cutting steel....

Torches and the required tanks are untouchable for a hobby guy here so I've taken to using an angle grinder and cutoff discs (10 4 inch discs for 3 bucks)... You folks have creative ways or did you just spring for the torches???

I use the cut off wheels too, they are handy and require less skill
than torches which is nice for someone like me.
Zach

For the thin stuff I use the cutoffs, but buy 6 inch ones, sometimes have to use 4 inch but like using 6's, better have a longer grinder and always use gloves. chris

What ever happened to those hand held steel chop saws? Looked just like a Skilsaw.

I have used the appropriate wheels in my Craftsman 10 inch radial arm saw. Gotta be careful you don't go too fast and jam it, but cuts angle iron, etc. pretty quickly, and nice accurate straight edges. I've thought about rigging a threaded rod to get some precision in pulling it along, but have not actually figured out how to do it.

Also have a power hacksaw that I got for 50 bucks at a garage sale- that works well, too.

Dave look at either John Deere dealers or anyplace that sell milwaukee tools. Both of these brands have a metal cutting saw that looks like a skilsaw with a shield so the hot "sawdust" doesn't burn you. These saws have blades that look similar to a skilsaw blade but are rather expensive approx. $100.. That being said they work amazingly well. The saws were approx 3-400 with a blade and worth every penny in my opinion. I bought a $2500 plasma cutter and the saws are quicker and easier for a straight cut. I have cut semi frame rails to stretch a truck and it is like cutting a 2x6 with a wood skillsaw.

AN old neighbor gave me a stack of cut off wheels. The factory he worked at would use them till they were 12 inches in diameter then throw em out. I use em in a 7 or 9 inch angle grinder. The wheels cut great, they are thinner than a chop saw blade and reinforced.
The neighbor has probably used hundreds of them and me about fifty.

10 years ago I bought a 14" cutoff saw at HF. I know how you all feel about it but I use it almost daily and its still working. Used it for about 30 cuts today. As far as the torch goes. My dad had one and I really don't ever remember not having one.I have replaced the hoses a couple of times and the occasional tip will get bad beyond easy repair but I don't think I could do without it. Too many uses from heating rusted nuts, to expanding bearings or collars, to extricating horses from pipe fences. Have welding tips of 6 different sizes, 4 different cutting tips, and a rosebud for heating. That's a last resort. Talk about expensive to light! WOO!!!! Never timed it but I think I could burn up a tank of acetylene in about 30 minutes. But as with everything, getting what you want with a torch is a matter of practice and a lot of scrap in the back pile.

your getting a pretty good deal on the cutoff wheels, sounds like the way to go. Thats what I use now that I'm retired, sometimes I miss the equipment that I could use when I was working!

Hey dave, why cant you get torches there? I do a bit of metal work and I dont think I could operate without a acetalyne (sp) torch, Did you ever check into a plasma cutter, all you need is electricity and compressed air.

(quoted from post at 17:56:15 01/07/12) Hey dave, why cant you get torches there? I do a bit of metal work and I dont think I could operate without a acetalyne (sp) torch, Did you ever check into a plasma cutter, all you need is electricity and compressed air.

Click to expand...

don't wanna afford it for occassional use...

I don"t know what part of the torch setup is expensive there, but a propane cutting torch at least lets you get away from the cost of the acetylene. Another thing I had to do before the days of a cutting torch was to cut with a welder. I found it best to use 6010 or 6011 (other rods will work) at a high amp setting. I use kind of a sawing action where you dive in, go through, back out, and go again. Practice makes it easier.

A 12" disc on a 7" or 9" grinder is asking for trouble, especially cutting your fingers off because the wheel is too big. I highly doubt they're rated for 6000 RPM either. Cheap cut off wheels of the proper size are just that, cheap cut off wheels. Get some some good Zip Cut disc's from Walter and although they cost more, will last longer, cut faster and most importantly be a much better value in the long run. You can do a lot with a grinder but a torch is a mighty handy tool to have around.

