On 22 Dec 2004 07:50:02 -0800, "Ron M."
wrote:

I want to put an abrasive metal-cutting wheel on a miter saw, to cut
mild steel angle with. Most of this will be 3/32" or 1/8" 1-inch angle.
Some say, "sure, no problem!" while others say, "the horror, the
horror..." The purpose is to cut a few pieces for some welding
projects. For example, cutting some angle steel at 45 degrees to make a
table top.

Now, before this goes any further, please do *NOT* tell me to "go buy a
chop saw" or "buy a used band saw" or whatever. I'm talking about a
miter saw ONLY, OK?

There are supposed to be two main issues with doing this:

First, it overloads the motor. But I don't think this would happen, if
you just use very light pressure and take your time and go slow.

Second, the shavings/sparks can damage the fence and/or the motor
mechanism (bearings). There may be some truth here. The fence shouldn't
be a problem, and I can always cover it with something. Particles? Some
suggest removing the vacuum. How about attaching the nozzle of my shop
vac just behind the blade and letting it catch them? Or maybe putting a
big magnet there, perhaps.

There's are third and fourth issues as well, to wit: Your (I am
assuming) wood-oriented miter saw will be full of shavings and metal
swarf, which tends to be difficult to get out, and will almost
certainly ruin a project eventually. And the other problem is that
most abrasive wheels that I have seen are not flat. The arbor hole is
sometimes as much as a 1/2" offset from the cutting surface, which may
be enough to grind the inside of your guard into smithereens, and will
almost certainly cut a wider (or doubled) groove in the base. Most
tools are engineered to do only what they were designed for, and
cutting metal out of that base plate could very likely cause the
entire piece to fail- and if it does, it will almost certainly be when
you least want it to.

If you're just going to use it for metal, then give it a try. If
you're going to switch it back to wood, I'd be a little concerned
about it.

This isn't something I'll be doing often. Maybe once a month I'll make
3 or 4 cuts, at the most, no more. As I said, 99% is going to be
cutting 45 degree ends in 1/8" X 1" angle, so I can join them together
to make a square corner. That's it.

I use an abrasive blade in my circular saw for straight cuts, but it's
hard to cut accurate angles with it. I also have a Porter-Cable Tiger
sawzall, I don't think that would work well for this kind of cutting,
although I've never tried it.

It should work fine. If you have a bench grinder or belt sander, you
can always touch it up a bit after you cut. I can't imagine that it
would be too tough to make a material-specific miter box out of some
scrap if you're not very good at freehanding it.

You could also just overlap the metal. I don't know what you're
making, but if it's just shop stands, it works fine.

Please give me a tip here, especially if you've actually done it, and
aren't just repeating what you've read or heard. And PLEASE don't tell
me to "go buy a chop saw"!!!

Go buy a chop saw! You know, there are a few other options for
doing this job that are a little more appropriate, and you may or may
not already have the tools- if you don't, then at least they are a bit
cheaper than a dedicated chop saw. The first is a good ol' hacksaw
and a vise or miter box. You specified 1" x 1/8" angle iron, and it's
actually pretty easy to cut that by hand. If you're set on using a
power tool, then why not use an angle grinder? Right now, they're all
on sale, and it's a handy tool to have for all sorts of things. I'm
assuming that you need mitered corners because you are going to weld
the angle iron, and it's nice to have one to clean up the welds before
painting anyhow. And if you have a biscut cutter, you've already got
one. If you don't, you can buy an attachment to use the angle grinder
as a biscut cutter later.

I make all of the stands for my shop tools myself, and they are
usually 1018 (weldable) steel angle iron or square tubing. I'll
admit, I usually use one of my bandsaws at work for cutting the
material, but there have been several times when I wanted to change
the design a little and ended up cutting steel in my shop. In those
cases, the hacksaw is usually my tool of choice (though I just got a
reciprocating saw from my dad for X-mas, so that may change) and it
does a fine job- no really, it does. There's a little more elbow
grease involved, but it usually takes only a couple of minutes. Heck,
I cut up a few 5/8" steel rods for spare tool rests on my lathe last
week while my van was warming up before work. It did a fine job, and
was much easier than you might think! The other option I could think
of is using the course wheel on a bench grinder to chop the angle out.
You'll have to dress the wheel afterwards, but it works ok.

Thanks,
Ron M.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam