Harbor Freights Mini 2 inch bench cut saw

[brstevns]

Not for sure were to post this. Is the Harbor Freight mini 2 inch cut saw what you guys are using to cut off brass etc. Want to cut off some brass for bullet swaging etc.

[dbosman]

That's the one I've been seeing in the posts.
Don't forget the 20% or 25% off coupons in most of the HF ads.

[garym1a2]

I got one, its fast, messy, slings brass into orbit and does not seem to me it will last long. But I do not have a better way yet.

[John Allen]

I have one I use for cutting arrows. It is a cheap piece of **** but works great if you remember this and do not expect much.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yep,
I use the collet end of a forester trimmer to hold the "Un-annealed" brass.
I also disassembled the HF mini chop saw and re-mounted it to it's base 180º from original, then to a block of wood that gets mounted to a work bench to compensate for the height of the forester.
Jon

[La Dano]

Yep,
I use the collet end of a forester trimmer to hold the "Un-annealed" brass.
I also disassembled the HF mini chop saw and re-mounted it to it's base 180º from original, then to a block of wood that gets mounted to a work bench to compensate for the height of the
forester.

Jon

I sure would like To see a pic. Sounds like your on to something good.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

[Frank46]

JonB, I have to say that is a slick setup. Nice laminated work bench also. Frank

[La Dano]

That helps me a lot, great idea. going to trim down 9mm Luger to 9mm Makarov. Trimming 1mm off 1K rounds will wear on me. Hehehe, hopefully primers will come back before it gets cold again.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

JonB, I have to say that is a slick setup. Nice laminated work bench also. Frank

Benchtop was a large, old (1970s?) kitchen table from a antique/thrift/junk store, $20...I cut it down to a size that'd fit in my casting room and moved the legs to a reasonable location and also mounted it to the wall.

I saved the pieces I cut off for general use...as you can see from the way the HF saw is mounted.
Jon

[brstevns]

How well does it work on the steel cases?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I haven't tried it with steel.

[Egturbo02]

it works great. Very fast. I use it to cut down my .223 brass to make 300 blk brass. Used it for over 1000 casing and no problems so far. I bought the extra warranty just in case.

[Alan in Vermont]

That helps me a lot, great idea. going to trim down 9mm Luger to 9mm Makarov. Trimming 1mm off 1K rounds will wear on me. Hehehe, hopefully primers will come back before it gets cold again.

You may have problems taking that small amount off cases. The blade won't be supported and will want to wander away from the "keeper" side of the cut, resulting in a cut way off square. The blade will end up being loaded from the side rather than the edge and you will likely get a lot of exploding blades, they just don't like side loads.

I think you would get better results if you rig a drill to spin your case trimmer.

[Egturbo02]

I noticed I get a better and smoother cut when I cut it fast. If I cut through the case slow it tends to be off a little bit and not as smooth.

[vonzep]

I made a jig that mounts in the saws to locate the brass for trimming. Just snap one in from the side, cut then push it out with the next case. Does 9mm cases or 357sig and 40 SW cases. If you cut quickly they work fine, go slow it seems to wander. Also steel cases will be a no go on these saws.

[Junior1942]

I like mine, but if you don't wear goggles you're asking for a trip to the ER. Make that a *painful* trip to the ER!

[Walter Laich]

sounds like you made that trip Junior

[Junior1942]

sounds like you made that trip Junior

Nope. The warning was because chips fly everywhere.

[gnoahhh]

alas, Harbor Freight no longer sells these saws (or so they say). Other source? Alternatives?