Can a Chop Saw Be Used As A Cold Saw?

projectnut · Jan 9, 2019

I've been doing a lot of work lately using 6061 and 5052 aluminum plate and bar stock. To this point I've been rough cutting everything with a horizontal bandsaw. It works fine, but the aluminum tends to stick in the gullets when cutting a large number of pieces. I like to use either a 10-14 or a 6-10 variable pitch blade for most materials, but with the variety of materials I cut lately it's a PIA to change blades multiple times a day. Today I went to a local supplier to pick up some more stock and saw one of the employees cutting lengths of 3/4" 6061 bar stock with what looked like a standard chop saw using a cold saw blade.

I was wondering if it would be possible to use my chop saw in the same fashion with the proper blade. I've had a 14" one setting in the corner for years. It's in good shape. I just hated the smell and shower of sparks when using an abrasive blade.

ewlsey · Jan 9, 2019

You can cut aluminum with a regular miter saw and wood cutting blade. I know of shop that cut all of their aluminum that way.

eKretz · Jan 9, 2019

Not so much for anything of any substance. The first cut or three will probably go well in aluminum but the speed is way too high. You'll end up getting aluminum stuck to the teeth and that will get dragged across the aluminum you're cutting, giving you a nasty finish on the cut surface and possible saw tooth damage. You can get around that if you use a cutting fluid on every single cut, but otherwise it's a bad idea. Bad idea all around also for anything that's not aluminum.

It works okay if you have very thin aluminum or very thin wall aluminum tubing, otherwise you'll need cutting fluid. WD-40 works okay.

nihilistic · Jan 9, 2019

I use carbide tipped saw blade in a chop saw with WD-40 for quick cuts on Al 6061-T6 all the time. Nice way to get blanks quick. Just go slow, too fast and it will catch.

PeteM · Jan 9, 2019

You can get by in aluminum, preferably with something like a triple chip grind on the blade and a bit of wax or lube to keep chips from sticking to the blade.

Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee etc. make chop saws that run around half speed (1400-1800 rpm) for this purpose. You can also get metal cutting portable electric saws.

M.B. Naegle · Jan 9, 2019

We've done it for aluminum extrusion, but never solid bars. Just be sure you have a carbide tipped blade (often sold with the package recommending it for aluminum siding), and we used a wax stick between cuts for lub so it stays on the end of the blade.

We did it on 80/20 with no tooth-clogging issues, and it gave a really nice finish with very little (if any) burr.

Terry Keeley · Jan 9, 2019

Explore | Sawblades

cosmos_275 · Jan 9, 2019

I cut all my AL on a dewalt miter for over a year (thousands of cuts). I would wear lots of PPE even with a dust collector helping out. Works pretty good until you can get something better but use lots of caution. Probably will make some cringe, but when you're on a shoestring, you gotta make due sometimes.

Make mods so the gap at the back is small. Clamp the work down.

Blades: Diablo non-ferrous (80T?) works well on 7075. 6061 if it's not too thick (>2"). The issue is the teeth fill up with the finer tooth pitch. It would be the same tooth every time. I would use the dewalt brand blade most of the time. I tried Irwin to save a few bucks and they were crap. Lube was brush on whatever, don't like huffing WD-40.

I recently upgraded my setup to a Morse chopsaw which is better as the RPMs aren't crazy fast and it has a clamp build in for metal.

Also, I use a outfeed stop. Use a removeable spacer so the work isn't butted up against anything when it comes free or bad things can happen, particularly on short stuff. Attempt at your own risk.

Better saw: 14" Blade Diam, 1" Arbor Hole, Miter Chop & 76185628 - MSC

Don't seem to need a face shield

Modelman · Jan 9, 2019

Note the hook angle of those blades is negative 7deg. Standard wood cutting blades have positive hook angles; they try to pull themselves into the work; not good when the work is something as dense as solid aluminum bar stock. The negative hook angle trys to gently force the blade out of the cut, giving you much more control.

Dennis

Bondo · Jan 9, 2019

I have cut thousands of pieces of alum angle and sq tube on a standard dewalt chop saw. I use carbide tipped blades that state they can be used for non ferrous and the speed is ok for use. I have also cut a few pieces of 7050 that were 9x6x2" thick. Just take off a 1/8" at a time.

Go slow, as stated before, if you go to fast, it will grab the material and try to throw it at you. It will also send pieces of teeth everywhere. I had a blood blister on the tip of my finger last for almost 2 months when the blade had enough. It hurt that bad.

Also, always use a full face shield when cutting this way. There is a lot of alum chips that go flying everywhere.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

DavidScott · Jan 9, 2019

My only saw is a 10" Hitachi sliding compound miter saw. Used with a good TCG blade, Concord from Amazon is excellent for $20, I have no problems with 6061. Anything from small to 3" square bar or 1" x 12" plate, and I usually don't clamp anything down. Keep in mind these are not exactly heavy duty, mine will get kind of hot after 45 minutes of constant use.

gustafson · Jan 9, 2019

you will not get the finish of a cold saw, but it works

DethloffMfg · Jan 9, 2019

Absolutely you can use a chop saw. I have probably made over 15,000 cuts on a DeWalt chop saw, and many on a Delta table saw (not recommended, oh my gosh table saws cover you in hot chips). We cut manly bar stock, box, angle, and 80/20 extrusions. The Diablo 96 tooth TCG carbide tipped blades from Home Depot worked surprisingly well, I think we were doing 3,000 cuts per blade.

