OK to use metal cutoff wheels on miter or radial saw? (1 Viewer)

[MarkLB]

I came accross a very interesting website with more info on this product: http://www.stupidspammer.idiot/industrial-manufacturer/cut-off-wheel-63895.html

 

[Gumby]

I think that putting a metal cut off wheel on a radial arm saw is brilliant for two reasons.

First, the highlift jack has had too long of a run as the most dangerous tool. It needs a break.

Second, we need more teachable moments. Manufacturer warning labels have lost any meaning. We need carnage to remind us why to not do things. Combining two crazy dangerous tools like a metal cut off wheel and a radial arm saw into something that neither was designed for is just brilliant. I wonder if we can figure out a way to put a band saw blade on a chain saw. That would be pretty cool too.



Seriously, I haven't used a radial arm saw in 15 years. There are better tools now. People try to give them to the school every year. You literally can't give them away. I haven't used a metal chop box in probably 10. I have at least five tools that do a better job way safer. Use the right tool.



Edit - I just saw who started this thread. Never mind.

 

[semlin]

a conventional carbide saw blade for metal cuts through thinner metal pretty well. it is a lot more stable than a cut off saw blade and designed to run at wood skilsaw/chopsaw speeds. i've used it to cut a square hole in a steel tabletop with a skilsaw (lowering the blade into the cut while it is running to start the cut) and the final cut is cleaner than a cut off blade.

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00008WQ3B/?tag=i0bc2-20

 

[45Kevin]

I agree with you Gumby on the radial arm saw. It is a combination tool that does nothing well (except cause injuries).

There is however still a place for the metal cut-off saw. The home shop is one of them.

I have had a metal blade on my cheap, less than 100% accurate, 8" wood chop saw for years. I don't use the dust bag and as messy as a cut-off blade is it does the job for the few times I need to cut metal. The plastic blade guard offers a bit if protection as well as safety glasses and it is a hell of a lot safer than cutting tube and pipe and sheet goods (small pieces) than a cut-off wheel on a grinder.

How did it work out for you e999999999999?

 

[Gumby]

But not nearly as safe as a cheap metal cut off chop saw with a metal guard and a material clamp and an arbor designed to hold a chop saw blade.

I will concede that most folks are not going to have an iron worker or a cold saw or even a band saw in a home shop and a metal chop saw will work, but it's not very safe, it's not a very good tool and should be treated like the blade could explode with every cut. At the very least spend the money for the metal chop saw and don't use a wood miter saw. $150 will be less than the deductible on the ambulance ride.

 

[ojaij40]

I figure this is another one of your , bait us with a stupid idea threads , why would you not just go out and buy a 14" metal cutting chop saw ?

 

[too tall]

metal cutting carbide blades are designed to run a lower rpm . For the price of the blades I would get a proper saw made for that blade . Cutoff saws will shorten the life of those blades dramatically I would guess . I have a makita one I have been using for years . I hate the clamp but other than that and the price of the blades , It is one of the best purchases I have made for my shop .

 

[semlin]

metal cutting carbide blades are designed to run a lower rpm . For the price of the blades I would get a proper saw made for that blade . Cutoff saws will shorten the life of those blades dramatically I would guess . I have a makita one I have been using for years . I hate the clamp but other than that and the price of the blades , It is one of the best purchases I have made for my shop .

the carbide metal cutting blade i linked to above is rated to 5800 rpm. it is designed for use with wood saws. a wood table saw is around 4000 rpm and a circular saw about 5000 rpm.

 

[too tall]

My Makita saw runs at 1300 rpm . As I said above for the price of the blade , I'd get the proper saw . Go ahead and run it in your high rpm saw and see how well it last . Be careful when you try something thick .

 

[semlin]

the blade costs $20. i agree a dedicated metal cutting saw is better. my point is that there is a safe way to cut metal with wood saws. it will not cut as thick or last as long as a dedicated metal saw set up but it is a lot safer than a cut off blade.

 

[too tall]

sorry I didn't realize you weren't talking about proper steel carbide chop saw blades . The blades for mine usually cost $150 per blade . I would have to disagree that the blade you are talking about is safer than a conventional cut off saw . Minus the damage it does to your lungs .

 

[semlin]

i didn't say it is safer than a metal cut off saw. i said it is a safe way to use a wood saw to cut light gauge metal. they sell utility grade blades like that for $20 in any hardware store. better blades will obviously cost more.

 

[Skillet]

 

[tlktlk]

The spindle bearing on miter saws isn't designed to take the loading of abrasive wheels, so go light on the handle. I used abrasive discs on a Black and Decker miter saw that I got at a garage sale and I used it for 10 years before the bearing went out.

WOW, that's a LONG time to keep any saw running!!! 10 years!!! I'm impressed that the bearing lasted that long, really!! How did you survive (food/beer/dope??) to say nothing about the bleeding callouses on all of yur fingers!!
Seriously: "10 yrs" means nothing.. Big diff between a professional fab joy-shop and the workload of a casual home-owner building one closet in 10 years!!

 

[Patineto]

Metal cutoff wheels can be VERY dangerous! You don't want any side flex or they can shatter. If they shatter you or bystanders CAN BE KILLED.

Have a mate that was in malaysia getting his yacht repaired and unbeknownst to my mate, a worker 'borrowed' his cutoff blade and installed it in an large grinder and was using it to sharpen a kitchen blade, i.e. side load/flex on the disc. It shattered and killed him instantly. That family lost a husband/father in a fraction of a second. This was a name brand cutting disk (7" size from what I can gather). My mate is still coming to grips with the accident.

cheers,


george.

Jorge as wise as always...

If the 4 1/2" are call "Killers wheels"... the 10"/12"/14" need to be call.... !?!?

I'm saving my pennies for a "Dry cut out saw" (like a miter saw, but much slower RPM and torqueier..)

 

[Patineto]

I would be VERY reluctant to cut metal on a radial arm saw. I had one for many years, used it a lot, and I've had that thing fling hunks of wood across the shop many times. It would be worse if it was flaming hot razor-sharp hunks of steel. If you look at how they operate, the cutting motion of the blade if you are using a push-motion tends to cause the work piece to get lifted up off the table and away from the fence.

I have three of them (Actually four) and the only metal I have ever "Cut" was a "frame square" that somehow vibrate from one table to the other one (My shop is a mess) and wow the thing became a Boomerang in no time flat..

Ps: as a side project, I'm been working on a "fuse/Breaker" that will automatically release the whole upper part of the radial saw (from the main vertical shaft) in case something got stuck in between the table and the blade.

For the same reason I love how rigid and solid they are, they scare the crap out of me too, (Sold a really nice 12" and a 14" for that very reason, now the biggest I have is a 10" that I uses with a 8" Dado blade only)