Side by Side Comparison of: PORTER-CABLE vs DEWALT vs Pit Bull

Amazing chop saw. Cuts through angle iron like buttah. Sure beats using an angle grinder. Adjustable clamp makes it easy to cut angles and holds material securely in place. Good saw for the price.

Update: June, 2015. The original cutting disc was glazed over and wasn't cutting that well anymore. Got a new thin 14" disc and cuts just like new. Plenty of power and doesn't bog down. Just let the blade do its work with slight downward pressure. Don't press too hard or it will glaze the disc and not cut well.

Plenty of power - The motor spins the blade up to speed almost instantly, and maintains decent speed under load.
The D-handle makes the saw very comfortable to use - No fatigue after making several hundred cuts in a few hours.
Build quality seems excellent for the price - Uses a beefy aluminum casting for the swing arm, and thick plastic for the D-handle and motor housing.
The miter backstop can be moved to any of 3 pivot positions, or can be removed entirely.
Includes a stamped-steel wrench for changing blades - The wrench stores in a handy clip on the left side of the saw base.
Comes completely pre-assembled - Take it out of the cardboard box, remove the plastic bag cover, plug it in, and use it.

This model replaced a HF cheapie that cost roughly the same amount - and is vastly superior to the HF in every way.

Mine is brand-new - Not an "open box" item.

Although my praise may be premature having sliced and diced only about twelve pieces of 2" mild steel square tubing (fairly thin guage), I am totally impressed. First. the saw was much quieter than other similar saws I have used.....especially when cutting. Not sure why but not complaining. BTW, I still wore my ear protectors even though I don't think I needed them. The blade, which has drawn some criticism from other reviewers, sure made short work of my job. The construction of this unit looked to be typical of the breed but the actual usage left me with the feeling that this was a very solidly built unit. The built in work clamp worked as advertised. The motor speed sagged a bit only when I really pulled down hard on the D handle (another nice touch). In actual cutting, when you let the blade do it's thing without adding a lot of pressure, the cutting speed was surprisingly quick, especially after getting through the horizontal flat "top" surface. Users should always try to orient their work such that the narrowest (thinnest) surface is vertical and perpendicular to the saw blade.

I bought the chop saw to cut scrap metal and to use on pipe, strap and cast iron cutting for plumbing and heating work. Very good inexpensive tool with enough power.

I bought the chop saw based on good reviews. The saw was well built and works fine. I need to move the saw from garage to basement after each use so I want the saw's weight to be relatively low.

Exactly as described. Works great.

Good price for a factory wheel

Great cutting wheel. It sliced through hundreds of 18 ga metal studs.

Quick ship, items came as described A+++!

Cuts fine. Fits a Harbor Freight chop saw.

I love these blades. 1 of them has lasted me almost 2 years of cutting steel, stainless and titanium regularly.

Works great. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is it's excessive power draw. The only way I can run it was to install a dedicated 20 amp outlet right off the main panel. My other 20 amp outlets will run every tool in the shop except this one.

For those who complain about the sparks: It's an abrasive chop saw...it's what they do.

Saw works well for a very reasonable price. I used it for cutting metal studs and some light stone veneer on a recent outdoor kitchen project and it did almost everything I needed. In a perfect world I would have made a few changes to the design.
1) I own a nice miter saw stand with built in guides for repeated cuts of the same length which would have been very useful. I couldn't use it because I couldn't figure a way to attach the stand clamps to the base of this saw like I could with a standard miter saw.
2) The design of the clamp on this saw was very helpful most of the time but very limiting in other cases. If cutting anything that is more than a few inches it works great, a quick release + screw drive allows the clamp to adjust quickly and easily. If you are trying to cut anything short it either won't be able to clamp it at all or it will partially clamp it in a way that the item "tilts" and doesn't cut at a 90 degree angle.
3) The guide and clamp are designed to allow it to adjust for angled cuts which is nice. However it is a primitive design where you loosen a bolt, manually adjust the guide and then re-tighten the bolt. I didn't have need for angled cuts so this wasn't a problem but if the need had been there it would have been nice to have some "positive stops" to adjust to.

