Circular Saw Blade for Steel!

[donpearsall]

This may be old news for experienced metal workers, but I just bought my first circular saw blade for steel. Wow. I was really impressed. I just used my 7 1/4 Hitachi circ. saw, bolted in the blade and ran it through a sheet of 1/8" mild steel like it was wood. No sparks, just lots of little pieces of steel dust that hurt. Up to this I just used a hack saw, jig saw or reciprocating saw with metal blade to cut very crooked lines in steel. Now I can saw steel very accurately in straight lines.

The blade I got was from Lowes and cost about $25. The specs saw it can cut up to 1/2" mild steel. Have not tried it on stainless yet.

Don

[Glen]

Don
Make sure you wear safety glasses and use a face shield. Watch for blade kick back as well.

[manta22]

Don;

Have you tried it on tubing? Who makes it?

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[754]

Manta, they make thenm for chop saws, they work good..
might be more like 70-89 bux.

[donpearsall]

Lowes sells them and I paid about $34 now that I see the receipt. There is no reason why you could not use the blade in a chop saw for tubing. Of course if you want a 10" blade that is going to be more. But if the tubing is not too large you could mount the 7 1/4" one in the saw and use it.

Also I have seen the blades at Harbor Freight for around $20, but the quality and durability has got to be lower. So far I am very happy to use the one I have. I've made about 10 feet of cuts in 1/8" sheet steel and have had no problem.

Don

[manta22]

Thanks for the info-- those look like carbide teeth on the saw blade.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Peter Jack]

Watch the rpm rating on the blade. There may be blades made for chop saws but a lot of those blades are made for a dry cutting saw that rotates at a much slower speed but is the same 14" size. One of those blades coming apart at chop saw speeds could lead to serious injury. Please be careful.

I've used the 7 1/4" version for years and they do work well even in 1/2" h.r. steel.

Pete

[Dan Stokes]

Thanks for posting this.  Next time at Lowe's I'll visit the tool aisle.  I have an abrasive saw for angle, tubing, etc, but for stuff like 1/4 plate this would be just the thing.  The abrasive saw is not so hot for plate steel, from my experience (what should I expect for $100 from Harbor Freight?).

Dan