And tips on a better cutting blade for cutting metal in my chop saw? I am using the standard compo site blades from HD but it really sparks and takes forever to cut. Is there a better blade? I recently watch a program where the guy cut a steel tube like butter with a chop saw but the blade looked like a metal blade with no teeth?

 

tarponslayer,

There are tooth type blades available for steel but they are very expensive and you need a chop saw with lots of power.

You might want to go to an industrial supplier to purchase a top line blade.
You will pay more, but it would outlast the ones you are now using.

Another thing to consider is to go to 3/32" thickness wheels if you are now using 1/8".
You do get some slight drifting of the wheel when cutting thick material but these wheels cut with much less effort.

Also, cut off saws that are inexpensive tend to have low cutting power which causes the wheel to slow down when applying a bit of pressure to the cut.

 

A portable bandsaw also does a nice job cutting, and it should cut almost anything that will fit into a chop saw.

I have seen tradesmen use a regular miter box saw with a metal cutting (carbide tipped, not abrasive) blade. Metal cutting carbide tipped blades are different from carbide tipped wood cutting blades.

 

The cold saws are expensive, as are the blades for them. I'm thinking about $500 for the saw and $100 per blade. Lowe's was closing out a name-brand saw at a great price with an abrasive blade. Since I make these kind of cuts infrequently and already have a torch, the price was right.
Yes; the cut does slow down across a flat section, but I would use a $300 portaband just as infrequently.

 

I am having problems following this thread or offering advise because of the terminology. I don't know what a "compo site" blade is referring to - brand name??. I am happy to see a lot of sparks when using an abrasive blade.

I never use the term chop saw because some people call woodworking miter saws chop saws. Many people call an abrasive saw a chop saw. Now, IBM brings up cold saws and the ones that I have used cost a lot more than that. They have recirculating coolant running on the blade, they spin at very slow speeds (you can touch your finger against the spinning blade); and a good deal on a low end cold saw I would guess is over 2,000.00. I've used 5,000.00 cold saws (semi-automatic and variable speed); prices go higher than that.

I think Danski probably saw tradesman cutting non-ferrous metal (aluminum, copper, or brass) with a woodworking miter saw. I've seen people ruin good non-ferrous blades in a miter saw by trying to cut steel with it.

 

Sorry it should say "composite" like a blade used in a cut off grinder. I use a high speed Craftsman Compound mitre saw with a 10" blade. It has the power but I think a thinner composite blade is the answer. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Yes, the correct (ferrous or non-ferrous) blade must be used.