Cutting 'large' stock

Wheat.Millington

Wheat.Millington

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I'm a beginner machinist and I've been scavenging for cheap or free round stock everywhere I can, and have scored quite a bit including some bigger (by my standards) pieces - for example some 50mm stainless and some 75mm machining steel. I have no simple way to cut this stock. At the moment I'm spending more time than I'd like behind a hacksaw. It seems unreasoanble to cut such large amounts with a grinder, like I'm probably going to cost myself a lot of money in cut off discs. I might try my reciprocating saw but not sure how long a blade will last on big steel pieces?

So before I go out and invest in some cutting machinery, does anyone have any advice? I stupidly passed up the chance to buy a horizontal band saw cheaply at a recent auction, ugh.
 
An abrasive saw is cheap, miserable and messy but it beats a hacksaws. I used one for years before I brought a Wellsaw bandsaw.

A decent horizontal band saw is a BIG step up from an abrasive saw and can usually be tuned to make pretty accurate cuts.

A dry saw (spins at about 1500 rpm and uses a circular carbide blade to cut steel) is another nice saw and a pretty good alternative to a band saw for most cuts. A band saw will usually handle bigger stock than a dry saw. I have a mitering dry saw which is great for good mitered joints on tubing, but I usually use the band saw on solid stock.

A cold saw (spins a large HSS blade at couple hundred rpm and is usually used with coolant) is nice, expensive and usually keeps a really accurate angle.

A sawzall blade never lasted very long for me but I am impatient and probably always applied too much force.

Sometimes old automatic hacksaws come along for good prices which is also a respectable option.
 
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I routinely use a 4.5" or a 7" angle grinder with a cut-off disk in it to cut large bar stock (2-4"). There is no way I would use a hacksaw while I still have this option. The trick is to let the disk do the work and to not bind it (does the term "exploding disk" mean anything to you?).
 
clough42 (youtube) listed his harbor freight el cheapo horizontal bandsaw at a cost of just over $200 (using a readily available 20% off coupon) as one of his top 10 must have shop items. I upgraded to a swivel head horizontal bandsaw after using one of the HF ones for years. Just bite the bullet. Or give up machining now ;)
 
A 7-1/4" abrasive disk for metal in s circular saw works too. I cut 15" of 7/8" steel plate in about fifteen minutes. About a third of the disk was consumed on the process. I cut some 3/4" aluminum plate with my reciprocating saw once. Never again. I have cut heavy plate with my horizontal band saw in the vertical position. With a littlr ingenuity, you can cut some outsized pieces.
 
rabler said:
clough42 (youtube) listed his harbor freight el cheapo horizontal bandsaw at a cost of just over $200 (using a readily available 20% off coupon) as one of his top 10 must have shop items. I upgraded to a swivel head horizontal bandsaw after using one of the HF ones for years. Just bite the bullet. Or give up machining now ;)
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I wish those kinds of crazy cheap tools were available in NZ, but they're not. I'd have to pay considerably more than that to buy new.
 
Wheat.Millington said:
I wish those kinds of crazy cheap tools were available in NZ, but they're not. I'd have to pay considerably more than that to buy new.
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Well, look at it this way. The first time you need to cut a piece of stock in 1/2 to make two pieces, and you only have 3mm of extra for saw kerf and cleanup, the horizontal bandsaw looks really attractive. ;)

Don’t expect this group to convince you you don’t need a new toy. Lol
 
I put the 4x6 horizontal/vertical (HF and many others) in the top 5 essentials. They come up frequently on CL here in the U.S. for under $150, sometimes for as little as $50. Get serious, get one.

edit: see they bring more in NZ

Trade Me

www.trademe.co.nz www.trademe.co.nz
 
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Winegrower said:
Fair warning: There is no way around a horizontal bandsaw. You're sunk without one. Then, you're going to want a vertical bandsaw. Switching to stamp collecting is still an option.
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MrWhoopee said:
I put the 4x6 horizontal/vertical (HF and many others) in the top 5 essentials. They come up frequently on CL here in the U.S. for under $150, sometimes for as little as $50. Get serious, get one.
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Agree with Winegrower and Mr Whoopee, the sooner you accept the fact you are going to need a small horizontal bandsaw the happier you will be. I say this as someone who resisted under the impression I didn't have the space for one. I tried several different options all of which were unsatisfying before finally giving in and buying a 4x6". Only regret was not doing it sooner.

The 3x5" and 4x6" (over there I guess 76x127mm and 102x153mm) horizontal bandsaws are ubiquitous and should be relatively inexpensive since most come out of China.
 
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