Plasma Torch, Miller and others are fine and not
costly to operate or finance to begin with, Air and
electricity is it. consumables are cheap. Jim

What thickness.

Come on. Dave everyone knows a torch is the first major
tool a shop needs. A small carry torch do not cost more
than a cut off saw. Ours is propane and. I equalize it from
big bottles.

dave2 send me an email and I will relate a price for
a complete setup for oxy/ace from harbor freight
less tanks. Am an inside track member and can get
it for cheaper than advertised price.

Leonard

dave2 send me an email and I will relate a price for
a complete setup for oxy/ace from harbor freight
less tanks. Am an inside track member and can get
it for cheaper than advertised price.

Leonard

(quoted from post at 20:02:01 01/07/12) dave2 send me an email and I will relate a price for
a complete setup for oxy/ace from harbor freight
less tanks. Am an inside track member and can get
it for cheaper than advertised price.

Leonard

Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer but it's the price of the tanks here and a different insurance I'd have to have to keep them on the place that just don't make them worth it.....

Have to agree with janickleson,

Plasma the way to go. Just a medium sized air compressor and a 220 power source. Many pros to it Smooth cut, can handle almost as soon as cut.
( don't get so hot)

( ya can't handle material without burning through your gloves when it is still red hot like a torch )

Plasma cutting don't do that .

Milwalkie, or even Harbor frieght, has Porta band saws that are hand held saws that walk thru steel fast, and make no sparks, to get in your eyes. Will cit 4 inch material, with good square cuts, and no slag to grind off. I still keep the 4" cutting wheels around, but rarely use them!

Plasma cutter is the way to go. should not be hard to find a good one. They are on Craiglist all the time in my area.
example

You can do an awful lot with a hacksaw, cold chisel,
and a file if you know how to use tools.

Abrasive wheels are for hardened steel as in shafts etc. Saws and torches for mild fabricating steel, as in angle iron, sheet and square.

Bought a cutoff saw from HF afew years ago, and we use it more than a torch for most jobs. Got the 'high priced' model, and it's a lot quicker and cheaper than a heat wrench. TSC has a sale on them right now, too---

a) My #1 cutting tool is cut off wheel in a 4.5 inch handheld grinder. This is indispensable on any repair based work. Will cut hardened metal or mild steel.
b) Electric sawz-all is probably my number #2 used most cutter as it can fit small places - useful on wood too.
c) #3 mosted used cutter is a small 3" zizz wheel in either an electric die-grinder or air die grinder.
d) #4 cutter is a jig saw on thin stuff - again useful for wood too.
e) I also have a cheap 14" chop saw and it is useful for cutting new stock or angles when building large projects from scratch which I rarely do. Really it is useless for most repair based work and I could easily do without it.
e) I also use the electric arc welder to cut metal and to pierce holes in metal using 6011 rods. Cuts are not plasma quality but very useable with a little clean-up and cost is nearly nothing - electricity only.
f) For heating metal I again use the electric arc welder and a twin carbon arc torch to heat metal for bending, brazing, freeing rusted nuts, and silver soldering. Again cost is almost nothing - electricity. FWIW: twin carbon arc has more btu potential if desired than even oxy/acet.

FWIW: I actually do own a large Smith Oxy/Acetylene torch that I inherited from my Dad when he passed. I retired it years ago when the last tank lease expired. I simply got tired of paying the high dollar tank leases and the cost of the gas was expensive then - but it is much worse in cost now. Plus the gas would always run out when you needed it most and could not get it refilled. I literally have not missed it one bit as I have other alternatives to do every task for me that the torch could do. Some people need oxy/acet, but I am simply not one of them.

Plasma would be nice, but I do not do enough curved shapes to justify owning it. I can easily make do with other alternatives that I already own.

darn it - double post

darned again - triple post