Tool question: chop vs band saw for metal

[FINOCJ]

Looking at metal cutting saw - getting tired of always using a 4.5" angle grinder with cut-off wheel. I think I would mostly be cutting angle iron and tubing etc.
Metal chop saw vs band saw....Neither are great for sheetmetal - but that is okay. For chop saw, I would prefer with a 'cold' cut blade with teeth as opposed to an abrasive cut-off disk, but does make it kind of pricey.
Something like this Dewalt:
https://www.dewalt.com/product/dw872...saw?tid=580536

But also looking at some sort of band saw for metal. Portability is not an issue - this will be a shop tool - and I'd probably prefer it have its own stand anyway. Portaband type saws could work - especially if it comes with more of a base and maybe had option to stand upright? Not sure how difficult it would be to change the band, but I like the idea that maybe it could also be used for basic wood work. I am not well educated in band saw options, but maybe something like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/horizo...saw-93762.html

[Java]

I have a 14" HF abrasive chop saw and it works great but is MESSY and shoots a lot of sparks and grit down at the table and out the back of the saw, so much that I don't use it inside.

[newracer]

I have a chop saw and have used it a lot. Many times I wish I had a band saw. I plan on getting stand for my porta-band.

https://www.swagoffroad.com/products...band-pro-table

[flashboiler]

I have an abrasive chop saw and a 6x10 bandsaw. I haven't used the abrasive saw in years, I hate it. Sparks everywhere, loud, messy. It does cut pretty quick though.

The bandsaw is awesome, setup a cut and let it do it's thing while you move on to the next part, or weld the last cut part. Slow but it doesn't need babysat so no biggie. I wouldn't be without it.

[FINOCJ]

Yea, not so interested in an abrasive chop saw - but a carbide toothed chop saw for cold cuts. Its definitely expensive, but no spark, no heat, and as it runs at a much slower rpm, its reasonably quiet and the blades last much longer. Trying to compare that to a horizontal/vertical combo band saw. Guess my priority is to have square, repeatable cuts and worry about band saws walking a bit - in other words trying to keep the roller guides perfectly aligned/oriented - although guessing that might have a lot to do with the quality of the machine purchased.

[Trevor?]

I have a little tabletop bandsaw from Wen that's not too bad. It's slow, but a lot quieter than chop saws and a lot cleaner than an abrasive chop saw. I also made a little table that clamps in the vice when the saw is straight up and down... kinda like a portaband table. It's challenging to get it cutting really spot on square though. I wish I would have spent the extra money on a carbide-blade chop saw. I have a carbide blade circular saw for metal that cuts great for plate and quick cuts on square bar.

We had a large band-type chopsaw at work with coolant and that thing was great.... mainly because it had better blade guides, a better vice, and better blades than my little Wen. It's one of those things like everything else where you get what you pay for mostly.

[FINOCJ]

these swap off-road portaband tables are pretty neat....combine with a quality portaband and that might be the most versatile and practical set-up.....but maybe sacrifices a bit of precision and square cuts.
https://www.swagoffroad.com/collecti...es-accessories

[Hypoid]

Band saw, all day, any day.

Our fab shop had both, they were expensive "wet" saws. The chop saw was loud, vibrated harshly, and the only way to make it work was to keep your hand on it. I used it once, never saw anyone else using it.

[Trevor?]

A little tabletop vertical bandsaw like you get with one of those Swag kits (or I get with my modified Wen: https://wenproducts.com/collections/...nchtop-bandsaw) is nice for making small brackets and tabs and whatnot. Depending on what you plan to do with it you may run into problems with the relatively small throat if you don't plan for it in your designs.

I would like to try one of these: https://store.evolutionpowertools.co...oducts/s380cps

Something like this might be better for straight or mitered cuts on tube if the clamp is of decent quality.

[Jim]

I watch the ABOM79 youtube channel. He has a couple band saws in the shop. Toss'n this your way but they might be overkill for what you're looking for:
https://www.youtube.com/c/Abom79/sea...ery=band%20saw

Are there any shop tool auctions where you'd look for used but heavier duty / more capable equipment?

[Tom]

JIM previously posted:

[JGRubicon]

I would always recommend the beefiest band saw you can get. An old job I had used to have one of the large horizontal band saws.... may that thing was so mice to use and left great edges.

I have a portaband, and I really like it. . . that thing will cut through difficult things quickly, but getting the right angle throughout the cut takes some real effort. I like ho quiet it is too, not needing hearing protection hold a lot of value for me.