FWIW..
Any abrasive disk I've used in a chop-saw has accomplished the cut much more
quickly when the disk contact is at the thinnest cross section of the
material.. apparently not the situation with the rock drill rod, just
commenting wrt general shop practice.

Thick square, round, hex, etc cross sections are just generally slow (cut
more effectively with a saw and a coarse blade), but any flat stock cuts
faster when the disk is approaching the thin width and not the wider
surface.

The larger the contact area of the disk's edge, the more heat is generated
in the disk, which I believe also reduces the shedding of the dull abrasive
grains.. so the cutting action is significantly reduced, or so it seemed to
me.

--
WB
..........


"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...


The drill rod was run over and pretzeled by an excavator at a blasting
site. The man they gave it to for scrap it let me cut off a straight end
in exchange for some cast iron I didn't need. I think the reddish,
non-branching sparks mean manganese steel.

The Enco chop saw was on the end of 100' of extension cord out behind his
place and not at its best. Maybe it's the $3 wheels I buy, or not leaning
hard enough on it, but it doesn't cut mild steel over an inch wide very
well either.

Now that it's home, the rod cuts easily enough with a hacksaw and a file
and isn't packed full of sand, so I'll risk a bandsaw blade on it.

jsw