suspect you would be better off putting money towards a metal bandsaw eg the H80 from Chester (currently at ?195) tho might well be ‘pre loved’ machines elsewhere – would mean you could take slices from larger + thicker bars etc

Hi

A use a 1.5 mm thick blade with flood coolant and a slow and smooth feed rate.

Take 3 to 6 MM depth of cut with about 30 metres a minute tip speed.

On a vertical spindle mill you are very restricted in the size of the work piece you can handle.

Depending on how much you will use it a bandsaw is fine if if you can afford the cost and the space.

A small power hacksaw will be cheaper with a smaller foot print.

Eric

Hi Iain

After getting the right size MT shank you need to consider the saw hole diameter for the range you are looking at. Slitting saws are available with hole diameters from 6mm upwards, most popular for ME work are the 5/8" and 1" or metric equivalents. Outside diameters are from 2" up to 6", I use mainly 3" because I bought a box of many different thicknesses years ago, these are 5/8" bore.

When considering the outside diameter to buy remember the inner hole plus some allowance has to be made for driving the blade so the depth of cut is lessened by a good amount but a 4" blade should cut the thickness mentioned in your post. Thin blades are prone to running off line, especially if there is a lot of unsupported blade or if you "rush" the cut. As Frances says you may be better to go for a mechanical saw of some kind.

Should have looked at the type of machine you have first as it does not appear to have a draw bar facility, if this is the case I wouldn't recommend using a slitting saw on the machine in case the side load releases the MT with dire results.

Emgee

Edited By Emgee on 16/03/2016 21:05:18

Even with the correct blade for cutting metal, I think you will find the blade tip speed too fast for cutting metal…..what speed is your machine spinning the blade at?

I have a Rage Evolution 2 mitre saw that has a 355 mm blade, it runs at 1400rpm, I also have a Rage 3 Pro with a 255mm blade, that runs at 2500rpm…..

Edited By John Rudd on 16/03/2016 21:30:50

Hi Ian

It is possible to fit an abrasive blade to to ferrous metals on your chop saw.

Down side is lots of sparks with a fire risk with lots mess and with burned edges on the workpiece.

Eric

Iain,

Try using proper slitting discs in your angle grinder. I was introduced to them a few years back and have been using them ever since to chop stock bar material into lengths for the lathe. The thinnest disc is only 1mm so the wastage is about the same as a kaksaw (yep I did write that) and they walk through most materials but normal eye goggles etc recommended.

To get straighter cuts with a hand hack saw try using "all hard" blades. I can not cut straight with the flexible bi metal ones but get reasonable results with the all hard versions.

It's far from impossible to build a power hacksaw from scrap metal and a 1/4 hp motor from an old washing machine, it is handy to have a welder to stick it together, and a power hacksaw to cut up the steel, I had one that I built until I bought a band saw.

Ian S C