Chop Saw

A chop saw is a saw that can efficiently and easily cut wooden or metal stock down to length. You can easily find chop saws by looking in online tool retail stores, or by checking your local industrial tool supply or home improvement store.

Most chop saws are similar in operation: They are usually a portable saw that is powered by electricity. It has a stationary base that holds the work piece in place. Then, there is a circular saw blade that can be started by a trigger and then rotated down to cut the work piece. In many cases, the blade and motor assembly can be rotated in other order to make up to 45 degree cuts in either direction. In many ways, a chop saw is much like a more station version of a circular saw which has more limitations, but is easier to use for more basic cuts.

Shop saws can be used for metal or wood. A wood chop saw will have a metal blade with teeth for tearing through the wood efficiently. it may also have an output on the back for saw dust which can hooked up to a central dust collection system if you wish. A common use for a wood chop saw is cutting 2x4 pieces of lumber down to the appropriate length for framing a house or for building a deck. A chop saw meant for metal is likely to have a blade that grades instead of cuts with teeth. The grinding compound can vary and might be a material like silicon carbide for software metals all the way up to diamond for cutting harder metals like steel. Unlike a blade meant for wood where the teeth will become more dull over time, a metal blade will get smaller and smaller in diameter as the grounding material is ground down. A metal saw of course won't generate saw dust. It can result in a shower of sparks when doing something like cutting a steel metal pipe. These sparks generally are safe if you are wearing eye protection and a long-sleeved shirt to protect your bare arms.

In general for metal work, a chop saw is meant for slightly more crude work and is not ideal for cutting wood or metal down to a precise size of a specific number of millimeters. Instead, it is more commonly used for getting material down to the approximate right size and finish work may be done on a different and more precise machine.

A chop saw can be dangerous and precautions like wearing safety classes are wise. Also, many chop saws have a blade protector to minimize the amount of time that the blade is exposed. In any case, you should always be very careful about the placement of your fingers and double check everything before making a cut.

I also write about SR44 batteries on my other site http://sr44.org.