Shop tip....cheap alternative to a bandsaw

Matt Shade

Matt Shade

Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
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Campbell and Hausfield makes an air powered cut off tool that runs about $30. It takes a 3 inch cut off disk and works great. The disks are thin kerf and made of woven fiber glass. They do a hell of alot of cutting before they wear out.
I used one today to cut out both liners ( .040 SS) and a folder blade ( from 1/8"x1 1/4" ATS34) . It took about fifteen minutes to cut the blade to length, and cut off all the big chunks, corners,etc. for profiling. It took less than five to knock out two rectangle shaped peices of the .040" stock and trim them to rough shape.
If you go at it in light passes back and forth it doesn't even burn enough to notice. You can de burr the edges with one pass on the fine wheel of a bench grinder. I was really surprised how well it worked.

And theres no worrying about types of saw blades,open or closed motors, tracking and all the other hassles. :D
 
Matt, I mounted an abrasive cut off wheel on my 1750RPM buffer. Its very unsafe though (no wheel guard), so I don't like to use it. (Don't try this at home.) I'm waiting to buy a abrasive chop saw with wheel guards.
 
Do not have any part of your body inline with the wheel. When those things break (and they do break), the speed with which they are traveling is enough to put it square in the middle of your brain.

And use LOTS AND LOTS of protection. Even a glancing piece can send you to the ER.
 
Just a word of warning from an old Autobody Repair man. Those cut off wheels spin at anywhere from 20,000-28,000 RPM. (That's right 28,000 RPM, in other words...Holy Crap speed!!) )ANYTHING that gets in its path will be sliced off, lickety split. I once got a tad to close with a heavy work glove and it ripped through the cloth like it wasn't even there, luckily I just barely touched the glove with the disk, or I would be minus a finger.

Be very careful.
 
I use a .062x6"on a bench grinder for splitting the end geometry on end mills, as well as for renewing the chipbreakers in spade drills.
It is also used for general cut off duties on tool steel.

I haven't had one break apart on me yet, and it is run at the standard 3500 RPM. I am very careful, but sometimes it does get caught in the work, and either kicks back the tool I'm working on, or it just stops the grinder. If you use this type of setup, only use high quality cut off wheels (I use only Norton), and make sure it is mounted with large arbors for stability.

As for the die grinder cut off wheels, I use them only for light cutting work, as they are quite dangerous at the normal 20,000 to 28,000 RPM.

A better alternative is to get a cut off saw (chop saw), or get a table saw equipped with a metal cutting blade.

Better yet, save your cash, and get a small bandsaw. The right tool for the job cannot be stressed enough as far as safety is concerned. Safety is ALWAYSjob number one.
 
This is not a Die Grinder with a cut off wheel. Its a tool made only for cutting. Its has a full steel shroud that covers about 190degrees around the back and sides of the disk.It runs at 22,000 rpm at 90 psi. I like to keep it at about 60 psi becauise it hardly burns the steel at that speed. The wheels, are not the big thick fiber wheels like masonry wheels and the ones for the big chop saws that can shatter easily.Its made of glass fibers that are woven clear through from one side to the other and are very tough. They're 3" in diameter amd thin enough that they don't bind up very easily.
If you clamp the peice your cutting in a vice and hold the tool with both hands there is very little chance of you getting hurt. I really recomend that you guys take a look at them if you have an air compressor but can't afford a bandsaw. At this point I don't think I'll buy a bandsaw unless I find a good deal on one.
A cut off wheel on a buffer or grinder sounds scary :eek: Please be careful.
 
Originally posted by Fox Creek
What ever happened to the good old hacksaw?
Click to expand...

Me and my very sore and tired arms were just wondering the same thing...

A bandsaw would be nice, but as long as I cant afford one I work under manual power...
I still even use files to "grind" blades a lot...
*shrugs* maybe if I ever sell sumthin I can charge more for it cause of work time...lmao...
 
Matt

What you are using is essentially a die grinder with a guard.

I own two of them, as well as a die grinder without the metal guards.

They all use the same type of cut off wheels, different than what I use on my pedestal (bench) grinder.

They are ALL dangerous if used improperly. I'm glad to hear you are running only 60 PSI into it. They are made for light duty cut off work, mainly in body & fender repair. (Read: thin gage metals)

My point was that those type of cutters are slow, and inefficient, and VERY dangerous if not careful. I think you have a great idea, just please be careful.

Save your money for a bench type bandsaw....you'll be glad you did in the long run, and you'll be using the proper tool for the job.
 
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