Other than that a great unit. My review may not be completely fair as this is the first chop saw I have used and I want to compare it to my higher end miter saw. Unit really is good for what it is and the price I paid. Thought it kind of strange that it had no problem cutting thick gauge steel studs but really struggled cutting some really thick aluminum flat bar. If you are not familiar with abrasion blades keep in mind you will need extra blades if doing anything more than a moderately sized home project as they wear themselves out as they cut. Worked really good for what I needed.

I am not a professional tradesperson, and I imagine the pros have higher expectations for their tools, but it's working out just fine for me. Once I got used to cutting metal, I found it to be a massive improvement over that damned hacksaw, heh. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions - I'm glad I bought this saw!

UPDATE: This saw has worked great for cutting conduit, but trying to cut 5/8" rebar at a 45 degree angle is asking too much of it, it seems. The diagonal ribs on the rebar diverted the blade on one cut so that it started sawing into its own base. Even after replacing the cutting wheel with a highly-rated DeWalt one, the 45 degree cuts take WAY too long. I'm going to buy a portable band saw for the rebar and use the chop saw only for conduit.

This is the only Chop Saw I have ever had/used, so I can't compare it to others. But it works well and seems like a good deal. The one thing I quickly discovered (and I expect this is the same for all chop saws) is that trying to cut through something of any significant thickness without moving it can be an exercise in frustration. When you first start cutting it goes quickly, and then rapidly stops making any descernable progress. As near as I can tell, this is due to the metal having melted very briefly and spreading out resulting in a much larger surface area it is trying to cut through (might even harder metal after being "heat treated"). Before I figured this out, I was unable to make any progress after the 1st few seconds on a thick piece of steel pipe (about 3/16" thick, ID 1 3/8"?). But then I set it up so I could twist it slowly while cutting, and it went through it almost like it was butter! Could be there are different types of blades available that don't have this problem, but it works great so long as you keep this in mind.

This is a good saw. Much better than the 30 year old miter saw with a metal cutting blade I had been using previously. This cuts well, but I find that the abrasive disk doesn't like making more than 2 cuts in a short period of time. When it gets heated up it tends not to cut as well as it does the first time of each use. That is more of a disc problem and not a saw problem. My only complaint with the saw itself is the lack of mounting holes for bolting it to a table. But that is something easily solved if you can weld and fabricate your own parts. Also an improvement would be some sort of pointer that lets you know where the blade is going to come down when you're trying to line up your parts for cutting, but not a major gripe and can also be easily solved with some creativity.

I have only used this saw to cut steel tubing and some steel round and rectangle stock and it has been great thus far. When I wear out the abrasive disc I would like to try out a metal cutting blade with the hopes of better cuts. It does cut straight which is always a good thing!

I like it .

They cut well, but flex easily making cuts a little wonky at times, but that probably has a lot to do with the thickness.

cut like it should

Replacement for an old wheel. Haven't used it yet. Looks like the old one (most all new products are shadows of their former selves), so it's probably okay.

Very good blade for a good price

Just as described

Not particularly high quality, but it gets the job down. Bogs down on thicker pieces, but that's to be expected on an "economy" chop saw. Goes through 1/8" angle iron easily.

Not bad for the price.. regarding "Open Box" - mine was well packed and appeared new from the outside packaging - there was only a minor scuff on the top of the unit. It does come with one metal cutting blade.

Unfortunately mine arrived with a broken blade.

Shipped and arrived as promised but did not meet expectation for cutting tube steel. Cuts extremely slow and did not cut square due to blade deflection when pushed. Disappointed after purchase. I ended up going back to using cut off wheel on my 4 1/2" grinder, it was much faster. I would have returned to Amazon but it is now in used condition and don't want to accept 50% of what I paid for it. If you are looking to purchase there are probably better machines for sale.

