Cutting Intercooler Or Exhaust Pipe

[boxheadmr]

Do people use the horozontal bandsaws or a metal drop saw?

Wanted to guage which one is better for alluminum intercooler piping or stainless exhaust as well as tube for cages/fab work?

Was looking at the bandsaws from Hare and Forbes?

[blackrex]

Drop saws such as Brodo's (cold style) have an advantage in that they remain true to the cut that you are making as the cutting disk is much stiffer, were as if the bandsaw blade losses tension it can wander and no longer make a true cut. The slow cutting of the Brodos can lead to them fouling the cutting teeth if use with aluminium based alloys, not such an issue with the bandsaws. Drop saws designed for aluminium use use a different tooth pattern and a higher cutting speed than those for ferrous materials.

[boxheadmr]

Cold saw would be nice but I cant really justify the cost for something I would not use that often. Which do you think is better for the under $500mark?

[boostn0199]

Your options are either cut off drop saw which will do the job but annoying that you have to clean each cut up alot whereas bandsaw does a pretty clean cut and not much if any clean up is needed. I personally have been using drop saw but will be changing to a bandsaw when I get the money.

[boxheadmr]

Thanks Boostn, dropped past Hare & Forbes today to see what they look like in person and there is 3 below $1100. But all look a little poor quality, really didnt want to spend a lot either.

[r32gtrs]

$100 cut off droppy is all the average guy needs for backyard fab, you can do alot with them and awesome value. they are only a minor pain when cleaning up 50 lobster back cuts, but you can get pretty quick at it with time. Ill spend up big on a bandsaw when i run out of other cool tools to buy..

[boxheadmr]

I thought the metal blade was $100 by itself?

[r32gtrs]

its like 10 bucks for a metal cut off wheel

my crappy maktec drop saw was $100, probably from bunnings cant remember. but yeah, they pretty much do whatever you need for hobby fabrication.

[scotty nm35]

I use all three, definitely the Brobo if you can find a cheap S/H one. I also use the $1200 H&F bandsaw for larger sized pipes, great for 4 inch or larger.

I use the friction saw very rarely. It doesn't cut straight and the clean up time is horrendous. If you plan to use one, you will need to invest in a linisher to clean/flatten the cut.

[D.I.Y. Mik]

Is this all because alloy has to fit perfect to weld or you get holes n stuff?

I know with steel you wouldnt need a linisher to get it that perfect for welding.

I just got a cheap mig welder and havent tried alloy yet, so im curious.

[r32gtrs]

tbh.. my cut off saw cuts very straight, 3mm blade (maybe just lucky), only clean up i do is a quick linish and its ready for a perfect fuse with the tig. i posted a few pics in the lobster thread, all that is with the cheap saw.

[Dan_J]

alloy absorbs the heat from the abrasive cutting disk and might deform, i havent tired cutting alloy tube with my drop saw yet so give it a go with a cheap drop saw and see how it goes

[scotty nm35]

Friction saws aren't generally recommended for alloy, as it can bind to the disk and throw it out of balance. You could cut alloy easily with a bunnings hand mitre box and saw.

[boostn0199]

Is this all because alloy has to fit perfect to weld or you get holes n stuff?

I know with steel you wouldnt need a linisher to get it that perfect for welding.

I just got a cheap mig welder and havent tried alloy yet, so im curious.

If your fusing with stainless as most ppl do for cooler piping yes you need a perfect fit to have a nice weld.

tbh.. my cut off saw cuts very straight, 3mm blade (maybe just lucky), only clean up i do is a quick linish and its ready for a perfect fuse with the tig. i posted a few pics in the lobster thread, all that is with the cheap saw.

Yeah I also agree aswell my cheap shitty drop saw cuts pretty straight just have to linish with a grinder and die grinder and they fit spot on.

[Duncan]

I recently asked a similar question and just ended up going for a mitre saw with an ally blade because it is relatively cheap and versatile. Seems fine for light/home use

[boxheadmr]

Does it catch at all on the larger 4in aluminum pipe at angles like 45'?

Many years ago when doing flyscreens the metal drop sww every now and then would catch and throw the piece.

[r32gtrs]

never had one catch pipe, i dont usually do much alloy pipe work though. I always thought it was a bad idea to cut alloy pipe with a drop saw, the alloy clogs the disc. Dont know how much truth to it and i havent really done much research of my own but was told this can cause the disc to explode in extreme cases.

opps read you use an alloy cutting disc, never mind if you have one of those

Edited October 2, 2013 by r32gtrs

[Muff]

I have a hare and forbes bandsaw, great item I use it on everything, stainless, al, and mild for pipes and such..... def worth the money..

[boxheadmr]

Muff.

What model dis you get?

[2pee]

Don't know what horizontal you had in mind, the ones I've used only had variable feed set up for steel and would be horrid for bends, a variable vertical would be my preference if you only had one choice (along with a selection of tooth count blades). Typical stainless tube cutting, I use a friction drop saw as first preference. A disc linisher is very useful for squaring, don't know how good the hobby grade H&F ones are? If all else fails, hacksaw and snips have saved the bacon many times and a realistic option if you're only doing a few!