Chop Saws

[cbrxx]

I'm looking to get a chop saw, the dewalt 872, the one with the metal blade. Extra blades go for $250 each compared to $4 for abrasive wheels. How long do these metal blades last and is it worth spending the extra money for?

[R. Nelson]

Re: Chop Saws

Originally posted by cbrxx
I'm looking to get a chop saw, the dewalt 872, the one with the metal blade. Extra blades go for $250 each compared to $4 for abrasive wheels. How long do these metal blades last and is it worth spending the extra money for?

It all boils down to how much you will use it,....I bought a chop saw from harbor freight about three years ago, have gone through about 20 abrasive blades, and old girl is still kick'in,,,,paid 79 bucks, they have them here in OK. for 49 bucks,...can't beat that.

[TXBuster]

My 2 cents- buy one with a cast rather than a stamped steel base and a handle that is in-line with the saw blade rather than offset. My experience is that the blade will "rack" to the side over time with an offset handle. Instead of being a square cut it will be 5-10 degrees off true.

[Shrock]

The blades are available for around $100. They can be resharpened several times. They last an amazingly long time and work great even with a lot of missing teeth. They are WAY more accurate, no clouds of dust, metal is cool after cutting. There is no comparison.

I like the Hitachi much better than the Dewalt., but it costs more.

[metal tech]

I've used the Dewalt 872 and this is what I've learned. It cuts with less heat than the abrasive wheel. More accurate cuts. Blades seems to last longer than abrasive wheel, couple of exceptions on this. The carbide teeth chip easily if you ram blade into material. Blade dulls very fast when cutting F-16 gun barrels. I think they are a better alternative to the abrasive wheel chop saw, but you need to use it alot to justify the added money.

Al

[Guest]

There are two draw backs that I found with the 871 that I see are similar by looking at the picture of the 872. One is where the motor assembly mounts to the base. It is mounted centrally and will bend the base with moderate pressure causing the blade to rack to the outside. Like I said, I only looked at the picture, but it is a concern to me. The other dumb innovation they did is the tool-less back stop. It doesn't hold...I took mine and added gussets to stiffen it up and removed the cam bar and just use the bolts to secure it. At any rate, try before you buy...your call your $

[Jerry]

I can only speak on abrasives and years back I bought a cheap foreign made unit, well now with own shop I went back and bought the larger Milwaukee electric which comes with stamped base the smaller unit comes as a cast one but I wanted more power and couldn't be happier. This chop saw will not be stopped cutting tubing such as 3 x 3 x 1/8 etc..

Foreign model would always pop its reset button, checked brushes and there fine, just couln't handle a lot of repetive cutting with a good bit of pressure.

[kf1128]

i have an 872 and have been very happy with it. a lot more accurate than my milwaukee abrasive saw. my current blade has made several hundred cuts and is still going strong. it's really important to not force the blade through cuts and to always make sure your stock is clamped really well in the saw. my brother managed to toast my spare blade by trying to cut some 2" angle w/o clamping it down. you should be able to get spare blades for $90-$100. locally i can have them sharpened and several teeth replaced for about $25. for quick accurate cuts, i think they're a great way to go. when i want to plow through lot's of rebar or scrap type steel i still use my abrasive saw.