7-1/4" Metal Cutting Circular Saw

I used this saw til I burned it up after many years of rough use. I want another one so I can do the same thing again. It is amazing!

My project: Shorten hollow 16 gauge boxes... a whole pallet of them.

Since I usually avoid cutting metal at all costs, I wanted a tool that is compact, portable, and cheap.

Grinders, nibblers and snips are great, but I can't hold a straight line with any of them. Cutting metal with my treasured wood saw is unpleasant at best; at worst, the metal chips fly everywhere and shorten its life.

After checking videos, I quick-fabbed a cutting fixture to guide the saw and protect the powder coated finishes, then over-clamped the whole works for safety.

The saw glided over that steel like a catamaran on a lake, leaving in its wake a slit that required only a light de-burring with a hand file.

By the second side of the first box, I had disposed of the excess clamps. From there on in, I was cutting finished steel just like wood... for the first time in my life.

What a sweet ride!

I will admit I was not fully expecting this saw to work as well as it does. However upon unpacking and plugging this little gem in I was pleasantly surprised. Although its a bit on the loud side for a circular saw, and it sounds like the bearings will go out eventually (same as the angle grinder sound, and they seem to last forever). I put the saw to the test cutting a bunch of 1/4" plate for making brackets. It cuts very smooth, Id honestly say smoother than the ESAB powercut plasma my grandfather has. The cuts are surprisingly cool to the touch and require minimal if any grinding/filing to clean up the very fine burr on the edge. Even at full price this saw is worth the price, but even better if you can pick it up on sale with a coupon. It also does a very effective job at not throwing sparks all over the room, it definitely makes chips/shavings but they are much larger than grinding dust and don't get thrown across the room. Ive seen on forums where people are regularly cutting 3/8 and 1/2 plate, so i decided to test it on a piece of 1". It does cut through it, I didnt force the saw hard but just let the saw do the work, and it was actually much quicker than i thought it would be. So if you are looking for a cost effective solution to cutting up steel plate this is it.

Bought this for cutting of 16G sheet and angle etc. Can't believe it works this good for the money. The blade lasts way longer than I expected. Cuts through 1/4" material like butter.

I have had the tool for 2 months, and have cut over at least fifty feet of mild quarter, and three eight plate! No problems yet, have not even changed the blade yet!

I made a Teflon lined track for the saw, and changed the blade to a quality blade designed to cut aluminum. With clamps, the track-base and this saw with the blade for non-ferrous has cut 3/8 6061 aluminum angle well. The cut is fast and smooth and resembles a finished milled cut--no filing or sanding needed post-cut.

Removing the cover for chip removal or blade changing could be improved. I filed away part of the cover, and installed a small swing-away cover, of bent Lexan ,to cover the resulting gap during cutting, to prevent chip escape there.

I should like to see Harbor Freight import a low-cost version of the geared-down metal cutting saws (not the abrasive type) , such as the 12 inch or the 14 inch Milwaukee, etc, which are overpriced, though of asian origin. Everything in those looks the same as the abrasive chopsaws, except for the gearbox which allows metal cutting at the lower RPM suitable for toothed saw blades.

We have installed 2 steel roofs and a lot of steel soffits and it has worked well. Cuts the material like cutting thin plywood.

only rated for 2mm to 7 mm thick metal. so i tried cutting a foot of 3/8" steel plate. cut it in less than 1 minute. checked blade and it looked ok. so i cut another foot of 3/8" steel plate in less than 1 minute. felt like i was cutting a wood 2x10 board and yet i was cutting 3/8" steel.


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only thing i did not like was guard over blade was hard to remove to let metal chips out and hard to put guard back on...... this is not a friction saw it makes blue chips 1/16 to 3/16" long.......i had to adjust my cute rate, you do not want to feed it too fast and damage the blade.


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saw is not rated for solid metal. you can cut tubing 2"x2"by 1/4" wall but if you try to cut solid material you will get less blade life. you need to support both ends of metal being cut. it would be easy to cut so fast a 50 lb metal piece falls to the floor and bounces and breaks your leg.


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if you are careful (and read the manual) you will be happy and amazed at how well this saw works.

In have had mine for several years.
Purchased it for installation for steel soffit and roofing cuts great with nearly burr free edges.

I got this saw as a replacment for my old saw that wore out. It was a x-mas gift from my girl friend. Its great for cutting light metal. The thicker stuff cuts slower but will still cut it. The handle material is made from inferior materials and can break off easily. Hard to clean out the chips and replace the blade.