Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey all,

Just wanted to get some advice from ppl about what drop saw to buy.

It's not something that will be used day in day out but at the same time I would rather buy something decent that will last. Have seen cheapy units for 200 - 250, and more expensive (I love the Hitachi, I have a Hitachi 100mm grinder and it's excellent) up around the $500 mark.

Also, I saw this the other day:
http://www.tradetools.com.au/ProdView.a ... duct=51302
It's not a cold cut saw but uses a tungsten blade and does run slower and quieter than an abrasive type. Starting to get a bit exxy though...

I have looked on ebay & the trading post & haven't found anything so far.

What do you guys reckon???

I had a GMC one that I used fairly infrequently and it lasted about 2.5 years. I have just replaced it with a Dewalt one and I am very happy with it, it has a VERY wide and sturdy table and the fences are adjustable with no tools.

Many of the otherwise excellent Japanese brands have quite narrow tables that IMHO makes it harder to keep everything noce and stable when cutting.

Gwagensteve wrote:I had a GMC one that I used fairly infrequently and it lasted about 2.5 years. I have just replaced it with a Dewalt one and I am very happy with it, it has a VERY wide and sturdy table and the fences are adjustable with no tools.

Many of the otherwise excellent Japanese brands have quite narrow tables that IMHO makes it harder to keep everything noce and stable when cutting.

The table on a lot of saws (even some of the quite decent ones) leaves a lot to be desired IMO. One of the things about the ~$600 carbide saw that I really liked was the table, REALLY beefy compared anything the abrasive saws had to offer.

What did your Dewalt cost you?

DeWalt = rebadged black and decker

I am a carpenter by trade and have always used dewault drop saws

yes ewault is black and decker but it is a trade quality tool and it will last you

stay away from toys like GMC

pop down to your local Trade tools or glenfords store and ask those guys..

stay away from bunnings as they are aimed at the home handyman and sell mainly toys...

it all depends on what you want to cut too

wasn't saying anything bad about DeWalt, just giving info

GMC is a copy of the Makita in the drop saw seen.....

Go electric - those pedal-powered jobs are terrible!

solinoid wrote:I am a carpenter by trade and have always used dewault drop saws

yes ewault is black and decker but it is a trade quality tool and it will last you

stay away from toys like GMC

pop down to your local Trade tools or glenfords store and ask those guys..

stay away from bunnings as they are aimed at the home handyman and sell mainly toys...

it all depends on what you want to cut too

except bunnings usually stocks all the same gear and at 10% cheaper

I agree that the el cheapo tools are not worth wasting your time with.
But...

My old man has a GMC drop saw that has seen daily use at his work and is still going strong after about 3 years. Not a quality tool by any means but it seams to have held together pretty well.
Paul.

I got one from super cheap for 99$ and the only bad thing is the thread
its weak

My old-man bought a GMC drop saw 2 weeks ago to cut up some house frames for fir-wood, didn't last one day. After saying that my neighbour/previous boss has built three sizeable workshops with a GMC exactly the same so if you nurture it it will last.

Want to cut steel and have a reliable and quiet saw?? get a Brobo-waldon

Bought a Jepson dropsaw about 12 years ago,$300. Did a ton of work with it for 2 years and treated it rough. One day it went kaput and a lot of smoke came out of the motor, so I threw it on my scrap pile out in the weather. 5 years later I decided to have a look at it and fond it only needed new brushes and a cleanup. it has worked well ever since with regular use. The table isn't all that great though.

i have a Hitachi cost around the $400. works well, quick release vice, self locking blade (for blade removal). vice is crappy and not very accurate. i made a few platforms the same height as the saw for resting steel on, to keep it square. cut 4" steam pipe with it many many times, as well as 150mm channel etc, cut half turn cut other half. still works well.

cheers

bru

I asked the guys at my local steel dealer what they use, their saws get used all day every day and they said the Japanes Makita (3014B) lasts them about a year, the Chinese Makita (3014 NB) lasts about a month.

They tried a Hitachi, said it lasted about a month. I was a bit disappointed as I just bought a Hitachi, however a month of their use is equivalent to a lot of home use. Anyway, my Hitachi angle grinder has done a lot of work and has lasted well so hopefully the saw will too. I agree though, the vice is not very accurate.

The Supercheap saw ($99) is an exact copy of the Hitachi ($425)

Mark2 wrote:They tried a Hitachi, said it lasted about a month. I was a bit disappointed as I just bought a Hitachi, however a month of their use is equivalent to a lot of home use. Anyway, my Hitachi angle grinder has done a lot of work and has lasted well so hopefully the saw will too. I agree though, the vice is not very accurate.

The Supercheap saw ($99) is an exact copy of the Hitachi ($425)

Hitachi stuff is heavy duty. I'm suprised that they broke one after a month. Did they get it replaced under warranty? How did the replacement go?

Who told you the Supercheap one is "an exact copy" of the Hitachi??? There is no way that can be true.

look at how much use its going to get!!! I'd buy the GMC 2 year unconditional warrantee. who cares if its not accurate your not a subby for NASA $99 is alot different to $400 but if its going to be used every day then consider a better Quality jobby. tools are never consistent no matter what brand they all die eventually. A company that i subby for use air riviters 10 hrs a day( about 1000 rivits ) for steel frame constuction. a commercial air riviter is about $1400 and only lasts about a year, when it died last they bought a GMC one from Super cheap for $79. it lasted 3 months took it back got a new one under warantee, it lasted 2months.after the 8th one and about 14 months the super cheap manager gave them their money back cos there was no more stock in the state. but they were $1300 in front. Cheap and nasty but an awesome warrantee.

