Chop Saw Recommendations/Reviews???

[bruceb]

i love my makita chop saw but i put a cold cut blade on it and it cuts any thing i can fit into it. just love it!!!

I thought the cold cut blades were supposed to be run at around 1200 RPM...not the 3000 RPM that a regular abrasive saw runs at.

[TomVeatch]

My vote. Skipchop saws all together. If you need it cut & welded a chop saw is not the way to go.
Buy a bandsaw. The cuts are quicker, easier, and infinately more accurate.
...

Oddly enough, after posting my original request I went out to a couple of the box stores to get a hands on look at some of the chop saws out there - and their prices. Looks like name brand stuff is going from the high $100 to low $200 prices.

Did some online looking at the portable band saw market. Mid $100 up to Low $300. May have missed a few, but those I found that had a table were limited to 90* cuts. Any miter cuts would have to be done freehand. Then, I ran across the Griz 0622 at $298.25 delivered. That's real competitive and looks like it'll do everything I want so I hotfooted back to here to see if any of you guys knew anything about it. And, whaddayaknow!

To avoid making a long story even longer, I just pulled the trigger on the Grizzly! Maybe I'll save enough in files to pay for the saw - not to mention the savings in scrap or the time spent filing the cuts square and/or to the proper angle. Probably won't help my bird poop welds, but that's another story...

Never buy anything with moving parts from harbor freight unless it's expendable

AMEN, in spades!

Thanks a bunch, guys!

[jamlit]

Here is a pic of my band saw. Love it and would never give it up for a chop saw or cold saw. Harbour frieght carry one just like it for around 799.00. Great saw as you can see in the picture I cut 10 hours sold for 2 days dry cutting to avoid oil on the material for easyer welding and the blade is still going.

[triggerman]

Chop saw or bandsaw. Bear with me. IMNSHO it depends entirely on your requirements. I bought a DeWalt 871 chop saw earlier this month. I would love to have a bandsaw, too, but can't justify one. Not just the price, but the space requirements. My "shops" are both small and are just for storage. One shop is on wheels so it can be moved from job to job and I bring it home home each night for security reasons. That shop is a 1-ton van. My other shop is a storage building in my back yard that is about 8X12. It is basically a rain-proof place to sitck my stuff under lock and key when I'm not using it on my driveway. Stuff gets moved regularly back and forth between the two depending on the job I am going to do.

Having considered that, I bought the chop saw. I purchased the D871 because it has the D-handle and the bigger (5+) horsepower. The one I bought came with a free DeWalt 4-1/2" grinder (which I needed). All together, it was a little over $200 including shipping. I love it. I've had no problem making square cuts. The fence is adjustable (without tools) and squares up easily with my small speed square.

If I had the space and the dough I would have a nice bandsaw, but I don't. so I bought the DeWalt. Hope this helps.

[TomVeatch]

I'd just about decided on a DeWalt D28715 after my trip to Lowes last night. It seems to be very similar to the 871 and also included a 4 1/2 grinder in the $229 price. But I've already got 2 grinders that size and the Griz bandsaw delivered was close enough to that price. I'll just have to find or make room for the saw's footprint.

I think the problem with the HF chopsaw is the base. Too flimsy, warped, no convenient way to square the blade to the table. It seems powerful enough and cuts well with a good blade. When I get some other stuff out of the way, I may just try to build another base for it. Might be a pretty decent saw with a good base.

[Toysrme]

The green ones are crap, the red ones are the same as the Grizzly & other copies. The problem with the HF machines are they're very weak motors. They tend to have little power output & burn up. You'll use it afew times, then walk away during a cut only to come back with a melted gearbox/motor housing, a burned out motor & junk all in the gear oil.

It's critical that you replace the junk oil with some quality oil. I think on the HF's it's like a 140 weight gear oil, but anything atleast mid-quality will be better than whatever mess they ship it with. Nasty!

[nate]

JET has a copy of those also.

jet is a brand name, either way, mostly over sea stuff, the jet parts can be bought from any major welding supply..

[arc]

(I thought the cold cut blades were supposed to be run at around 1200 RPM...not the 3000 RPM that a regular abrasive saw runs at.)

u can order cold cut blades for yor chop saw

[MAC702]

In the spirit of the OP, I'll give my experience. I bought the Ridgid chop saw from HD, and hated it. "Toolless" clamp was worthless and broke on first job. I replaced it as soon as convenient with the DeWalt I had wanted the first time. Very happy with it.

[jamlit]

stick with a bandsaw, you wont regret it. provided the bandsaw is a decent one.

Note: I spent almost 500.00 dollars on chop saw blades in a year then spent 150.00 on bandsaw blades the next year and cut allot more steel. You may not cut that much but you can still save allot of money on blades.