Metal cutting tools: what's really the best option?

A makita metal cutting chop saw is my newest toy, but it’s still in the box at this point.

Surprised so few use plasma. It’s so quick it seems like I’m always using mine for some small project here or there.
 
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That M18 reciprocating saw is an absolute beast with good blades. I would start with it and a Sawzall (mine is corded but I purchased it years ago) and buy good blades. You can do a lot of work (not just on Jeeps) with just those two before investing in more specialized tools.
The M18 Fuel Sawzall is the best recip saw I have ever used, especially with a Diablo carbide blade.

It took me about 15 minutes to chop apart this frame, with most of that time thinking about how to actually do it.
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I buy Pearl and Sait cut off discs 50 and 100 at a time. Cutting heavier steel with the jig saws beats the foot off of them and I have several.

I have a 150 dollar consumable long reach tip set up for my plasma cutter. I'm not sure I am as smart as I should be at times.
Admittedly, my experience with cutoff wheels breaking was not with quality discs, and I do occasionally use them, so I think I'll take your advice and try some Pearl or Sait discs next time. I'm a firm believer in "old dogs can learn new tricks!"

Also, I agree that cutting heavy steels with a jig saw can batter them. Of course, you probably cut more steel in a week than I do in a year since it's your day job. I'm just a weekend warrior in my home shop.

Also, I completely forgot to mention that I do have a Makita abrasive chop saw that works well for cutting heavy stock to length. I used to have a horizontal band saw, and I liked that one better because I could set it and walk away while it cut. However, that saw got sold many years ago prior to a cross-country move. I'll eventually get one again.
 
I had an abrasive chop saw and found it to be noisy, messy and slow. I think metal blade chop saw would be the way to go.

Re band saws, I bought horizontal/vertical 4"x6" saw about 35 yrs ago and still have it. I couldn't get along without it. I bought a second one about 20 years go but got the swivel head model. If you're tight on space it's a good way to go. With the first saw I had to swing the metal for angle cuts. With the swivel head the metal stays put and saw head changes angle. I converted the first one into a permanent vertical band saw.

To me anymore the only thing I'd us an abrasive saw for anymore is if I had to cut something like hardened drill rod or something I couldn't cut with a dry cut blade or a band saw.

I had my 4"X"6 for probably 30 years. The day the worm gear went out and I threw it away was a wonderful day!
I spent countless hours tuning, modifying, and in general just trying to talk that damn thing into going to work, but it served it's purpose and even though we had a strained relationship all those years I got my money back out of it 20 times over.
 
A makita metal cutting chop saw is my newest toy, but it’s still in the box at this point.

Surprised so few use plasma. It’s so quick it seems like I’m always using mine for some small project here or there.
I have a plasma, I've continually owned a working version of some sort for 20 years, they still suck.
 
To me anymore the only thing I'd us an abrasive saw for anymore is if I had to cut something like hardened drill rod or something I couldn't cut with a dry cut blade or a band saw.

I had my 4"X"6 for probably 30 years. The day the worm gear went out and I threw it away was a wonderful day!
I spent countless hours tuning, modifying, and in general just trying to talk that damn thing into going to work, but it served it's purpose and even though we had a strained relationship all those years I got my money back out of it 20 times over.

Yes, it probably would be better for that.

I had trouble at first with adjusting my band saw. I joined the 4"x6" Band Saw forum and got a lot of good info. Some of the things they did, made, etc. was really good.

Before I bought mine, 2 friends and I had a "race shop" :rolleyes: and we used a mechanical hack saw to build 6 or 7 chassis and a few trailers from scratch. It was like the one below ... but not as "nice". 😊 We spent more time fixing it than using it.

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@Irun - I have a plasma cutter and it's turned out to be the metal cutting method I use the least!
This is exactly my fear. I'll go drop $2k on a plasma cutter, then end up using my 4.5" grinder or O/A. This thread has been very helpful and I know where I need to focus. I'm going to get a better saw, upgrade my O/A setup, and buy a better grinder and consumables!
 
The M18 Fuel Sawzall is the best recip saw I have ever used, especially with a Diablo carbide blade.

It took me about 15 minutes to chop apart this frame, with most of that time thinking about how to actually do it.
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I am not sure if the M18 Sawzall or the 4.5 grinder is my next purchase. I am also not sure how Milwaukee is doing it but their saws rip. In prepping for doing the MCE fenders I watched a couple vids off guys struggle with cutoff wheels and knew there was a better way. Diablo metal blade and about the same time it is taking me to type this and it was cut.

