Band Saw VS Chop Saw

Bob La Londe · 2009-02-11T17:05:02+00:00

Ok... I have had a couple chop saws over the years. My first one was an HFone. It worked great for years even though I had bought it thinking I wasonly going to use it for one job. It still works, but the brushes are abouttoast. If I could find which tool box I tossed the spare brushes in itwould be a great spare. In the mean time I purchased a Ridgid one. Mostlybecause I had such great luck with their table saw. Awesome power andconsistent 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 forall the detail cuts when I did the hardwood floors in our house, and fortons 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 withoutreplacing them. However as all people do I have begun to wonder if a bandsaw might do a better job for some things. I don't think I would use myvertical band saw for this, but rather invest in one designed to work inplace of a chop saw. I have heard lots of folks say it's the way to go forcutting steel, but my own personal experience tends to make me wonder. I'veonly watched folks cut steel with a band saw a couple times, and its been along time ago, but on bigger pieces it seemed to me that it tended to walkoff 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 storesseems to cost the same as a good quality name brand chop saw and go up fromthere.I want straight cuts, and I would like to not have to spend as much timedoing clean up on the cuts. I'm also considering a tounrey blade in a mitersaw for some things, but I am concerned about the...

Feb 11, 2009 20 Replies

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Bob La Londe 17 years ago

I actually used my torch the other day to do actual steel cutting. I disassembled a boat trailer in order to use some of the steel for another project. My circular saw was to awkward, and my reciprocating saw was too slow. Would have been a perfect application for a plasma cutter I bet.

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Band Saw VS Chop Saw

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