Hello all, I am over cutting 45 degree miters with a 5 inch grinder. Most of my jobs dont go over 2 inch box, with the majority being 1 inch to 40mm. Am I better off buying a cold saw or band saw. TIA
Should I buy band saw or cold saw for cutting 45 degree miters in SHS steel
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I'm guessing you mean a slow speed carbide blade saw. The blades aren't cheap, but don't know how they would compare to a band saw for cost over time. Might well be cheaper over the long run though. If you meant a horizontal bandsaw, that seems to me to be close to a toss up for use. I have not used much cold saws, mostly abrasive ones, but have a cheap horizontal bandsaw from HF. And I must say it cuts quite accurately, I can do very thin slivers on it if I want to. Does take some effort to align it properly though. It's a 6" nominal width (and 4.5" high) IIRC but maybe a bit less at a 45, not sure, so more than what you are talking about. But 2" should fit fine in most cold saws too I guess. The nice thing about the horizontal bandsaw is that you can put your big piece(s) or stacks in there and let it cut while you do something else. But I imagine the typical carbide blade saw would typically be much faster at cutting, you just gotta be there to run the thing. My cheap bandsaw is comparable in price to a decent carbide blade chop saw, but a better quality bandsaw with coolant etc would be quite a bit more I think. One thing that's nice about some horizontal bandsaws is that they will turn into a decent vertical one with a bit of improvisation, I like that, nice for curved cuts.
I second everything that was said. I don't know what the Harbor Freight equivalent is in Oz but I'm sure the same Chinese saws are available albeit in a different color. I'm guessing I have the same saw as @e9999. Cost at Harbor Freight is maybe $250. Of course the blade that case with it is crap but it cut until it broke. Replaced with a quality blade and it just cuts and cuts. Make sure to keep oil in the gearbox.
As e9999 said it doesn't have a coolant system but I try to dribble some motor oil on there if I'm in the vicinity. Cuts 4" X 4" just takes a while. The next step up at Harbor Freight is about $800 for a much more significant saw with coolant.
As far as slow speed carbide - never used one. Don't see the need as a hobbyist. I guess in a production shop it would really speed things up. Look kind of scary to use to me.
As e9999 said it doesn't have a coolant system but I try to dribble some motor oil on there if I'm in the vicinity. Cuts 4" X 4" just takes a while. The next step up at Harbor Freight is about $800 for a much more significant saw with coolant.
As far as slow speed carbide - never used one. Don't see the need as a hobbyist. I guess in a production shop it would really speed things up. Look kind of scary to use to me.
I own a Scotchman semi auto cold saw (12"), a 40" vertical D&J band saw, a Milwaukee deep throat port-band and a 1800 Ellis horizontal band saw.
I use the Ellis way more than any other saw. Each machine has its place but a horizontal band saw is the most versatile imo.
That said, if I was cutting 100's of 45º (short pieces), I would use the semi auto cold saw as its fast and leaves virtually no burrs.
Again, if I only had one choice, it would be a decent horizontal band saw.
I use the Ellis way more than any other saw. Each machine has its place but a horizontal band saw is the most versatile imo.
That said, if I was cutting 100's of 45º (short pieces), I would use the semi auto cold saw as its fast and leaves virtually no burrs.
Again, if I only had one choice, it would be a decent horizontal band saw.
one thing though is that my cheap horiz bandsaw is relatively small, something like 4' long or so, and so fits OK if barely on a cart, but it does take quite a bit more space than a chop saw. And a bigger and better horizontal bandsaw will likely have to be on its own stand and take way more space on the floor. So if floor space was a big issue, that would favor the chopsaw a lot more I would think.
