheels would be a good starting place.

I have heard good things about those counter-rotating dual blade circular saws. Supposed to cut through metal like butta.

[Doug_S]

I didn't believe it until one of the guys at the machine shop that I was working at did it but...you can cut aluminum rather nicely with a skill saw and a carbide tipped blade. I wouldn't recommend it for steel since you cannot control the blade speed which is important.

Invest in one of the small horizontal/vertical bandsaws that harbor freight sells. They will work under most circumstances and the replacement blades are cheap. I do must of my cutting with a horizontal/vertical bandsaw as do many shops.

Check out the link:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37151

Happy Cutting!

[snowcruiser]

I'll say it again...the Milwaukee bi-metal sawzall blades called "The Torch" are amazing. They cut nice smooth lines quickly and last longer than any other sawzall blade even when cutting thick metal. Try them...you'll like 'em.

There are also some metal cutting single blade circular saws out there made by a Czech or German company for about $250-400 at welding shops. I think John Deere also has there badge on one. They make superb cuts and some models even cut bevels and have laser guidance but the blades are pricey ~$50+

For tubing I use a cheap JET bandsaw on a floor stand with a bi-metal blade. It is definitely not the fastest cutting machine out there but the cuts are almost perfect and the price was right. ~$250.00 and blades are about $ 9-12.

For starters though I would get a sawzall with "the Torch" blades and a grinder...prefereably 2 grinders so you have one with a wire wheel and one with a grinding wheel.

Good Luck!

[Arya Ebrahimi]

My cutting tools include the following:

Milwaukee 4.5" Angle Grinder w/ grinding wheels, cut-off wheels, knotted wire wheel(invaluable for cleaning up rust/paint/slag/etc), and sand paper wheels(I usually use these without a backing plate, which enables them to conform to odd shapes very nicely)
Oxy/Act torch
$25 Circular saw from a yard sale w/ a 7" abrasive cut-off wheel(poor man's chop saw, and much more versatile)
Milwaukee Sawzall
Milwaukee Portaband(whenever I can borrow it from work)

I second the eye protection comment. It's something I slack on and really need to work on. I wear prescription lenses and they have their fair share of scratches and nicks from flying objects.

Most of these tools are new and I did my entire buildup on my old Jeep with a 4.5" angle grinder and the circular saw. I also agree w/ the ability for a torch to make a nice clean cut. With a clean 00 tip I can cut 3/8's like a hot knife through butter. Just gotta watch the kerf and keep your speed consistent.

Ary

[honk]

One important note:

Don't buy Chinese (et al) made abrasive cutting/sanding blades or wheels or anything. They haven't figured out how to make abrasives!

I'm not commenting on the tools themselves - that's been hashed and hashed again. I've tried grinding disks, cutoff wheels, grinding wheels, drill bits, milling and lathe cutters, you name it because I sometimes a lot of those things and the saving would be significant. But their cutters either don't cut, or they don't last, or both.

Whatever tool you chose to use buy only topnotch cutters for it.

BTW, on a good day I can cut with a torch so's you'd think it was done with a saw. Just takes good people to work with and practice. And attention span. They don't teach it in books very well.

[cruiserhead]

"You can cut as straight of a line as you can hold.No matter what tool you use.How is your patience?Any thing can be cleaned up whith a grinder." cruiserhead 3/5/05

[Pytbool]

I'll second buying good abrasives for cutting. HD and Lowe's sell junk that doesn't last. Buy cutoff and grinding wheels from a welding supply or industrial supply like Mcmaster Carr. You get what you pay for!

I'm partial to the torch since it is handy for heating as well as cutting and has a relatively unlimited cutting capacity for what we do. Cuts get sharper with practice and can always be cleaned up by your grinder.

I have a Milwaukee chop saw, but I'm not real fond off it. Noisy, blade flexes, and sometimes sounds like its going to stall when it shouldn't. My next big purchase will be a band saw.

-Tyler

[1FE pig]

14" dewalt chop saw.I get blades from the railroad service crew to small for there saw.Nice blades for cutting track.Gas ax is good to.

[Niner]

Buy what you can afford, patient, and creative. You can do it, just find scrap and practice. Just about all of the tools listed has a strong point but they are only as good as the operator.

[VETTE60]

i agree with snowcruiser, if you want one tool, get a sawzall it will do just about anything. also for sheetmetal up to 1/4" i use my circ saw with an abraisive blade.

[Radd Cruisers]

Never used plasma, but on sheet metal my new favourite fool is a air shears, they cut nice with no noise or dust and do not deform the metal.


I now believe as Junk does that a torch can do as nice of work as the plasma, only difference might be consumables and the cool to touch splama ability.

[BigRed87]

Chicago Electric has a plasma cutter for $500 from Harbor Freight.

[lowenbrau]

I rarely use the chopsaw since we bought a bandsaw, I don't use the bandsaw as much since we bought ( a real ) plasma cutter. The most versitile tool is for the $ is still the mini grinder with 5" zip discs. We go through boxes of them and they are worth every penny. There are only a couple of brands that are worth spending your money on. The most notable is Walter. Even if they are 3X the cost of lesser disk they are still worth the $. We have a Milwaukee portaband that comes in really handy as well.

There's two sawzall type tools in the shop and only the cordless one gets used and then rarely.

I occasionally use the air chisel with the sheetmetal cutter in it.

These are some brand names you should look for in consumables.

Grinding, cutting, flappy disks.... Walter
Hacksaw, bandsaw blades... Lennox
Sanding products... 3M

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Radd Cruisers

Never used plasma, but on sheet metal my new favourite fool is a air shears, they cut nice with no noise or dust and do not deform the metal.


I now believe as Junk does that a torch can do as nice of work as the plasma, only difference might be consumables and the cool to touch splama ability.

Don't be mislead. Plasma ain't cheap to run. Tips are $5 and electrodes are $25. When the plasma and air compressor are running they are drawing 35 Amps at 460V. You never really count the cost of electricity though do you? The good news is you rarely run out of electricity at midnight in a Saturday night like I always seem to with the Oxy/ Acetelene

[poldo]

Originally Posted by Junk

I've seen guys cut cleaner with a torch than I can with plasma, so don't say it can't be done. Plasma cutters are one of the most overrated tools out there.

Definitely always keep safety in mind.

Sorry disagree the oxy/ace torch will overheat the sheet metal and warping it
for body bork nothing beats a plasma however you can't use a plasma alone
in the shop.
Also plama cutters are cheaper to run .. no gas to buy