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Abrasive chop saw

I bought a new, albeit cheap, abrasive chop saw, and have been using it to cut

1.5"X0.125" steel square tube. The original blade got to the point of not cutting after six or so cuts. The edge seems to be clogged, or at lease smoothe by comparison to a new blade. Is this a common problem with saws of this type? On a lark, I used my diamond dressing tool to dress the edge, like I would a grinding wheel, and the cutting ability improved for a few cuts and then deteriorated again. Replacement blades seem to do the same after a few cuts. Ya'll have any advice on this problem?
Reply to
GMasterman
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I have never had the problem of not cutting... and I make lots of sparks. The problems I've have with the cheap cut off wheels from Harbor Freight is they wear out at least five times as fast as a quality wheel. One of the wheels that I really like is the Continental brand... good quality, low price.

Bill

Reply to
Gears

When I am cutting stair handrailing at angles I have the same problems. I take an old worn out disc and lightly skate the edge against the installed disc as I pull the trigger. Some cut-off discs load up more quickly. I also use this tactic when having to cut solid bar around two inches thick. It takes awhile to cut the stuff. Randy

Reply to
Randy Zimmerman

its not the saw, but the cheap blades... use a rougher grit blade(and a quality one and you wil not have this problem)......

Reply to
jim

Buy a quality blade. I use the DeWalt DW8002 Bar Cutter:

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I've tried several others, including other DeWalt blades but haven't found any that would work nearly as well or last as long. The local DeWalt store has them for about $6 each. Another store has them for less than $5.

IIRC others on this group have mentioned that Makita makes a great blade too but I don't know anything about it.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

Thanks, Guys, I am convinced that the problem is crappy HF blades. Thanks again!

Reply to
GMasterman

Be certain that the blade you buy is for cutting steel, not concrete or non-ferrous metals. That is key to performance.

Harold

Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

I've noticed a *big* difference between import and American made blades. It ends up being less expensive to buy the costlier blades, noticably.

michael

Reply to
michael

Everett had some general advice on their website. They suggested using a securely clamped piece of broken blade as a free dressing device. That's part of the answer, but from my limited experience I think the real answer is to save the abrasive saw for materials that cannot be cut efficiently in a horizontal bandsaw. Real abrasive saws also have some power behind them, my Everett only has a 7" blade but has a (real) 3 HP motor.

Reply to
ATP

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