You will not get cold-saw finish. Cold saws are awesome if you need pretty dang good surface finish and VERY good angles, a chop saw won't be on that level but it does do fairly good, definitely close enough for general fab work. I was able to hold +/-.015" pretty easily.

WD-40 works really well. We set up a Kool-Mist system on the saw after a while and that was much nicer at controlling the chips some and easier than getting WD-40 everywhere.

The blades and saws do not have the rigidity of cold saws. You can't lean on them like a cold saw. Let the blade do the work with just a little pressure and they're great, but if you put too much you get a resonance in the blade that is obvious. We were able to cut through 6"x1/2" flat bar frequently without issue or chip clogging, but flat bar was always the worst thing to saw because of the amount of blade engagement.

bridgedog · Jan 9, 2019

watch out for the little slivers of material. Not only are they hot they also can get into the motor and make many
sparks and smoke! I found this out the hard but very exciting way.

Delw · Jan 9, 2019

projectnut said:
I've been doing a lot of work lately using 6061 and 5052 aluminum plate and bar stock. To this point I've been rough cutting everything with a horizontal bandsaw. It works fine, but the aluminum tends to stick in the gullets when cutting a large number of pieces. I like to use either a 10-14 or a 6-10 variable pitch blade for most materials, but with the variety of materials I cut lately it's a PIA to change blades multiple times a day. Today I went to a local supplier to pick up some more stock and saw one of the employees cutting lengths of 3/4" 6061 bar stock with what looked like a standard chop saw using a cold saw blade.

I was wondering if it would be possible to use my chop saw in the same fashion with the proper blade. I've had a 14" one setting in the corner for years. It's in good shape. I just hated the smell and shower of sparks when using an abrasive blade.

we had the same problem about 25 years ago with our horizontal saw. the saw is over 40 years old and we bought it well used. Call the local saw guy here in Az(echols saw) he came over in 94 and set me up, I havent changed any thing with the exception of blades when they break and coolant. said my biggest problem was 2 things the blade and the weight on the head. we rigs a counter balance on itand put a 3-4 variable blade on it. I can cut anything with it including 3/8" sqr stock. anything including stainless alum gear steel etc etc up to 10" dia. cut thousand of lbs of alum 3-6 inch wide 1/2 and 3/8 thick for 8 solid years.before that it was 4340 9310 and some other gear blank material to the tune of about 10,000 lbs a month 4-6" dia. blades lasted about 6-9 months. cuts through anything with that pitch with good results.
our blades are around 11 foot long x 1"
I don't know what kinda saw you have or how rigid it is speed is the other important factor. If I had to change blades between jobs I would buy another saw cause changing blades suck.
BTW I just broke a blade today got a year longer than I thought(2 years on this one) I would out of it which included more than 2200 pcs of .250 thick 321 ss.

I tried the chop saw a bunch of years ago with the good carbide tipped blade, after about the 6th cut I said f/it my balls / leg aint worth it.

projectnut · Jan 10, 2019

I dug the chop saw out of the cabinet today. It's a Black & Decker model 2731. It uses a 14" blade with a 1" arbor and turns 3,800 rpm. I looked through the links provided by some members and also went online to search to see if there were any blades available. So far the only 14" blades I've found are either rated for only 1,800 rpm or a maximum of 1/4" depth of cut. I noticed most reputable brands are in the $100.00 to $200.00 range. That sounds like a reasonable amount to make the current jobs go more quickly.

If I use my current saw it will be dedicated to either 6061 or 5052 aluminum stock. Bar stock generally ranges in size from 1/2" square to 2" square. Round stock generally ranges from 3/4" to 2". There are occasions when I do cut up to 6" round stock, but they are an exception.

For those using a chop saw for aluminum stock, what is the rpm of your saw, what is the brand of the blade you are using, what is the diameter of blade are you using, and what is the tooth count.

At this point purchasing another saw can't be justified. I have somewhat limited space, and I'm not sure if the current jobs will be a one time thing. Both jobs are a number of prototypes that may never go beyond that point. For the number of pieces I need to cut I just thought it might be quicker and easier to use the chop saw. I'm not looking for a finish cut, just cutting blanks of bar stock to be machined in both the mill and the lathe. Should these jobs turn into something more long term I will definitely be looking for a cold cut chop saw.

cosmos_275 · Jan 10, 2019

I use this blade with my Morse metal chopsaw, works great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LFCN3DI/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Max RPM 3800

I got the saw on amazon too: https://www.amazon.com/MK-Morse-CSM...000IHXOKI/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

1300 RPM

Good luck

cosmos_275 · Jan 10, 2019

Can't help but share my new chopsaw setup

It lives on a table not this cart. I made a Delrin infeed platform and a DRO outfeed. Works great.

I've since changed the outfeed backstop to get closer to the blade and I use a spacer so the work isn't directly up against the stop when it comes free.

garyhlucas · Jan 11, 2019

The reason I got a cold saw for aluminum was to prevent the shops I sent materials to from machining the ends of the parts which almost always was the most expensive operation. "Hey you didn't leave any material for cleanup!" They are all within 0.001" of exact length and the finish is acceptable. Why do you want to clean them up?

EPAIII · Jan 11, 2019

Eye protection. Mouth and nose filter. Make sure there is nothing flammable behind it. And the sparks are fun! Great show!

Love 'em.

Comb the grit out of your hair later.

projectnut said:
...<snip>...

I was wondering if it would be possible to use my chop saw in the same fashion with the proper blade. I've had a 14" one setting in the corner for years. It's in good shape. I just hated the smell and shower of sparks when using an abrasive blade.

Can a Chop Saw Be Used As A Cold Saw?

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