someone suggested using a wood mitre saw .. a different blade ... and a speed controller... to cut chassis tube... has anyone done this and if so where to get the speed controller and blade (tct)?

or is this a daft idea/////11

Hacksaw?

I hate to say it cos I want a machine for everything but a good sharp hacksaw used carefully is probably the most accurate method for cutting the chassis tubes!!

I agree. That and and the slight groove you'll wear into your thumb nail from all the sawing works just great.

I used one of these with a little practise nothing is quicker and its very accurate.
Rescued attachment HBS120EX500.jpg

I bought a proper chopsaw to do it, £50 from Cromwell, it would have cost me that much in broken hacksaw blades anyway

Cheers

Alex

I tried a hand mitre saw with a metal blade in it. The angles were somewhere there but not perfect and they dont cut perfectly straight.

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it would have cost me that much in broken hacksaw blades anyway

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my bandsaw still doesnt cut quite straight, but i guess thats cos its a clark one and probably chinese to boot. No matter how much i fiddle its never quite right.

Abrasive chopssaws are quick but very noisy, and someone said that they arent a perfect cut anyway.

Most accurate for a budget is undoubtedly a scribe, hacksaw and file process, unless you splash out on a high quality bandsaw.

I used one of these...



Pedrazzoli Brown slow speed metal chop saw. Very nice piece of kit - fortunately happened to have one lying at work. It hadn't been used for about three years. I cleaned and recomissioned it including getting a new disc. Like a knife through butter.

Cheers

If you use a hacksaw it will build up your muscles ready for the 100 odd times you have to fit all the components and then take them out again.

Of course true locosters would gnaw through the tubes with their teeth, and finish the ends by scraping the tubes against a concrete floor.
That's why my build took six years!

David

Getting back to that argument I've read about true Locosters making their own tube from scratch here. Great thread that was.

Buy a chop saw, brilliant tool, tho' not as good for removing fingers as a ripsaw.

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Originally posted by Danozeman
I bought some blades that cost me 2 quid each. Think they were nickel something or other. I used 2 to cut all the metal to length for my chassis when i was making one and ones still going albeit it on its last legs.. That was about 5/6 years ago maybe longer.

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i posted this same question a while back now... and from my experience, i tried an angle grinder, a bigger angle grinder, a jig-saw, a chop saw and, when frustration started to build up) even started to consider a chainsaw.

but honestly nothing beats the hacksaw. ok, you take longer but think about this: you spend the same amount of time filing down the faces of the tubes to fit if you are using anything electric.

cutting each face at a time with a hacksaw is foolproof.
i took a week to cut down all the tubes (i did them in one go) working 4 hours a day. and now i can lift 20kgs more with my right arm as opposed to my left arm

It seems tempting to buy one of the small chinese band saw's from machine mart.. and then i can use it to cut the wish bones


any thoughts

it isnt well made. Many of the bolts and clamps broke, i now use one clamp to hold the angle correct and another to hold the jaws shut. Add to this it doesnt cut straight and the band falls off unless you take a little weight off the teeth (ie support it through the entire cut).

If noise isnt a problem get an abrasive saw, but remember it is basically an anglegrinder and VERY loud.

just in case anyone cares... i used a hacksaw... with all hard 32 tpi blades..

it worked really well... and didn't need much in the way of filing...

I used a hacksaw as well, it's not that slow once you get a bit of practice. Buy decent blades though, not the Machine Mart "very-high carbon-shatter-if-you-look-at-it -too-hard" specials.

I used Eclipse 32 tpi "All Hard" blades from Tilgear in Cuffley (probably the best toolshop in the country) on their recomendation..

They said they would cut straighter.. but would snap easier if I twisted the blade...

FYI, they sugested the Bi metal blades for the "unpractised"..

so far I've only used 1 blade and that snapped ... and most tubes are cut (chassis).. suspension next..

i have a makita abrasive chop saw but i haven't used it yet, so my contribution is not that helpful

Buy the best blades you can get, quite amazing the difference it makes, really good ones last for ages plus buy a good quality hacksaw frame. I also spray WD40 on to the metal beforehand, which seems to keep things cool. With all that using a hacksaw is a real pleasure and more than fast enough.

I've used a 'wood saw' for the last 20 years. Put a 350mm abrasive cutoff disc in and it doesn't care if it is steel or what. Compound mitres and all.

Only one new set of belts and a single phase motor(was 3 phase) in all that time. Made numerous chassis/trailers/fabricated things from steel. Put a metal toothed blade in for chopping ali and wood.

Cheers,
Syd.