WTB: 7' box blade

[Jim Timber]

Circular saw is preferred to plasma. I have the Milwaukee 8" metal cutting circ saw and it'll do 3/8" mild like 3/4" plywood.

I have a 60A Thermal Dynamics plasma too, but I generally only use it for rough cutting.

 

[tooln]

Circular saw is preferred to plasma. I have the Milwaukee 8" metal cutting circ saw and it'll do 3/8" mild like 3/4" plywood.

Jim Is this the one you have? If so It's sweet isn't it. http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/corded/6370-20

 

[Jim Timber]

Yep, or the older version of it maybe? I've had it 8 years. :)

Highly recommended!

 

[wiscwhip]

Those are great for small home projects or light industrial cutting, I would recommend them for that application as well, but they are not for heavy industrial use(abuse). We used them(and a few other brands) for a few years at the place I work currently and it was always the same story. They work great for short cutting cycles spaced out over some time, but when you are trim cutting 90'-120' of 1/4" steel boat hull at a time, they last about 2-3 months and the motors are fried. The Milwaukee saws were far superior to the other brands we tried. We might still have a couple laying around, but they never get used since we no longer make boats or barges. Our 10' x 40' CNC high-definition plasma table does all of our plate cutting now, we rarely even use our 12' hydraulic shears to cut plate anymore. I'm trying to convince them to get a waterjet, but our plasma table is only 7 years old, so they won't pull the trigger.:( I was thinking Jim was going to say that he had a small CNC plasma table in his shop.:D

 

[j-bird]

It's just a lot of money for stuff I'm fully capable of in my own shop. I also enjoy fabricating more than anything (that doesn't involve female participation), so I really need to be saving something to buy one.

Imagine that - somebody on this site wanting to do something themselves that they are fully capable of to save some coin. Go for it Jim. Enjoy the work and put that money to good use elsewhere.

If that doesn't resonate with most of us here I don't know what does!

 

[Jim Timber]

I have a $3k road bill looming over my head too. So I don't have the extra grand if I was willing to spend it.

Boat hulls you say, WW? Aluminum I'm guessing? You really need kerosene to saw aluminum. The stuff is too sticky without lube.

Waterjet's are a financial money pit too. They're only good for stuff that burns with too much heat. Cost per hour is way up there because the pumps wear out from the garnet they're pumping. Laser is what you want!

 

[wiscwhip]

I have a $3k road bill looming over my head too. So I don't have the extra grand if I was willing to spend it.

Boat hulls you say, WW? Aluminum I'm guessing? You really need kerosene to saw aluminum. The stuff is too sticky without lube.

Waterjet's are a financial money pit too. They're only good for stuff that burns with too much heat. Cost per hour is way up there because the pumps wear out from the garnet they're pumping. Laser is what you want!

Not that kind of boat Jim, 90' to 150' personal yachts and commercial dinner cruise boats. Occasionally a houseboat or paddlewheeler. 3/16 to 5/16 steel hulls. We did make a few aluminum boats over the years(a couple of "water taxis" to D.C. for crossing the Potomac and some others), but far and away more steel hulls. We cut plate up to 4", so laser is a no go, we would need a power source the size of a small bus to even get close to that kind of cutting power. LOL Abrasive waterjets not only wear the pumps out, but replacing the consumable nozzles and such are costly as well.

 

[Jim Timber]

Aluminum's the only thing that ever got my saw warm. I can see where production cutting could cook one though. Time is money, and all that... Meat-fisted operator forcing the cut will kill industrial saws too.

I don't use it much, but it sure is handy when I have the need.

 

[wiscwhip]

...Meat-fisted operator forcing the cut will kill industrial saws too.

We have had plenty of those out in the shop over the years!:eek: Those saws are top notch for home use and even industrial cutting of 10ga material or thinner, it's when you leave the realm of industrial cutting of gauge material that starts them down their path to death .