Best tool for cutting thick stock metal.

krinkleneck · Aug 9, 2019

I am going to be working some thick round stock steel (about 4-6"). I am thinking about getting a good used horizontal bandsaw. Do I need to rig up some cooling for the blade, and does anyone have another idea on how I should cut this size of metal fairly quickly?

I am not really sure what to look for to do this properly. Angle iron is as thick as I normally work.

Booze Daily · Aug 9, 2019

Horizontal bandsaw is the fastest way I can think of. Coolant will definitely help. Doesn't have to be flood coolant, you could just use a squirt bottle and hit it every once in a while.
You're looking at about 5-10 min per cut.
You could always order it precut from your supplier.

Mtndew · Aug 9, 2019

krinkleneck said:
Do I need to rig up some cooling for the blade

Not if you buy a saw that has coolant on it.

krinkleneck said:
and does anyone have another idea on how I should cut this size of metal fairly quickly?

Depends on the type of steel and the quality of the saw blade AND the quality of the saw, don't buy a piece of shit harbor freight or jet.
We can only give you guesses since you're not giving us enough info.

jrmach · Aug 9, 2019

Yes,Band Saw,,,Coolant,and flood (does not have to be hi pressure,but no spray bottle crap) unless you like buying blades

michiganbuck · Aug 9, 2019

Angle iron will cut fine/OK with no coolant. Coolant will make the blade last longer and may speed up the cut a little.

Coolant is messy, but most shops doing a lot of cutting use it.

Long cuts can begin to run off angle so a good quality saw is better than a bargain one. Some times a hand start so he blade does not crash into the part is good. Starting feed a 1/8 or 1/16 above the part can be good to avoid crashing into part.
A blade gong dull is more likely to try wander off angle so care of your blade is important.
The part pinching on the blade is a common event that damages a blade so the vise, holding, fall off should be so it does not pinch the blade. With most if not all saws the out end is in a position so the fall off direction does not pinch the blade, but problem comes if the out end is supported so it does not just fall/bend downward.

jrmach · Aug 9, 2019

michiganbuck said:
Angle iron will cut fine/OK with no coolant. Coolant will make the blade last longer and may speed up the cut a little.

4 to 6 inch round steel OPIE said

Larry Dickman · Aug 9, 2019

how many cuts do you need to make?
Just send it to a saw house and don't worry about it

Mike1974 · Aug 9, 2019

Not sure where in FL you are, but in Largo there is a an Alro outlet(?) that stocks some common sizes of mat's. If in a pinch, or just need something for a fixture or whatnot you can just show up and get what you need, drops, bars, cut pieces or whatever. They *might* cut what you need out of your material for a small fee. The reason I am guessing this is because they take walk-ins regularly to buy material so maybe...?

DMF_TomB · Aug 9, 2019

many places buy steel cut to length +.10/-.00 and often cut it closer like within .03" of length asked for. sure you pay for it to be cut to length but dont have to deal with keeping inventory, have a overhead crane to lift, a heavy duty saw and storage rack and the building space taken up.
.
....when you factor in building space costs, equipment and its maintenance costs, and time and labor costs it might be
.
$50. each cut average total costs if do cutting yourself per year average
$40. each cut if you have somebody else cut for you
if you save $10. each piece cut and cut 1000/yr thats saving $10,000 a year or rather it was costing you $10,000 more a year cutting yourself
.
just saying building space (and local property taxes), inventory space, cutting equipment costs and maintenance, labor costs.
.
its like somebody spending $30,000 for a garage on their house and paying $1200. a year in extra property taxes on it to store $1000. of junk or extra stuff in it. it be cheaper to throw the junk out and buy it again every year quite literally

MrWhoopee · Aug 9, 2019

There are a number of 7x12 horizontal saws with coolant on the market, starting with HF and going up from there. I realize that the belief that HF sells crap is deeply entrenched, but that is a generalization that is no longer valid. There may be individual items that do not measure up, but many of their tools are quite serviceable. I have one of their 4x6 bandsaws a benchtop drill press and many of their hand tools. I would not consider any of them garbage. Jet tools are in about the same class, maybe a notch above. If you envision using the saw in an ongoing production environment, definitely look for a better name brand like Kalamazoo or Johnson. Keep in mind that larger saws may require 220v or 3 phase power.

Since you are looking for used (which is what I would do), the brand you get will be determined by what becomes available.

Having said all of that, there are a lot of advantages to buying the stock cut to size. Let somebody else own the scrap and the drop.

michiganbuck · Aug 9, 2019

My bad thought g=he said angle..4 to 6" round coolant would be best.

DMF_TomB · Aug 9, 2019

even if building space costs and equipment costs were not a issue look at tooling costs. many bandsaw blades are $50. to $300. and you will notice costs if going through many blades per day.
.
thats why abrasive saws are still used. noisy and dirty but the cost per cut is often much lower per piece. that is if you use
100 blades per year at $100. each thats $10,000. in cost of bandsaw blades
300 blades per year thats $30,000 a year just in cost of bandsaw blades or tooling
.
HF makes money selling you the bandsaw blades far more than they make selling the saw

krinkleneck · Aug 9, 2019

Booze Daily said:
Horizontal bandsaw is the fastest way I can think of. Coolant will definitely help. Doesn't have to be flood coolant, you could just use a squirt bottle and hit it every once in a while.
You're looking at about 5-10 min per cut.
You could always order it precut from your supplier.

