Best way to cut stock to size

Cheap way is a 4.5 inch angle grinder with a 1mm blade in ...will slice through in no time

The cheap chinese 4x6 bandsaws will also do it easily

My son has one of the cheap "Evolution" chop saws from Screwfix (very cheap - 110V in their sale was half price) with a TCT blade that will cut timber as well as metal (although remember to remove any sawdust from the bag before cutting steel). Works OK although the clamping seems to have been designed for partitioning etc. so it doesn't hold smaller materials or round bar that well - making a vice for it is on the "to do" list.

Angle grinder,with a 1mm disc, it also has lots of other uses e.g. wire brush,grinding discs,sanding discs etc, apart from cutting the angle iron all the burrs and sharp edges can be removed with a heavy grit sanding disc,or rust removed with a wire wheel, I have half a dozen angle grinders it saves time by not having to change the discs,wire brushes. etcI have a power hacksaw,large industrial bandsaw ,mill etc ,but it is surprising how often I use an angle grinder,buying cheapie saws is not recommended they are really not up to the job.

I have a blackgates power hacksaw but a 1mm cutting disk in the angle grinder is my weapon of choice for steel - it will melt through 3-4mm thick angle like butter, gentle pressure only.

The hacksaw is great, fits on my bench top and stowes out of the way, but its a steady job - 10 minutes for your average cut through a solid bar or angle. just about the right amount of time to go and do something else. The longest and biggest cut I've ever done, was a 60mm solid round EN16 shaft (times 10!) each cut was around 50 minutes with gentle pressure (weights on the handle) - I wouldn't image a single 1mm cutting disk would get through that

Would have thought it would have been more economical on material and effort to buy Flat of 4mm thickness by whatever width.

Regards Ian.

Agreed, a slitting saw also does a quick accurate job when you need it that good, but the bandsaw is the chopmaster, it is quite roomy though in the spatial department.

Michael W

Circlip may be right but it might help if the poster indicated how much needs to be cut off (or left on).

Hacksaw to length and slitting saw for the long cuts.

Alternative is to buy a Femi 780XL or 782XL bandsaw which will cut to length and the accesory table so you can use it as a vertical bandsaw to make the 200mm long cuts.

Edited By JasonB on 19/12/2016 16:21:15

"angle grinder with 1mm cutting disc"

Handy indeed but throws nasty gritty sparks everywhere and is noisy. In a small workshop may be less practical. Also, angle grinders (especially with thin blades) are potentially 'scary' if you're not confident and firm of hand and arm. Any sort of saw is a lot quieter, cleaner and more controlled, if slower...

Edited By Bikepete on 19/12/2016 23:49:28

Plus one for an angle grinder and the Aldi stand. The later is really neat, and ridiculously cheap, but could treated as a casting to make something very flash from. Then disks are also cheap enough at the moment.

Slightly alarmed at the thought of anyone using this inside their workshop. Sparks really fly, so it's strictly an outside job in my book.

Grinder in a little workshop is a recipe for disaster. The sparks embed themselves in things really easily, like the bed of your lathe and the table of your mill. They are maybe ok in a rough as arseholes fabrication shop where that type of thing is of little consequence. Even then, maybe not. Definitely not for a precision tooling environment in my opinion.

I used to have a 12" De Walt "abrasive chop saw"; basically a big grinder on a stand. It used to scare the living shit out of me. I used to use it while wondering what would happen if the disc burst. So I sold it to a guy at a local small fabrication firm and I put the money towards getting a Taiwan I think made horizontal bandsaw. It does a great job, it's quiet and no sparks!

An angle grinder stand only holds the grinder so it is square to the job. Sparks still fly. I use a couple of sheets of plywood to surround the area where I am grinding to restrict the area of flying particles. Still a messy process.

A chop saw or small band saw (unless you can use it in vertical mode) will have problems making long cuts along the length of the angle.

Making long straight cuts by hand takes a bit of skill keeping the grinder on line.  I have clamped a piece of flat bar to the plate being cut as a guide for the grinder wheel. (like you draw a straight line with a pencil and rule).  A light cut along the guide first (not all of the way thru) followed by deeper cuts.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 20/12/2016 08:45:00

You should be able to see your line when grinding, start the cut on the end of the line nearest to you and work along the cut away from you, most sparks will go down through the work this way and behind the remaining line.

Should be able to keep within a Sharpie line like that. Both these cuts were started from the edge and worked towards where they join. One hand holding grinder other to steady work.

Hi, wonderful thing is the 4 1/2" angle grinder and thin cutting discs. I cannot see what's scary about them, but I have used them for many years and have probably used well over a thousand or two thin discs. Couple of photos of some profiles that I cut at work today, using 75mm x 6mm flat steel bar.

On the first photo the R/H cut along its length had to be plunge cut to start the cutting process, but the one on the left was started from the L/H edge and the short cut on the R/H side was cut from the R/H edge after I repositioned the G clamp. The cut in the second photo also had to be plunge cut to start with. All these cuts were done totally freehand and just following a scribed line. A quick tickle with a flap disc, soon dressed them up nicely.

The important thing about using cutting discs, is to allow the disc to do the work. You will need a little pressure applied to the disc, but not so much to significantly slow the speed of the grinder down. Putting to much pressure on the disc causes it to wear away much faster and generate heat and the actual cutting process becomes slower. All the cutting on both of these pieces was done with just one disc with a still usable diameter left on the disc.

Regards Nick.

As to spark damage, never ever point the spray of sparks at any glass, they will melt in even if not still glowing.

Chopsaws and angle grinders make the most godawful noise and you get abrasive dust everywhere. And cheap and nasty examples make an even godawfuller noise. I bought a giant Xmas cracker quality chopsaw a few years back and got rid of it in a garage sale after only using it a couple of times and almost crapping myself.

I have a 4x6 bandsaw myself and would recommend them. If you could get one new for under £200 or used for £100 or so, it's not a big investment.

Like Brian_G, I've heard good things about the Evolution Rage thingies. They are only(?) £100 and seem to be pretty effective. I'd consider one of them if I didn't have a band saw, particularly if I also played with The Brown Stuff.

Murray