Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi y'all,

I'm an independent welder always looking for ways to improve the tradecraft. I primarily work in structural steel fabrication. Recently I purchased two new tools (Toys) which have made life really nice. The Miller Maxstar 210, its amazing how fast the inverter technology has taken things. The second tool is a Sliding Compound/Miter Chop saw, Evolution Rage 3, it made me throw away my two Dewalt abrasion saws and forget I owned them.
Just wanted to brag.

Oh yea other stuff; I live in Texas, I'm a Veteran.

thank you for your service.
welcome to the forum.
everyone here loves new tools as well.
craig

Steve, welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, I'm new myself.

I see you have a new Evolution Rage 3 saw. I have been thinking about one of those. I've never owned an abrasive cut off saw but I do have a TurnPro 7x12 horizontal band saw. I like it, but sometimes want something faster with no coolant and not having to support the ends of longer stock like I have to when using the band saw. I'm glad to hear you think so highly of it.

The one thing that puzzles me a bit is that many come with a "hybrid" blade, good for steel and aluminum (usually fewer teeth), but also sell blades specifically for steel and another one for aluminium. And they are more expensive.

CentralOhioSteve wrote:Welcome to the forum, I'm new myself.

I see you have a new Evolution Rage 3 saw. I have been thinking about one of those. I've never owned an abrasive cut off saw but I do have a TurnPro 7x12 horizontal band saw. I like it, but sometimes want something faster with no coolant and not having to support the ends of longer stock like I have to when using the band saw. I'm glad to hear you think so highly of it.

The one thing that puzzles me a bit is that many come with a "hybrid" blade, good for steel and aluminum (usually fewer teeth), but also sell blades specifically for steel and another one for aluminium. And they are more expensive.

The Hybrid blade works pretty well but after awhile I broke down and purchased the metal cutting blade and it made the cuts a lot smoother. The hybrid is nice when you're doing general fab and construction. I would love to have a 7x12 saw, currently I have Grizzly's G9742 wich is a 5x8 horizontal bandsaw, it cuts dry without coolant.
When it comes to making small repetitive cuts of angle or pipe I use the Rage consistently. Besides the sparks and the dust from the abrasive saw, it was always difficult to get an accurate mitered cut especially on a 45, given sloppy movement of the blade. But with Rage, there is no movement of the blade and I can get the same angle every time which is a huge labor saver.