Bob Gardner cuts through 0.188-inch thick aluminum to shorten a truck bed.

A soft-grip side handle increases control for cutting a 40-degree bevel on aluminum channel.

The first bevel cut eliminates grinding and provides faster fit up for welding.

Evolution 355 Raptor cutoff saw is equipped with an angle gage and V-block for rounds.

Square cuts on brass or aluminum are accurate save fit up time.

To cut a couple pieces of aluminum in a shop or at a field site, a fabricator typically reaches for an abrasive saw. Abrasive wheels for soft metals, such as aluminum or brass, cut with a grinding action that results in a rough cut and loads the wheel with debris.

Options for ferrous metals, such as plasma-arc or oxyfuel cutting, are limited for aluminum because of the undesirable effects they leave on the surface.

Looking for a better way to make bevel cuts on aluminum channel, Bob Gardner, who tests products for Welding Design & Fabrication, tried a hand-held circular saw from HITECH USA (www.evolutionpowertools.com), Davenport, Iowa.

"This saw cuts all metals with a cold cut and no sparks," says Gardner, an American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector and Certified Welding Educator. "It uses a carbide cutting tool; it's quiet — far less than an abrasive saw; and it cuts miter joints." He adds that it makes those cuts burr free and with no molten metal on the workpiece. All the heat remains in the chips.

Designed for all metals
Engineers designed the Evolution 230 Xtreme Steel cutting saw to cut steel, aluminum, and stainless steel with a minimum of heat and without burrs or coolant.

The saw has a 1,750-watt motor that runs at 2,700 rpm on a 120-V power source and pulls 15 Amps. Earth grounded and doubly insulated, the 12.5-in.-by-17-in.-by-12.5-in. saw weighs 19.75 pounds. A side handle improves control when beveling. The heavy-duty gearbox and armature components promise long life in fabrication shops and on job sites. It is designed to cut through metal plate, angles, channel, studs, pipe, sheets, grating, roofing, fence and frames.

The blades extend to 3.25 in., allowing operators to comfortably cut 0.5-in.-thick mild steel, and with bevels ranging from zero to 45 degrees. The company offers a carbide tip blade that can be used to cut stainless steel.

Gardner says the experience of one of his adult welding class students provides an example of blade life that can be expected with the circular saws: The welder bought a HITECH saw and ordered an extra blade. He cut 1,000 pieces of 0.5-in. rebar and never used the spare blade.

HITECH offers blades in sizes from 5.375-in. to 14-in. diameters and several arbor mounts that can be used to adapt other saw brands.

The Evolution 355 Raptor cut off saw, the companion to the Evolution Xtreme saw, has a 14-in.-diameter blade. Its 2,200-W, 1,300-rpm motor draws 15 amps and cuts 5.125-in.-thick rounds, 4.75-in.-thick squares with 0.5-in.-thick walls and 4.75-in.-by-7.25-in. rectangles. The company estimates that its blade can make 800 cuts of 2-in.-by-2-in. mild steel squares with 0.125-in.-thick walls.

This saw also can cut bevels from zero to 45 degrees. Earth grounded and doubly insulated, the 50-pound saw is stable on a 22-in.-by-22-in. footprint for use on the floor, a table or mounted on a stand.

"These saws save prep and fit-up time during aluminum jobs," says Gardner, "The aluminum blade is a major improvement over a masonry wheel, a poor man's blade. It cuts aluminum rather than having it build up on the teeth of a blade designed for steel."

For more information call: HITECH USA at (563) 386-3866, or visit www.evolutionpowertools.com. Contact Bob Gardner, at Willoughby Tech, Willoughby, Ohio, (440) 946-7085.