Chop saw

Don,
The modern and smaller version is also at hand. Framing and mitering is the biggest industry today with birth of crosstich, photography, and many others… WE CALL THIS SMALL VERSION OF CHOP SAW … MITER SAW. It is the same as David and Goliath.. What I mean small pieces can hit the eye and its easier to fly and it more dangerours that big ones.. I think both are dangerous and it is up to us to be safe.. Thanks for topic, safety wise we should be aware…

-- Bert

I guess rough framers chop and furniture makers cut. I don’t like the idea of abusing

a $100.00 blade personaly.

-- Bob Kenosha Wi.

I would not enjoy building things out of 2×4s if it weren’t for my chop saw! What a fantastic piece of equipment.

chop chop oh look garage shelves!

chop chop chop DOG HOUSE!

I can’t say that I use my chop saw for much fine woodworking… But I can’t say that I do much fine woodworking either.

I think when I graduate from making junk to making pretty things I’ll put a nice blade on it and start calling it a Miter Saw.

CHOP

-- Big John's Woodshed - Farmington, IL

I call it a chop saw because I used mine this winter to cut logs for firewood! I have a cheaper ryobi Miter saw that I got new for around a hundred dollars. Well this past winter about halfway through the season my chainsaw quit on me. I heat my home with wood every day in the winter so I had to keep warm somehow and the logs I had were to long to fit in stove or chop with an ax. I decided to bring them to the “Chop” saw. I don’t advise doing this at all, especially with a 10 inch blade but like I said, I had to stay warm. I had a set of cheap blades that had come with the saw so I used those. I would make a cut as far as I could go, turn the log and cut the other side and sometimes have to rotate again before I was able to make the cut all the way through. Thank God I had the saw bolted down. It sometimes wanted to jump right off the table when the blade would stick. It worked ok until I got the chainsaw fixed. The saw is now a miter saw again and works great.

-- Dan - "Collector of Hand Planes"

(shudder)

-- No trees were damaged in posting this message, but thousands of electrons were seriously inconvenienced.

CHOP CHOP GARADGE SHELVES!!

CHOP CHOP CHOP DOG HOUSE!!!

BIG GRINS JOHN!!!!!

-- Bob Kenosha Wi.

Most Lowes carry both miter saws, usually compound miter saws in both 10 & 12 inch and occasionly 7&1/4..
Chop saws are as Skarp described. These really have about as much in common as a bench chisel has to a cold chisel.

-- RTB. stray animals are just looking for love

This is what I call mine. My wood saws are mitre saws, my metal cutting saw is a chop saw. Two entirely different machines. My woodworking saws the motor moves to cut mitres and angles, the metal “CHOP SAW” you have to angle the material you are cutting. BUT WHAT DO I KNOW ?

-- "My mission in life - make everyone smile !"

The big question is “if I chop my fingers off using my miter saw can I sue the tool company for 5 million for not incorporating the SAW STOP technology on my saw”? Blade guard, is that what that plastic thing covering the blade I removed was!

-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams

“But, about Chop Saws.

I’m pretty sure it got this misnomer in the building trade. Some guys use it just like that. To chop 2×4s and rafters.
CHOP! Job done.”

Well? Seeeing as how your Initial Assumption is wrong I guess there’s not much point in commemting on the rest of it. The Posters above have cleared up what a “Chop Saw” is and what it isn’t.

As far as this “Safety Issue” thing is concerned that keeps popping up.

A: A Mitre Saw is NOT a smaller version of a Chop Saw and it is not therefore More Dangerous.

B: In my Humble opinion if you walk into your Shop constantly thinking of the fact that an accident MIGHT happen, it probably will. Some would refer to it as Paranoia. Of course I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it that way.

C: If you use ALL of your tools with Knowledge, don’t use them for what they are NOT intended to be used for and exercise a degree of Common Sense there is Very Little chance that you will end up Leaving your Shop with Less than you came in with.

D: The Floor is yours Don & Bert.

-- Richard (Ontario, CANADA)

I call mine the POS that cuts my wood too short.

I knew this guy that tried to sue his parents for making him stupid.

Rick,
I like your critical evaluation even your postscripts is puzzling me. Just what is important is SITUATION AWARENESS. Look at this link.. Is it right MITERING CHOP SAW… ????

You see … 4000 views and counting ….

-- Bert

Only chop saws I know of are used to cut steel with a carboendum blade. Suppose they could cut 2×4s?

-- Bob in WW ~ "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

What about those chop saws used for aluminum and the blade says… it could also be used for wood?..

-- Bert

Bert:

To attempt to summarize here. A CHOP Saw is one thing. A Mitre Saw is different from a Chop Saw as pointed out by a number of the Posters. IMHO The saw that guy was using on the Video was a MITRE SAW. The video itsef was also VERY Basic. He was demonstrating how to cut a STRAIGHT LINE with a Mitre Saw. He still needed a Lazer to do it!

I know the “eHow.com” site very well. I don’t think the 4,000 Views has much to do with anything. There were videos beside it that showed a Red Real CHOP Saw.

Yes I imagine any Chop Saw could also cut wood. The MAIN difference is that a CHOP Saw only cuts at a 90 Degree Angle. A MITRE Saw cuts at MANY Different Angles and has a LOT of Adjustments on it to do so.

Perhaps the Pictures below will clarify that. These are Both from Lowes. They are both Hitachi. I just NOW took the Pics from their Site. The first one is a CHOP Saw. The second one is a MITRE Saw.

It’s 5:40 AM Time for some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ’s

Regards: Rick

-- Richard (Ontario, CANADA)