Cutting Square or Squaring Up

2510Paul

Well-known Member
Does anyone have any neat tools or methods to cut an item off square or squaring up an item that was not cut off square.

I have a Milwaukee hand held band saw that I do most of my steel sawing with. Try as I may my cuts of 2x2" tubing and such is not real square.

I have a floor standing drill press and a bench grinder. I don't have a benchtop or free standing band saw on a hinge.

Today I got out my Sears Craftsman benchtop sander. It has a wheel with sandpaper glued to it and a small table next to it. I had some success squaring up some spacers I made out of 1" black pipe.

Is there some form of a small milling machine I should consider? Other ideas?

Thanks.

Paul
 

Hey paul
If I'm doing any round stock.. I either score it or cut it with pipe cutters...if it's tubing, just cut on thru...

For square or rect tubing I use a tri-square and score it on all 4 edges and 'try' to follow my marks... sometimes I do it too !!!

john
 

Cutting it square in the first place is the answer... A Harbor freight horizontal band saw would be better than trying to cut tubing square by hand. 2x2 would be no problem and with a little tune up and TLC the Harbor Freight can be made to cut square.

I have an old WellSaw that gets used more than I thought it ever would when I bought it.
 
I think there are stands available to turn your hand held Milwaukee band saw into the drop type with hinge. It has a small vice to hold your work piece.
 
On square stock, I cut almost all the way thru the first side. I then back it out and turn it ninety degrees and follow the first cut across the tube. If the band saw table and blade are set properly and is cutting correctly, it is as close to straight as I can get it.
 
If your band saw is not cutting square the likely cause is cheap blades. My Ellis band saw cost over $2500 20 years ago so it is a high quality saw by most standards, but it will cut crooked if you put a cheap blade in it. Buy quality blades from a real blade supplier and you should get nice cuts.

If you go to a stop saw the way to square cuts is to get one with a case base. I have a dewalt with the steel base a d it won't cut decent. The motor is great, but the pressed steel base flexes.
 
A bandsaw just isn't known for accuracy. Are we talking about cutting wood or metal?. For squaring wood I made a T Square for use with a hand held circular saw. It will square wood better than anything I have. I often square the ends of door panels with that and then cut them to length on a table saw.
 
Depends on what you are doing...

An abrasive type chop saw is good for structural tubing, weld up projects. It is cheap, fast, somewhat accurate, some will miter. But it's nasty to operate, leaves a burned edge, not too good for thick, solid pieces.

A horizontal band saw is another option. Makes a cleaner cut, again, only somewhat accurate. A lot depends on the quality, condition, and feed/speed of the blade. Get everything right and it will cut fairly well. The blades are fragile though, easy to burn or break the teeth.

About the only really accurate saw is a "cold saw". A slow turning, high torque, liquid cooled miter saw. They are expensive though, getting started will set you back $1500-2000.

To truly get a machined square piece, you will need a mill. Again, it gets expensive. You can find Chinese, table top mills starting around $800, but then you need tooling. It adds up quick, and you won't have much capacity at that level. Finding an old Bridgeport with tooling would be a better route if you have the room and need.
 
When I want to cut something square I put masking tape all the way around it and follow the edge of the tape. Pipefitters use a piece of stiff paper called a wrap around.
 
I worked at a fab shop that had an ancient 24" disc sander set up with pretty rough sheets of closed coat abrasive. Touching up the ends of a band sawed piece of 3x3 square tubing was a fast way to make it very square. Been looking for a used one ever sice.
 
You can get a 15 inch metal blade chop saw for $325.00. That is a very good unit,we sell one about every 6 to 8 weeks in a small market. I really need to sell my Milwaukee abrasive and buy one myself.
 
you are using the wrong tool for the job. Look up an Evolution RAGE 2 carbide chop saw. It's similar to an abrasive chop saw but doesn't throw sparks. Does throw hot sharp chips. Must wear face shield, maybe ear muffs, cuts steel, aluminum, plastic, wood at accurate angles, vice is adjustable for angle. Blade lasts for hundreds of cuts. No burrs, smooth weld ready accurate cuts. I had a 4"?6" bandsaw that would not cut square. Haven't touched it since I got the Evolution. Haven't touched my abrasive chop saw either. Home Depot has them on sale for $187. Better hurry!
 
(quoted from post at 05:44:56 10/03/17) If your band saw is not cutting square the likely cause is cheap blades. My Ellis band saw cost over $2500 20 years ago so it is a high quality saw by most standards, but it will cut crooked if you put a cheap blade in it. Buy quality blades from a real blade supplier and you should get nice cuts.

If you go to a stop saw the way to square cuts is to get one with a case base. I have a dewalt with the steel base a d it won't cut decent. The motor is great, but the pressed steel base flexes.

A Ellis will ware out a 100 cheap $300 saws. My first one was a Jet I brought in the early 80's new worn it slap out then went to a chop saw they are OK but they make a mess. Found a used Ellis for $300 spent a couple hundred on it and it cuts good as new plus it has a adjustment for about everything... If I had payed attention all I would have needed was new drive pulleys later on I found the adjustment to correct the off center cuts it made and probably why they sold it.

The best part is they can be used horizontal and vertical I use it more vertical than horizontal .
 
Fred, I worked at a shop that had one of those big sanding discs.

One of the men got his hand caught in it, between the disc and the table.

I didn't see it, said his fingers and back of his hand were down to the bone in a split second!

They got rid of the machine the next day!
 
Thanks to all of you for your responses. I was very pleased with all the different comments. It made me feel I was not the only one that is or had dealt with this issue.

I will be looking at the Evolution Rage 2, Ellis, and other similar products.

Thanks again.

Paul
 
Better reviews on this Makita.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-15-Amp-12-in-Corded-Metal-Cutting-Cut-off-Chop-Saw-with-Carbide-Blade-LC1230/203162039

Yes, more money.

Paul
 
But for $40.00 more you can buy a 15 inch instead of the 10 inch. No fight, just saying.
 
You didn't read the specifications on the Evolution Rage II did you? It has a 14 (fourteen) inch blade.

Evolution's US headquarters are at the Intersection of Interstate 80 and Northwest Blvd in Davenport, Iowa. Evolution is a British company.
 
For round pipe and I suppose even square could be cut in a lathe. I cut some spacers with the lathe for spools for my trailer a few years ago.
 

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