DeWalt saw ?

[calvin]

I have the 10" compound miter saw (DW703), and was wondering if there would be any harm in putting in a metal cutting blade for an occasional tubing chop. My saw and the DeWalt 14" chop saw (DW871) both have the 15A motor, but the no-load RPM is different: 5000 on mine vs 3800.

Thanks for any info.

 

[bbaker80]

I would think your biggest problem wouldn't be the motor, it would be all the plastic pieces on a mitre saw. I'm not sure about your particular model, but my DeWalt mitre saw has a plastic plate through which the blade passes when it cuts through the bottom of the wood. I'm sure this would melt, along with anything else in line with the blade while the sparks are flying. A chop saw is all metal, and it has a spark guard behind the blade. It the saw is on its last legs anyway, I'd say go for it, but if you want to work with wood again, get a grinder and throw a cutoff wheel in that.

 

[xjfish]

I was wondering the same thing. I recently bought a new large DeWalt sliding compound beveling mitre saw to replace my old Makita mitre box. I'm not really worried about plastic pieces melting but I will not use a metal blade if this will burn up the motor. Has anyone done this before?

 

[HossHoffer]

Most miter saws don't run in the proper rpm nor have the torque you need to cut metal. There usually is a warning on your saw not to use metal or masonry cutting blades. Your DeWalt is too nice of a saw to do that to anyway. I bought a cheapie from Harbor Freight. I did see a guy ruin his Makita cutting metal studs with it. And hey, there is not bad reason to buy a new tool. :thumbup: