Cutting and fabrication question

Okay, I finally caught a good deal on a used 110v wire welder and I'm going to teach myself to weld. I read the very helpful thread on all the variations in wire welders, so I'm up to speed on 110v vs 220, flux core vs MIG, and the joy of Northern Tool's auto-darkening helmets.

But how do you guys cut all that steel? When you're hacking out pieces of angle, tube. exhaust, etc...what tool do you reach for?

I'd love to have an upright bandsaw, but I haven't caught a metalworking version for cheap yet. I've looked at grinders and recip saws as possibilities, as well as air saws and air grinders. I think the air rigs are more for body work than heavy fab, though.

and frankly my right arm is oversized enough without using a hacksaw that much.....

Depends entirely on how much you have to cut, but it's hard to beat the weenie horizontal/vertical bandsaw from Harbor Freight/Northern Tool. If you only have a little to do, a Sawzall will do in a pinch.

ultraclyde wrote: my right arm is oversized enough

hahahahahaha thats nasty

used a makita sawz-all for years hated it the whole time but it was what i had. now use a millwakee hand held band saw. for sheet that my nibbler will not cut i use torches or carbon arc rods and the arc welder

I use...

abrasive chop saw (quick, messy, crude....did I say fast, works great for exhaust fab)

air cut off tool/grinder (my dad calls it "the wild tool", this is quick and works great for smaller stuff, brackets, etc)

electric angle grinder (i use this the least...)

horizontal band saw from HF (this is my newest tool...slow, but quiet, not too messy, and accurate if you measure and double check it, I use this for angle iron, tube, etc etc)

Sorta depends on what you are doing tho.....

A 4-1/2" angle grinder w/ cut-off wheels can get a lot of work done. The Sawz-y'all has it's place as well. If you can find a used 14" grit blade cut-off (chop) saw it's great for cutting tube and angle. A small horizontal bandsaw is awesome and I have no idea how I got by as long as I did w/o one.

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-414458-HVBS-56M-Horizontal-Vertical/dp/B00004T9KU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1282870737&sr=1-2

...I picked one of these up on Craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. Good blades are the key - I get Lenox variable pitch bi-metallic.

Many years after starting out I've got TIG, MIG and gas welding gear, a plasma cutter, horizontal and vertical bandsaws and every imaginable other way to gut and form metal - but it was all bought used and only when it was a major deal. Be patient, keep looking, and be ready to buy when it happens.

I've used a portaband at work some, they're pretty sweet. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'll be doing - probably everything from patching the mower to maybe building a recvr hitch for our Mini and maybe a safari rack for the 'Sploder

14" abrasive chop saw from HF == $90 and cuts tubing of all kinds like buttah

Thin stuff & aluminum get the sawzall, the cutoff wheel or the sabre saw depending on what needs to happen and how close the nearest one is.

Thick crap... 7/16" & greater gets the fire wrench (oxy torch) and is ground with a 5" angle grinder to clean it up to size.

I need a vertical/horizontal switchable bandsaw. I need a plasma cutter (and in a dream I keep having... a CNC water jet).

Hmmm...that chop saw's on sale for $65...and does 45s....

The smoke wrench is a long way off for my shop, but then again I won't be doing much over1/4 thick with a 110v wire welder.

I used a plasma cutter a few times on the last job. Unbelievable thing. We also had a 5'x10' CNC 2 axis router that was pretty cool but started to struggle at 1/8" aluminum sheet.

ultraclyde wrote: Hmmm...that chop saw's on sale for $65...and does 45s....

Its a no-brainer at $65 - and it does a little over 50s in one direction. Its a total piece of crap but it keeps cutting and cutting. If you buy it - do yourself a favor and buy he thinner more $$ DeWalt disks for it. HF ones are cheap but are like 1/8 thick and they make a huge dust mess and really wide cuts. They also wear out quickly.

Big Red Wrench.

steel cutting circular saw

abrasive chop saw

nibblers

sawzall

3" air cutoff tool

For sheet metal stuff, I have a combination sheer, slip roller and brake. You get very used to the stuff this does.

Also in the arsenal:

Tin snips in all varieties. Abrasive chop saw 4 Angle grinders Sawsall Jig saw Air powere body saw (kinda like a jig saw)

Last week I accidentally bought an industrial bandsaw, a drill press and a 50 gal air compressor. You see where this stuff leads?

That HF chopsaw works great, BUT, do not bother with the HF wheels. To say they are junk is an understatement. They glaze and quit cutting. Get a better wheel from your hardware store.

While your there at HF, get one of the tubing cutter jigs. The one that holds a holesaw and clamps onto the pipe. That makes cutting the fishmouths a lot easier for those times you want to join one pipe onto the side of another.

A 4.5" grinder for lots of pretty grinding and shaping and cutting and notching and correcting. I've yet to beat those DeWalt cutoff wheels in this size.

Got an air compressor? Pneumatic wiz wheel is great at making quick slices into things like exhaust pipes. Cheap to, at HF.

Didn't some magazine do an article about this not all that long ago?

I've got a Saw-Zall, a hack saw, a Makita disc grinder and almost enough patience.

I can switch hands. Really.

Ambi-Dan

I've heard you can gain a stroke that way.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: HF ones are cheap but are like 1/8 thick and they make a huge dust mess and really wide cuts. They also wear out quickly.

I've experienced this short life as well. I'll keep that in mind as I need to replace the disk before I use it anymore (who knows when that'll be...but it will happen eventually).

And yes, a chop saw is my tool of choice for cutting steel stock that's long and narrow (tubes, bars, allthread, rebar, etc). I was fortunate enough to get a free one from a good friend who worked for Rigid and had a development model laying around.

Thanks!

Clem

I'd love to have one of these handheld cold saws:

http://www.trick-tools.com/Saws/evolution_saw.htm

Anyone tried one?

Carter

I have one. It works well, but blades are expensive.

Used plasma torch was the best tool purchase I have ever made, bar none. Well worth even the $ it cost to upgrade to a OneTorch for it.

Any of you guys have one of these? The Grizzly showroom is only about an hour from me so the shipping is only the fuel it takes to round trip it.

Grizzly Horiz/Vert saw

I also have that.

It's about 8 years old, and works fine for hobby stuff. Mine has coolant. You'll want that, but it can be done inexpensively. For $300, it'll come in handy if you never use it.

Zombie... they have this one as the first model with oiling but it does not look like it keeps the vertical option. I really like that option for freehand work. What brand/model is yours?

Next model up the line...

Mine is the cheaper one, and it has a different name on it (surprise). Get a little giant (or equivalent) pump, and wire it in to the switch. Put the pump in a cheapo tote on that little shelf underneath. Since the saw is auto shutoff, the pump will only run when the motor does.