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I have lots of spendy flap discs. Orange Norton at not that great. Pearl Greenback in 40 grit are great. Sait are good. The 3M Cubitron is on par but too spendy. 3M Cubitron resin fiber 6" on a nice sanding backing pad absolutely kick ass in 36 grit if you can hold it flat and don't wear down the edges because it is faster.
Cool, I'll keep an eye out for some of those greenbacks and probably pick up some of the cubitron resin fibers. My flaps last quite a while now that they're mostly for finish work in the finer grits.

http://bhabrasives.com/5-x-7-8-easy-strip-and-clean-disc/
These actually work really well even if they are from a cheap manufacturer. They're normally $15+ a piece in town, and the Blackhawk ones worked just as well, but for stripping rust and scale I haven't found anything that comes close. Doesn't load up like a flap disc and doesn't remove really any base material. I did both sides of a 4x4' steel plate with just one disc at half speed on my grinder. Just gotta be careful to spin it away from a sharp edge, not into one, otherwise the disc goes bye bye real fast.
 
I picked one of these up for my fuel cell project. The little bit that I've used it so far, I wish I had bought it years ago.
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Hmm, haven't seen that one before. Looks pretty sweet, does it last a while on the 5.0 battery? I've got like three 5.0s and have considered trying one of their bigger batteries, but the 5.0s last forever in my impacts
 
Does a plasma cutter impart less heat into the surrounding metal than oxy?
Last year I bought a complete setup with an off road cart for $150 on CL. I just needed to replace the hose.
If you go with oxy buy your tanks and if you do not use it often make sure they give you newer if not new tanks. Tanks do not expire but they have to be inspected, I think every 5 or 10 years.and when to take them back and they will try to charge you extra.

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Hmm, haven't seen that one before. Looks pretty sweet, does it last a while on the 5.0 battery? I've got like three 5.0s and have considered trying one of their bigger batteries, but the 5.0s last forever in my impacts
Haven't used it enough to know how far the 5.0 goes. What I do know is that it cuts faster, smoother and quieter than any 4.5" cutoff wheel I have ever used.
 
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I am not sure if the M18 Sawzall or the 4.5 grinder is my next purchase. I am also not sure how Milwaukee is doing it but their saws rip. In prepping for doing the MCE fenders I watched a couple vids off guys struggle with cutoff wheels and knew there was a better way. Diablo metal blade and about the same time it is taking me to type this and it was cut.

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Wait for the new 4.5/5" low profile head M18 Fuel grinder that is about to be released. I have a couple of those jigsaws. Great tool.
 
Haven't used it enough to know how far the 5.0 goes. What I do know is that it cuts faster, smoother and quieter than any 4.5" cutoff wheel I have ever used.
Now you're gonna make my buy one damn it... Quieter would definitely be nice, I'm deaf enough as it is.
 
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I use the shit out of my plasma cutter. It’s indispensable for cutting body panels. I also use it for cutting stuff that my chop saw can’t handle. That being said I’m a big fan of my metabo 4.5” with a sait cutoff wheel. Next on my wish list is a band saw.
 
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Here's a metal plate cutting shear I made. It can cut up to 1/4" plate about 6" long. The problem with this kind of hand operated shear is that it has to be bolted to something. On a bench the handle is way too high and to the floor you'll be tripping over it. I made a mobile stand for it and attached a 1,500 lb. trailer tongue jack to it. It can be driven by drill or impact driver with a 3/4" socket. It makes a clean cut pretty quickly. Full disclosure, I sold it to a friend because I had done what I wanted with it and wasn't using it enough to justify the space it took up.

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I have a corded sawzall. Is the upgrade to cordless worth it? I don't normally use it because it kinda sucks to use.

Currently on the short list is a jigsaw and another grinder. I still only have one. Old porter cable corded. Damn thing keeps kicking though. It's ground fiberglass, steel, ceramic tile, concrete, wood, cut miles of steel, and it works just like the day it was new.
 
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I have a corded sawzall. Is the upgrade to cordless worth it? I don't normally use it because it kinda sucks to use.

Currently on the short list is a jigsaw and another grinder. I still only have one. Old porter cable corded. Damn thing keeps kicking though. It's ground fiberglass, steel, ceramic tile, concrete, wood, cut miles of steel, and it works just like the day it was new.
For me, it’s both. I have corded and cordless grinders. If I’m doing a small quick job, I definitely pull out the cordless. Can’t beat the convenience. But if I'm doing a big job, say hacking off axle mounts, I always go for the corded. Much more power, and no stopping to swap batteries every 5 or 10 minutes.

Same for cordless vs. corded drills, routers, etc.

I don’t have a cordless sawzaw, but I do have a corded version. My guess is I would treat that the same way.

Different strokes. I guess it‘s personal choice based on how you use the tools most of the time.
 
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My Hypertherm 105 (plasma) clocked 4.2hrs in a 10 day yesterday. It is a money maker for me. Monday I switch to oxy/fuel (lp) and my production drops to probably 1.8-2hrs of cut time over 10hrs. The pierce speed on 3/4" using Plaz is 1.5 seconds, oxy/fuel is 15 seconds per pierce. So, one inner and outer cut using oxy is 1/2 a minute per part compared to 3 seconds.

For my setup, 3/4" is where the trade off using plaz and oxy/fuel meet. The IPM's are almost the same but Oxy will give a better cut than plaz. Under 3/4" and plaz is a clear winner with quality and speed and post clean up time.

I get that plaz is not useful for everyone and the investment is steep but I sure like mine.