Works for me but is not heavy grade to be expected for the low price. I only use the saw about once a week. Don't buy this saw if you are going to use it everyday. Adjustments are awkward and not very accurate.

I chose this saw because porter cable is well known brand and was almost half the price of the competitors. I literally took it out of the box, set it on my workbench, plugged it in and started cutting 3/16" angle iron and .120" wall DOM steel tubing. It basically cuts straight and is adequate power. Only thing bad I could say is that the blade that comes with it isn't very good. Cuts slow on flat material... oh well. I'll buy a better blade when this one wears out and I think this saw should be good to go.

I use it to cut tubing (mostly .120" wall square and round or 1/8"-3/16" angle iron) to make roll cage add ons to my off road race truck and general metal working projects at my home shop. I am not an industrial user. I did bear down pretty hard on it to see what it takes to slow it down and was basically impressed with its power.

I am happy with this purchase. I would give 5 stars except for the blade but that is expected. My Skilsaw, Sawzall, and some other cutting tools i have are all great machines that came with cheap blades. Once i put good blades in them, they are kick ass!

UPDATE:
Watch out. This saw only cuts 45 degree cuts in one direction. No big deal really but if you need to make opposing miters on angle iron you will have problems. In hindsight I would pay more for a saw that cut both ways.

So, it cuts. If you need something quick and dirty (and this is dirty!) it will be OK. I needed to cut 45 degree miters in 3x1" 14ga steel… yeah, nuh. I think the blade must have been deflecting as I cut, because across that 3" the cut was out of square by around 10mm. (I think metric, buy steel in old-world inches). I checked the base - it's not perfectly true but doesn't account for that size of a problem, ditto for how perpendicular the blade is. So anyway, welding those mitered cuts together was a bitch. For straight 90 degree cuts this would be OK.

The blade is not 90 degrees to the horizontal surface. Roughly a couple of degrees off. Doesn't sound like much, but if you cut 45 degree angles and need to weld them together, you can have flush top, and a gap of a few millimeters on the bottom, depending on the size of the material. (about 3/16" with 1 1/4" square tubing). That's not an acceptable tolerance. Not sure if it's my particular machine, or an overall lack of quality.Other than that, the machine feels sturdy and powerful enough.

After doing some research on chop saws, I went with the Porter-Cable. Based on price and reviews it seemed like a good deal.It arrived with a decent amount of damage due to the insufficient packaging job by Porter-Cable, which leaves the saw free to bounce around during shipping. The blade guard was bent and scratched, the vise handle was bent inward, and the frame was slightly bent.Barring the shipping damage, the saw itself is quite cheesy. The frame is as rigid as a wet noodle - it's somewhat thin stamped steel and is extremely flexible. The vise parts are somewhat flimsy as well. Overall fit and finish is poor, with messy welds tying the cheap parts together. I tried cutting some steel just for grins and it bogged easily. All of this is slightly disconcerting, especially in a saw.It was quickly returned and I ordered a Milwaukee 6180-20 from Home Depot, which is easily twice as good, but not twice the price. The base is rigid cast aluminum, the frame parts are very heavy, and the vise is sturdy. It's quieter and cuts much better. I noticed in Home Depot that the Rigid R4141 seemed nice as well.Save your money and buy something better.

I got one with rough patch witch made it unsafe to use. Won't get this again just because QC didn't catch it.

The biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. Can barely cut through trim molding.. Adjustment sucks... Junk junk junk

sent back husband didn't want

Works well.... very satisfied. Shipped as promised on time.

It was used, when it was sent to me. If I could get ta new one as ordered it would be a higher rating.

Came warped, could not use.

After only a few cuts, it becomes useless. Creates sparks, but no cutting. A total waste of money.

This thing blew up on me. Only used a handful of times.. been using a generic brand since then, no problems.THIS COULD HAVE REALLY DONE SOME DAMAGE IF IT HIT ME