Metal cutting Circular saw..... Pics

A cousin of mine brought by a present the other day... a circular saw that is "supposed" to slice through 1/8" steel like butter.
He bought two of them, one for me and one for him to cut metal siding for out buildings.
I said, hmmmmm, Thanks, I'll give it a try and let you know. I was a little skeptical....

WELL, I tried it today and it really does buzz right through 1/8" steel just like you were cutting wood. The cut was super smooth and the saw worked perfect! The only bad thing was the fine metal shavings that hit me in the face and arms.

Here's the saw on Amazon.. http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-RAGE.../dp/B004QX7P1Y

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d8...t/IMAG1949.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d8...t/IMAG1948.jpg

And the cut.....
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d8...t/IMAG1947.jpg

Neat. Not a bad price for something with a 15 amp motor. Definitely wear a full face shield or at least goggles that seal off top, bottom and sides. Be careful!

Noticed in the description:

A blade can cut up to 165 feet of 1/4" mild steel before a replacement is required.

How much for a replacement blade? Is it like razors where they sell the handle below cost so you continue to buy the blades?

I cut 1/4 aluminum plate on my jet cabinet saw with a Freud Diablo non-ferrous blade. The cuts are super smooth with clean edges. The blades are also available in 7 1/4", ferrous or non-ferrous for use in a regular saw.

The blades are $24 from what my cousin said. He bought these for $79.99 each locally.
Not bad for a freebie!! :)


Not sure if you can throw this blade on Any circular?!? I guess power is the factor

Power and torque. It's got a good 15A. Amazon didn't say how fast the blade is moving.

Can't complain about the price and if it helps get nice straight cuts with no HAZ, you are laughing! :D

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Originally Posted by undercut

Amazon didn't say how fast the blade is moving.

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Sure they did, 3700 RPM.

They have a multi-purpose blade, and a special blade for steel that is a little more.
I would make sure to only use this on a saw with a metal blade guard, not plastic.
They might also have dome something with the cooling to make sure the fan doesn't suck chips into the motor. YMMV
I've been looking for a reason to give one of these a try.

BTW: I could only find non-ferrous on the Freud site. Is the ferrous one a new item?

Nothing new here, have done that with a circularsaw 30+ years ago, any circular saw will do the job if you have the right blade. The are abrasive blades made for metal cutting/ bricks etc, ordinary carbide tipped blades will do thin sheetmetal of all types, like metal sideing or eaves trough etc...the downside is flying chips and the noise..

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

Sure they did, 3700 RPM.

They have a multi-purpose blade, and a special blade for steel that is a little more.
I would make sure to only use this on a saw with a metal blade guard, not plastic.
They might also have dome something with the cooling to make sure the fan doesn't suck chips into the motor. YMMV
I've been looking for a reason to give one of these a try.

BTW: I could only find non-ferrous on the Freud site. Is the ferrous one a new item?

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I couldn't find them on their site either but everyone sells them http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=...0&bih=932&bs=1

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

BTW: I could only find non-ferrous on the Freud site. Is the ferrous one a new item?

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I was in Norther Tool this morning and noticed they have the Freud steel diablo blades in stock with many sizes and tooth counts at around $38.

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Originally Posted by zoama585

I was in Norther Tool this morning and noticed they have the Freud steel diablo blades in stock with many sizes and tooth counts at around $38.

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They also have Norton cutoff wheels in 61/2 & 7 inch dia for 3 bucks,,,if you really need to try this ..on a circular saw..

I have used one for about 15 years now , It is a 7 1/4" Freud on an older Dewalt saw and has never been sharpened , It has cut thru 2" stacks of building tin and up to 3/8" flat bar with no problems. You do need to wear safety glasses that seal around your eyes and protective sleeves because the hot metal does fly around from these blades.

This looks very interesting! I have a 13A skilsaw laying around that could use one of these kinds of blades. Right now I'm using abrasive asphault blades to cut metal. 8" disk for a buck at PrincessAuto. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get the diablo blades instead. Seems to be a price premium but if they last longer then that might be a good deal. Any thoughts on that? Abrasive vs carbide for the hobbyist?

We had a miter saw with carbide blade where I used to work that was used for aluminum. I hated it. The noise was horrendous, the hot chips landing on your arms sucked and it just didn't feel right cutting metal like that.

I also used a circular saw with th eabrasive blade for many years before the PC came to my shop. It made for really smooth straight cuts, but it did take a while to get through 1/2 plate. It throws a lot of particulates too, every time I used it there would be a rather nasty metalic taste in my mouth that lingered for a while.

I also hate the abrasive blades, but that's all I have at the moment. I use a 14" chop saw for that. I do try to remember to wear a respirator to keep from breathing that crap. I would love a cold saw, as I've used them in the past, but the size and price keeps them away. I would like to try one of the newer 14" carbide saws that spin much slower, and claim to cut cool. I mostly cut tubing so a plasma isn't as well suited as a saw, for me. I've used a lot of carbide saws on aluminum and never had much issue, but most had some form of coolant.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

I also hate the abrasive blades, but that's all I have at the moment. I use a 14" chop saw for that. I do try to remember to wear a respirator to keep from breathing that crap. I would love a cold saw, as I've used them in the past, but the size and price keeps them away. I would like to try one of the newer 14" carbide saws that spin much slower, and claim to cut cool. I mostly cut tubing so a plasma isn't as well suited as a saw, for me. I've used a lot of carbide saws on aluminum and never had much issue, but most had some form of coolant.

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Cutting 2'x2' 1/4" 6061 on the cabinet saw doesn't add any noticeable heat and cuts very easy.

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Originally Posted by zoama585

Cutting 2'x2' 1/4" 6061 on the cabinet saw doesn't add any noticeable heat and cuts very easy.

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For aluminum that works great, but it's steel that I'm more interested in. That's where I use the abrasive blade, and would like to switch to something else.

I've never had a problem with the abrasive disks aside from the mess. As long as you don't force them into the metal they won't shoot fuming chunks of firey sleet at you. They're so cheap and work so well that I find it hard to look at something else. At a place I used to work, we cut anywhere from 1/2" to 1" solid bar stock with them. Now they had a bandsaw there too but everybody preferred the disks because it was faster, surprisingly. Straighter custs on bar stock too anyways.

Don't really need a metal cutting circular saw as much as just a blade for my miter. After some reading, I could buy a whole new saw for the price of some of those blades. I'll pass for now and stick with whats been working.

Oh and a little tidbit for those that want a better cut: A lot of the cheaper saws have some far out runout. One way to help with this is to turn down the mandrel hardware included with your saw. I just secured the saw so it won't move and let it free wheel with the mandrel cups exposed but secured and took a sharpening stone to it. True cuts all the time now for 1/5 the price of a finishing saw. If that doesn't work look at replacing the bearings with good allball roller types.

Cheers.

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Originally Posted by cbmkr

You do need to wear safety glasses that seal around your eyes and protective sleeves because the hot metal does fly around from these blades.

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They cut well and spew red hot swarf! These aren't grinder sparks, they are ribbons of orange hot metal. If you have any saw dust lurking in the shop's dark corners - do it outside.

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Originally Posted by blacksmith

They cut well and spew red hot swarf! These aren't grinder sparks, they are ribbons of orange hot metal. If you have any saw dust lurking in the shop's dark corners - do it outside.

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YES... Don't cut in short sleeves!!! YEouch!

or flip flops.... don't ask!