Tblue
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| posted on 2/4/04 at 11:15 PM |
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All the above will be accurate if you use the chosen tool correctly as the tool is only as good as the bloke using it (as you have found). Sounds like
you are a little impatient, take a little time to learn what happens when you use different bits of kit, find out if you are pressing on to hard or
just not holding the tool how you should. If all that fails.............get a grown up to do it for you.
I've got a chop saw.
And a 9" grinder.
And a 4&1/2" grinder.
And a reciprocating saw.
And a hacksaw.
And a mechanical hacksaw.
And a bandsaw.
I use them all, depends on what I'm cutting, but for thin box it's usually a hacksaw or 9" grinder.
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derf
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| posted on 3/4/04 at 02:17 AM |
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I used a good combination of compound miter, late night hack saw, angle grinder, and the greatest tool in the histoey of mankind......
the SAWZALL
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britishtrident
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| posted on 3/4/04 at 06:29 PM |
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Hacksaw -- 1 decent quality blade did about 75% of the cuts required to buld the main structure frame.
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Dale
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| posted on 4/4/04 at 05:40 PM |
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I used my 10 inch wood compound miter saw with 1/8 inch x 10 inch abrasive blade. An expandable table stand made handling and cutting 12foot pieces
of steel very easy by one person. Put a nit glove over the cooling vents of the saw to help keep the metal filings out.
Dale
 
Rescued attachment must have with 10 foot table.jpg
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 4/4/04 at 11:04 PM |
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Wow Dale - thats some piece of kit. I was looking at the mitre saws in B+Q but wasnt sure if metal cutting discs could be fitted to them
chris
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Simon
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| posted on 4/4/04 at 11:21 PM |
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Use a bloody hacksaw
Look at my photo archive - 6/7 to 8/7 all cut by hand and welded.
It doesn't take long, just hurts a bit to start with
ATB
Simon
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albertz
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 09:02 AM |
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I used a similar saw to Dale. I removed the wood cutting blade and turned a bush to accept a flat 9" slitting disc (5 min job).
Works a treat, very handy in that it can cut compound mitres accurately and easily.
Best buy i ever made at £120, even after the steel is all cut i use it loads for cutting wood and other items of steel.
Surely that has got to be easier than p*ssing around with a hacksaw. Dont get me wrong, i have used a hacksaw plenty of times and it is a fair bit
cheaper than the chop saw.
There has surely got to be eaier ways of building muscles in your right arm???
[Edited on 5/4/04 by albertz]
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Jayce Lane
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 09:39 AM |
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I basically use a angle grinder. First mark of the length, then using a set square, mark on all faces of the tube using a scribe. Allow myself 6mm
for saw kerf, cut with a cutting disk.
I then get it ablsolutely square by grinding it down with a grinding disk, to the marks I had made allround. Works a charm, and I had no reason to use
a hacksaw, even when it came to cutting compound angles.
The only thing which i forgot to mention is that you need a decent bench vice.
cheers
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 09:56 AM |
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I used a hacksaw for everything - once you get the technique right, set up a good sawing rhythm, and get the best blades you can find, the job is
quick, easy, quiet and a great way to keep warm on a cold evening!
Strangely, a good saw frame makes a huge difference to accuracy as well - you'd think it was just a thing to hold the blade straight - but some
of the 'B&Q cheap specials' are dreadful. I have a very old-fashioned saw frame with a file-type handle, rather than a
D'frame... I can cut very accurately with that.
David
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britishtrident
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 10:49 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I used a hacksaw for everything - once you get the technique right, set up a good sawing rhythm, and get the best blades you can find, the job is
quick, easy, quiet and a great way to keep warm on a cold evening!
Strangely, a good saw frame makes a huge difference to accuracy as well - you'd think it was just a thing to hold the blade straight - but some
of the 'B&Q cheap specials' are dreadful. I have a very old-fashioned saw frame with a file-type handle, rather than a
D'frame... I can cut very accurately with that.
David
I tried some of the fancy designer hacksaw frames includung those recommended in magazine test in the end I went back to my trusty Eclipse frame with
24tpi blade -- as used by my father and granfather..
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craig1410
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 06:45 PM |
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Couldn't agree more, I also have an Eclipse frame and I use Spear and Jackson "Eclipse" blades which you can pic up at Jewsons. I
don't know if these are "the best" but they are markedly better than the rubbish which Halfords sell.
It's a good point about keeping warm too - I used to get very cold in my garage kneeling on the base board laying everything out and taking
measurements. It was quite a relief to do some sawing.
The point about a good sawing motion is important and worth practising because if you get it right then you don't need to scribe all four faces
for non-compound cuts, you can get it right with only two faces (or sometimes one) scribed. This makes it much faster and just as accurate. For
compound cuts I would scribe all faces and then cut each face at the appropriate angle so that on the last face the saw would just slide through and
finish the job. I would sometimes clean up the rough edges with a file but that's only being pedantic.
I'm not having a go at anyone who has responded to this thread so don't read anything into this but, in my experience there are two types
of people who will successfully complete a project such as a Locost build. One is the meticulous "engineer" type who will organise the job
well, split it down into tasks and research and complete each task in turn until the job is finished. The other is the "maverick" type who
will make somewhat instinctive decisions but keep moving forwards at all times and never be afraid of hard work or decision making.
The type who will struggle (IMHO) is the type who will find everything a bit to much like hard work and spend hours and hours trying to make a
particular job easier, to the point where they completely loose focus on what they are trying to achieve. They will also have difficulty making
decisions because they feel uncertain and will spend many hours researching but never actually make forward progress.
As for me, as an engineer I started out as the "Engineer Type" and as the project got more complex I was in danger of becoming the latter
"Bewildered type", suffering "paralysis by analysis." However, I have found new enthusiasm now and have become more of a
Maverick, especially when it comes to my credit card!!  There is nothing that I won't do now to get the job complete and the faster the
better. I'm not being reckless but will push hard and make decisions based on the best information available.
My advice is, don't bother figuring out whether to buy this power tool or that power tool, just get a good hacksaw and start cutting and
welding!! You will have a chassis within a day or two at which point you will begin to get an idea of what you have gotten yourself into...
Cheers,
Craig.
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Dale
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| posted on 5/4/04 at 09:25 PM |
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Excelent post on the maverik bit. I agree it gets daunting working out the little things. Keeping the forward motion of the build is vital to me as
time to work on it is difficult. Use what you have borrow or buy what need, and if nessesary build it. My saw combo is what I had from doing
woodworking, but I would definiately recomend the expandable stand to anyone even if doing the cutting by hand.
Dale
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trackfodder
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| posted on 7/4/04 at 03:31 AM |
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cutting tubes
run up harbor freight tools on the web. should have an online catalog and shipping is free over $50. look at their reasonably priced 14"
chopsaws. dunno what i would do without mine. it will cut all the angles accurately and quickly. i have a plastic cable tie on my trigger i can
lock it on with and even freehand cut many things. whatever you think you can handle safely. i sharpen my carbide lathe bits on the side of it. I
have cut 1/8" X 6" steel off with it and will handle about any thickness. at work i routinely cut off 8" heavy channel with it.
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