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I like the fact that there are a lots less sparks to start a fire than a typical chop saw.Don't use the blade for cutting stranded cable though, as I learned. Cuts very nicely.
Thankfully, the Amazon guarantee made it worth trying out for no risk except for the wasted time.But overall, it's a pretty nice cheap alternative to a cold saw. There's also a heck of a lot less dust in my shop and on me now.I agree that the vise is cheesy, but if you deduct the value of the included blade, the saw costs less than $300.And one more thing. Even with the stainless blade: DeWalt DW7749 14-Inch 90 Tooth Stainless Steel Cutting Saw Blade with 1-Inch Arbor It blew up on me after about 50 beautiful cuts on 1-1/2" 16 gauge square tube; fairly light stuff.
The resharpened blades don't cut quite as clean, but they last as long or better. As a friend told me, if you want to clear out the shop in a hurry, just fire up this saw. It's worth it for the speed and for spending a lot less time cleaning up the burrs left by a chop saw.
One big warning: don't cut stainless. Yes, it costs more to operate, but resharpening in Minneapolis (Eide Saw) is less than $20. People will find another place to hang out as soon as they hear that DeWalt start wailing.
Then about 20 teeth were missing or chipped in short order. It's also faster than a cold saw or even an abrasive chop saw.
There is no burrs and the cuts are cool enough to handle after you make them. I have been using this saw for approx 2 years in a farm shop. I normally went thru 6-8 abrasive blades a year and at 10.00 a pop it more than covers the cost of replacement of the carbide.I couldn't be more pleased with the saw and would buy another whenever required. The best part is you don't loose any of your cutting diameter after several cuts like with the abrasive blades. I cut everything from alluminum to hard steel. I have even cut 3 inch heavy wall tubing with this saw and still on the original blade and that is after making all the cuts for 280 foot of pipe fence just recently built.
The cut finish is excellent. Cuts great, if you take proper care to go slow. If you're used to a using an abrasive type wheel you will be tempted to push too hard and ruin the blade.
I then sold it to my father-in-law, and they are still using it now, 4 years later. We did build extensions, to support the metal at level, and also a stop, to be able to cut many pieces to length, without repeatedly measuring. I used the saw for a year, had two blades that I would rotate to the sharpening shop. I bought this saw for a small, part time welding business. The clamp mechanism is gone, the base is beat up, but they bolted it to a table, and it keeps on going. The first project I used it on, my brother made almost 300 cuts in one day, on one blade, cutting 2" square tubing, 3/16" wall thickness. It immediately started to pay back. If we had been using abrasive blades, he would have had to stop to replace the blade at least 5 times, probably more.However, as mentioned, the base is light, and we found that the threaded rod on the clamp mechanism was soft, and wore out easily.
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