countertop project

It's cheaper, but made good enough is the main thing. The Steelmax and Morse 14" saws appear to be the same except for the trigger switch, but cost more and seem to have about zero distributors that I can find.

Without doubt, these all roll out of the same factory- I've looked at a steelmax saw in person and examined the parts diagrams from the Morse one. It clamps and cuts straight, and the frame is better than what you'd get on a most abrasive cut off saws which are mostly just bad sheet metal stampings.

I still tore mine down after getting it to pack grease into all parts of the pivot and the rollers that open the blade guard. It actually feels nice now and has less slop. I've used some smaller Evolution saws, but the issue is the smaller clamps wear out or slip. The thing is no work of art except in how they designed cost out it, but it's still solid.

Northern has a similar model that's apparently even cheaper at $240 with free shipping- #46461, but there's way more sheet metal vs. castings and you get 1 year vs 3 years of warranty. I can't imagine the hassle of boxing and sending the thing anywhere for warranty work though. They did toss in a set of spare motor brushes in the box though.

Those are all abrasive chop saws. Can't put a carbide blade in them- they run almost twice the rated speed of a steel cutting blade. It's night and day for abrasrive cut off vs. real cutting blade.

It's not a "real" cold saw- no crazy low speeds (think they max out at hundreds of RPM vs. a couple thousand tops) and worm drives or anything like that. The part I can't figure out is when does the term really switch from dry saw or big old metal circular saw to "cold saw" where the prices start to get really really high. The blades appear to be different, somehow too.

The term "cold saw," in metalworking, generally applies to the high-torque, low-rpm type of staionary saw you describe. They're pretty much commercial products, used mainly by steel service centers. They are structurally very strong and rigid.

Saw manufacturers have gotten a little loose with the term lately. You'll even see it applied to hand-held sheet-metal saws. That's not how the metalworking industry has traditionally used the term, however.

I'm working on an article on a high-accuracy version right now. It's massive and expensive -- the saw, not my article. d8-)

Have you heard of "Flat Surface Syndrome"? Just leave a counter top exposed to humans and watch it grow piles of crap.

You can cure that by getting a cat, who will just knock all the crap onto the floor. ALL YOUR HORIZONTAL SURFACES BELONG TO US! MEOW!

Oh yeah, they sucked everything of the floor real quick. Had to then clean them off again. They all have defined uses now and there's no easy way for clutter to appear on them anymore.

They were finished with MDF tops and then then laminated with Formica.

Good shit Maynard!!!

And the corollary is "Any workbench against a wall is a shelf" Piles of crap can grow /much/ higher... Just ask me how I know:)

William Bagwell fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Yeah... I just warned a friend who finally found a surface plate they liked to be careful not to turn it into a 'junk catcher' like those I see in so many shops --

This, "Clear it off? Sure! Whenever we need it, we just clear the stuff off."

and, "Clean the surface??? Huh? Oh.... yeah, we use a bench brush."

and, "Cover? It don't need no cover! It's made of SOLID GRANITE!"

Lloyd

"Well, it's just a _little_ chip." and "Not much of a scratch."

Gunner Asch fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Well... to be honest, I've _been_ guilty of that 'crime against precision', but eventually developed the discipline to keep the darned thing ready to do the work it was intended to do!

LLoyd

While my QA mentor at Southcomm in the '70s would have had a shit fit, I'm fine with that. You don't need to measure to tenths on it and your shop soitenly ain't climate controlled.