Cheap way is a 4.5 inch angle grinder with a 1mm blade in …will slice through in no time

The cheap chinese 4×6 bandsaws will also do it easily

put the money towards a small bandsaw eg the cheapie from Chester tools saves hours – however a small angle grinder in a fixed stand (Aldi do a very cheap stand + small grinder at times = no doubt others do as well) use the very thin cut off blades – gets thru upto about 25mm stainless which would gag the bandsaw + cut off saw

I have a blackgates power hacksaw but a 1mm cutting disk in the angle grinder is my weapon of choice for steel – it will melt through 3-4mm thick angle like butter, gentle pressure only.

The hacksaw is great, fits on my bench top and stowes out of the way, but its a steady job – 10 minutes for your average cut through a solid bar or angle. just about the right amount of time to go and do something else. The longest and biggest cut I've ever done, was a 60mm solid round EN16 shaft (times 10!) each cut was around 50 minutes with gentle pressure (weights on the handle) – I wouldn't image a single 1mm cutting disk would get through that

Agreed, a slitting saw also does a quick accurate job when you need it that good, but the bandsaw is the chopmaster, it is quite roomy though in the spatial department.

Michael W

Hacksaw to length and slitting saw for the long cuts.

Alternative is to buy a Femi 780XL or 782XL bandsaw which will cut to length and the accesory table so you can use it as a vertical bandsaw to make the 200mm long cuts.

Edited By JasonB on 19/12/2016 16:21:15

"angle grinder with 1mm cutting disc"

Handy indeed but throws nasty gritty sparks everywhere and is noisy. In a small workshop may be less practical. Also, angle grinders (especially with thin blades) are potentially 'scary' if you're not confident and firm of hand and arm. Any sort of saw is a lot quieter, cleaner and more controlled, if slower…

Edited By Bikepete on 19/12/2016 23:49:28

An angle grinder stand only holds the grinder so it is square to the job. Sparks still fly. I use a couple of sheets of plywood to surround the area where I am grinding to restrict the area of flying particles. Still a messy process.

A chop saw or small band saw (unless you can use it in vertical mode) will have problems making long cuts along the length of the angle.

Making long straight cuts by hand takes a bit of skill keeping the grinder on line.  I have clamped a piece of flat bar to the plate being cut as a guide for the grinder wheel. (like you draw a straight line with a pencil and rule).  A light cut along the guide first (not all of the way thru) followed by deeper cuts.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 20/12/2016 08:45:00

Hi, wonderful thing is the 4 1/2" angle grinder and thin cutting discs. I cannot see what's scary about them, but I have used them for many years and have probably used well over a thousand or two thin discs. Couple of photos of some profiles that I cut at work today, using 75mm x 6mm flat steel bar.

On the first photo the R/H cut along its length had to be plunge cut to start the cutting process, but the one on the left was started from the L/H edge and the short cut on the R/H side was cut from the R/H edge after I repositioned the G clamp. The cut in the second photo also had to be plunge cut to start with. All these cuts were done totally freehand and just following a scribed line. A quick tickle with a flap disc, soon dressed them up nicely.

The important thing about using cutting discs, is to allow the disc to do the work. You will need a little pressure applied to the disc, but not so much to significantly slow the speed of the grinder down. Putting to much pressure on the disc causes it to wear away much faster and generate heat and the actual cutting process becomes slower. All the cutting on both of these pieces was done with just one disc with a still usable diameter left on the disc.

Regards Nick.

Chopsaws and angle grinders make the most godawful noise and you get abrasive dust everywhere. And cheap and nasty examples make an even godawfuller noise. I bought a giant Xmas cracker quality chopsaw a few years back and got rid of it in a garage sale after only using it a couple of times and almost crapping myself.

I have a 4×6 bandsaw myself and would recommend them. If you could get one new for under £200 or used for £100 or so, it's not a big investment.

Like Brian_G, I've heard good things about the Evolution Rage thingies. They are only(?) £100 and seem to be pretty effective. I'd consider one of them if I didn't have a band saw, particularly if I also played with The Brown Stuff.

Murray

By the way for those strangely doing this sort of thing inside you are allowed to build a car port structure (in UK) without planning permission up to garage size and can be out the back with no car access.

Bricky, I did exactly the same to our patio window, I thought I was far enough away too !!.😥