Cut-Off Saw Love - an early Father's Day present to myself

[AlphaHare]

I am an unapologetic tool geek. I enjoy using high quality tools. And I'm big enough to admit that I probably have an underlying tool problem.

[Rant]
If your kids are interested in music, the absolute worst thing you can do is give them a crappy 'beginners' instrument to play. They generally suck and they are often very hard to actually play because they are made so poorly. Get them a good quality used instrument. If junior decides they are not the next David Gilmore, then you can sell a good used instrument. You can't really get any value from a crappy instrument.
[End Rant]

Tools are like this too. And shortly I'm looking at making a ton of brackets and frames to hold grey and black water tanks, battery trays, propane trays, and a few bumper-mounted accessories. I spend a lot of time cutting and then grinding bar stock to size, and even then it never fits as well as I want it to.

Say hello to my new friend! This wasn't cheap at $500, and is actually the bottom model of the Evolution line, but everything above the pivot hinge is the same as the fancier tools. It is more than enough saw for mere mortals. It cuts cleanly, squarely, and is highly repeatable with good measurement technique. I am so freaking pumped.

Some test cuts and a DoppelFrankenWeber cart I'm making on an old gas grill base.... ;>)

 

[nikitis]

So question. Could you not use a regular chop saw and put a metal grinding round blade on it and do the same? Or is there not enough juice in the motor as there is in that tool there?

 

[AlphaHare]

Yes, that’s a traditional cut off wheel.

The newer metal saws are geared down to about 1400 RPM. That, plus the saw tooth material and geometry, leaves a clean cut with almost no burrs and cool to the touch. It also cuts much much faster. The cut parts in the photo were right off the saw with no further prep.

 

[nikitis]

So probably lower RPM but more torque? Makes sense. I may pick one of those up. I work with more and more metal now days, and I've just been cutting stuff with a grinding wheel, but it's not the safest way to cut.

 

[jbeech]

You'll never get me to disagree with you vice buying good tools versus el cheapo, but I picked up a Dewalt chop saw with 14" grinding blade for $75 maybe 15 years ago and it remains brilliant at cutting steel stock. However, if it ever dies, then one like your is top of list. Well done! And good idea about repurposing the grill base, mine resides beneath the welding table so I just plop it on the surface and plug it in.

 

[nikitis]

@jbeech I have the rotating dewalt saw as well.

 

[AlphaHare]

I didn't have anything other than an angle grinder and a small porta-band. This video (and some others) convinced me to spend about double what a 14" grinding wheel cut-off saw would have cost.