I am buying spare cutoff to dick around. I will be cutting based on what I am feeling like making.

DMF_TomB said:
even if building space costs and equipment costs were not a issue look at tooling costs. many bandsaw blades are $50. to $300. and you will notice costs if going through many blades per day.
.
thats why abrasive saws are still used. noisy and dirty but the cost per cut is often much lower per piece. that is if you use
100 blades per year at $100. each thats $10,000. in cost of bandsaw blades
300 blades per year thats $30,000 a year just in cost of bandsaw blades or tooling
.
HF makes money selling you the bandsaw blades far more than they make selling the saw

I shouldn't be going through too many blades in a year, and $100 dollars isn't much for a good on

michiganbuck said:
My bad thought g=he said angle..4 to 6" round coolant would be best.

Rodger

MrWhopee said:
There are a number of 7x12 horizontal saws with coolant on the market, starting with HF and going up from there. I realize that the belief that HF sells crap is deeply entrenched, but that is a generalization that is no longer valid. There may be individual items that do not measure up, but many of their tools are quite serviceable. I have one of their 4x6 bandsaws a benchtop drill press and many of their hand tools. I would not consider any of them garbage. Jet tools are in about the same class, maybe a notch above. If you envision using the saw in an ongoing production environment, definitely look for a better name brand like Kalamazoo or Johnson. Keep in mind that larger saws may require 220v or 3 phase power.

Since you are looking for used (which is what I would do), the brand you get will be determined by what becomes available.

Having said all of that, there are a lot of advantages to buying the stock cut to size. Let somebody else own the scrap and the drop.

Yeah, I am also thinking for getting someone to cut it for me, but the nearest person is an hour round trip drive. Also, I am mainly sizing up cutoff scrap.

DMF_TomB said:
many places buy steel cut to length +.10/-.00 and often cut it closer like within .03" of length asked for. sure you pay for it to be cut to length but dont have to deal with keeping inventory, have a overhead crane to lift, a heavy duty saw and storage rack and the building space taken up.
.
....when you factor in building space costs, equipment and its maintenance costs, and time and labor costs it might be
.
$50. each cut average total costs if do cutting yourself per year average
$40. each cut if you have somebody else cut for you
if you save $10. each piece cut and cut 1000/yr thats saving $10,000 a year or rather it was costing you $10,000 more a year cutting yourself
.
just saying building space (and local property taxes), inventory space, cutting equipment costs and maintenance, labor costs.
.
its like somebody spending $30,000 for a garage on their house and paying $1200. a year in extra property taxes on it to store $1000. of junk or extra stuff in it. it be cheaper to throw the junk out and buy it again every year quite literally

Still looking into costs, but I don't live close to anyone that will cut this kind of stock. I am also factoring in the amount of time it takes to get the cuts done.

Mike1974 said:
Not sure where in FL you are, but in Largo there is a an Alro outlet(?) that stocks some common sizes of mat's. If in a pinch, or just need something for a fixture or whatnot you can just show up and get what you need, drops, bars, cut pieces or whatever. They *might* cut what you need out of your material for a small fee. The reason I am guessing this is because they take walk-ins regularly to buy material so maybe...?

I live northeast of Tampa, and there aren't good suppliers of larger stock that also cut stock close by, but I might need to just look a little harder.

Larry Dickman said:
how many cuts do you need to make?
Just send it to a saw house and don't worry about it

Sounds like a good idea.

Booze Daily said:
Horizontal bandsaw is the fastest way I can think of. Coolant will definitely help. Doesn't have to be flood coolant, you could just use a squirt bottle and hit it every once in a while.
You're looking at about 5-10 min per cut.
You could always order it precut from your supplier.

I think if I pick up a good used saw I will use a filtered pump system with some flow for the cut.

mhajicek · Aug 9, 2019

I got one of these in January. Love it.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/00919522

Limy Sami · Aug 9, 2019

Apart from which saw and what coolant to use, ……another most important factor - if not THE most etc etc, is the type and tooth pitch of blade.

krinkleneck · Aug 9, 2019

it's gorgeous. I am looking for something like that, but I think I will buy used.

krinkleneck · Aug 9, 2019

I am trying to be considerate of that. I am looking at blades for mild to hard steels.

garyhlucas · Aug 9, 2019

We got a used

garyhlucas · Aug 9, 2019

We got a used Marvel Mark 8 series II tilting head bandsaw that is freaking awesome! 18” capacity and seconds to change from straight to angle. You can clamp stuff to table to cut if the vise won’t hold it. Best bandsaw I have ever used.

Mike1974 · Aug 9, 2019

To OP, alot NE of Tampa* or a little? If you call them (Alro) they will let you know what they do/don't have and can have it cut and ready when you come to pickup (I read you are using 'scrap' so maybe not worth it), or even a phone call to ask them if they would cut your stuff if you bring it in. They have an autosaw so I would *think* it would be a fairly simple/fast/easy job for them...

Alro Metals Outlet - Clearwater (Tampa) Florida

* I completely understand not wanting to cross that damn bridge though! Or depending on location you could "go around" (like head west to 19 then come south)...

Best tool for cutting thick stock metal.

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