Bob La Londe wrote:
Ok... I have had a couple chop saws over the years. My first one was
an HF
one. It worked great for years even though I had bought it thinking I was
only going to use it for one job. It still works, but the brushes are
about
toast. If I could find which tool box I tossed the spare brushes in it
would be a great spare. In the mean time I purchased a Ridgid one. Mostly
because I had such great luck with their table saw. Awesome power and
consistent settings. (what does a table saw have to do with metal working?
I use it to cut and shape aluminum) Anyway, when I went shopping for a
(wood cutting) band saw I bought Ridgid. It worked great and I used it for
all the detail cuts when I did the hardwood floors in our house, and for
tons of projects since.

Oops. Starting to sound like a Ridgid commercial. Didn't mean to.
Anyway,
I have found I get pretty decent cuts in rolled steel tube, square, angle,
and even with my Ridgid chop saw using fiber reinforced 14" cut off discs.
They last long enough that I can actually finish a project or two without
replacing them. However as all people do I have begun to wonder if a band
saw might do a better job for some things. I don't think I would use my
vertical band saw for this, but rather invest in one designed to work in
place of a chop saw. I have heard lots of folks say it's the way to go for
cutting steel, but my own personal experience tends to make me wonder.
I've
only watched folks cut steel with a band saw a couple times, and its been a
long time ago, but on bigger pieces it seemed to me that it tended to walk
off to one side and make an angled cut instead of cutting straight through.
What am I missing? Is it worth it? The base models from the import stores
seems to cost the same as a good quality name brand chop saw and go up from
there.

This has always been my experience with bandsaws. I have never owned a
bandsaw, but I've used several different machines and none of them cut
square. Some people will tell you that you can get a square cut, if you
have a machine which isn't worn and is correctly adjusted, but used
machines rarely fit that description.

I don't like abrasive chop saws because they're noisy and cover
everything with abrasive dirt. For personal preference, I would choose a
power hacksaw or a cold saw. Hacksaws are big and somewhat slower
cutting that cold saws, but they last forever and the blades are cheap.
Cold saws are a bit smaller and faster cutting, but the blades are costly.

Best wishes,

Chris