JB

Damo wrote:

Mark2 wrote:They tried a Hitachi, said it lasted about a month. I was a bit disappointed as I just bought a Hitachi, however a month of their use is equivalent to a lot of home use. Anyway, my Hitachi angle grinder has done a lot of work and has lasted well so hopefully the saw will too. I agree though, the vice is not very accurate.

The Supercheap saw ($99) is an exact copy of the Hitachi ($425)

Hitachi stuff is heavy duty. I'm suprised that they broke one after a month. Did they get it replaced under warranty? How did the replacement go?

Who told you the Supercheap one is "an exact copy" of the Hitachi??? There is no way that can be true.

Eact copy of design perhaps, does not make it as well engineered (do they hold the same tolerances ?? ) nor does it mean the materials used are anywhere near the same quality.


But as others have said the warranty service is awesome.. Had a circular saw that was used for everything from cutting bricks steel etc .. after a few months of abuse (and being left out in the rain) it was forked ... took it back and it was replaced no questions asked.
Also at the price I have a few angle grinders with different disks etc on em now, so either two people can work at the same time, or instead of swapping disks, I swap grinders ..

johnboy wrote:look at how much use its going to get!!! I'd buy the GMC 2 year unconditional warrantee. who cares if its not accurate your not a subby for NASA $99 is alot different to $400 but if its going to be used every day then consider a better Quality jobby. tools are never consistent no matter what brand they all die eventually. A company that i subby for use air riviters 10 hrs a day( about 1000 rivits ) for steel frame constuction. a commercial air riviter is about $1400 and only lasts about a year, when it died last they bought a GMC one from Super cheap for $79. it lasted 3 months took it back got a new one under warantee, it lasted 2months.after the 8th one and about 14 months the super cheap manager gave them their money back cos there was no more stock in the state. but they were $1300 in front. Cheap and nasty but an awesome warrantee.

JB

OK, so Supercheap does a GMC with 2 year warranty for $99?

Damo wrote:

Mark2 wrote:They tried a Hitachi, said it lasted about a month. I was a bit disappointed as I just bought a Hitachi, however a month of their use is equivalent to a lot of home use. Anyway, my Hitachi angle grinder has done a lot of work and has lasted well so hopefully the saw will too. I agree though, the vice is not very accurate.

The Supercheap saw ($99) is an exact copy of the Hitachi ($425)

Hitachi stuff is heavy duty. I'm suprised that they broke one after a month. Did they get it replaced under warranty? How did the replacement go?

Who told you the Supercheap one is "an exact copy" of the Hitachi??? There is no way that can be true.

It is definitly a copy of the Hitachi, but you're right, the materials and tolerances would of course be different. I wasn't trying to say the saws are the same quality. There was noticable sideways movment in the main part of the Supercheap saw.

The steel place told me the armature burnt out. Hitachi had it sent down to head office for examination and in the end they didnt honour the warranty as they said it had been misusued/abused. The steel place werent interested in arguing or the downtime and went back to the Makita. What annoys me is that Supercheap or Bunnings or whoever selling these cheap saws would have replaced one of them without even asking a question.

(I'm not trying to promote Makita, I actually own a Hitachi)

If you want to cut steel accurately, with little noise and minimal waste buy a BS4 metal Bandsaw from Hare and Forbes or probably any reasonable machinery place will have an equivalent. they cost around $300 new and can be picked up s/hand for less. They will cut up to 150 x 100mm solid without any worries at all. Blades last for years especially when only used in a home workshop.
I've had one for about 5 years at home, set it up and walk away while it is cutting, turns itself off when finished.
I know of a couple of 4wd fabricators that have bought one and all have said they should have bought one years ago.

ozhumvee wrote:If you want to cut steel accurately, with little noise and minimal waste buy a BS4 metal Bandsaw from Hare and Forbes or probably any reasonable machinery place will have an equivalent. they cost around $300 new and can be picked up s/hand for less. They will cut up to 150 x 100mm solid without any worries at all. Blades last for years especially when only used in a home workshop.
I've had one for about 5 years at home, set it up and walk away while it is cutting, turns itself off when finished.
I know of a couple of 4wd fabricators that have bought one and all have said they should have bought one years ago.

Interesting... good for aluminium as well?

And... do you have a photo?

Jason

Yes will cut any metal, I also have cut plastic, nylon and timber.
You can also swivel the cutting head so the blade is running vertically, fit the small table supplied and use it like a normal bandsaw. You can cut quite intricate shapes in 1/4 plate.
Here is alink to the Hare and forbes website and the saw in question.
http://www.hareandforbes.com.au/sample_2/home.php

On of the moderators on this board has one and loves it.

ozhumvee wrote:Yes will cut any metal, I also have cut plastic, nylon and timber.
You can also swivel the cutting head so the blade is running vertically, fit the small table supplied and use it like a normal bandsaw. You can cut quite intricate shapes in 1/4 plate.
Here is alink to the Hare and forbes website and the saw in question.
http://www.hareandforbes.com.au/sample_2/home.php

On of the moderators on this board has one and loves it.

I had no idea you could get something so good so cheaply.

Thanks, I think this goes on my birthday-presents-to-self list.

Jason

Yes they are a great bit of gear, if you were going to use it alot the more expensive one with the horizontally swivelling head would be the go, the smallest one which I've got (BS4) is adequate for most people though.
Their showroom (and catalogue) is a real alladins cave for tool/equipment freaks.
They have a sale around May every year too. also have s/hand or slightly used/shop soiled stuff too.