I use a Makita 355mm (14-inch) abrasive "chop saw" that I bought secondhand for about $50. It works well.
I burned out my previous cheap Chinese (GMC brand) one by cutting too hard on some one-inch thick plate. So these days, for cutting thick plate like that, say over half-inch thick, I chain drill first then use the chop saw to do the final cut. By setting the drilled holes just a tad away from the cut line, you end up with a nice straight cut edge. These machines really are made for cutting pipe, tube and angle iron on building sites, not thick plate etc. but needs must…
Disadvantages are that it is horribly noisy and showers dangerous sparks for quite a distance (15 feet or more) so I don't use it inside my shed full of old motorbikes with leaking carburettors etc. And it is quite heavy to lug around the workshop and out into the yard, for those of us who can't weightlift like we once may have done. I use a sack trolley to move mine about and use the chop saw sitting on the ground as it is too hefty to lug up on to a bench or stand every time I want to use it. (More a factor of my health limitations than excess weight of the machine) Ideally it would be set up on its own bench outside in the yard but then weather is a problem.
The Makita is definitely better quality than my previous GMC Chinese brand, and all my other Makita drills etc have been nothing but top quality. I believe the Toshiba chop saws are also very highly regarded in the building trades but are more expensive.
If you are only doing very small work, you can buy a nice smaller type of abrasive cut-off saw with about a 6 to 7-inch (150 -180mm) diameter wheel that will happily cut half inch diameter bar and inch by eighth flat bar etc. It weighs about as much as a pistol drill or angle grinder and is much more user friendly for the smaller stuff. I have one of these too and it is quite handy, although still produces gasoline-unfriendly spark showers! It is just a Chinese cheapie but does the job as long as you don't push too hard on it.
But if you are going to be wanting to cut slices off 2-inch round bar etc regularly, you may be better off keeping the bandsaw.
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