Here's my [hobby] experience with saws. A chop saw would sooner or later be desireable to own because you can't cut hardened steel with a band saw. That may not be a big consideration to some but it is to me. A 14" Craftsman is rather durable. Mine is 10-12 years old and has seen a lot of use but has never been stored inside [the band saw must be inside takeing up valuable floor space]. Used the old chop saw today. Had a couple of really long, heavy pieces to cut. The chop saw can be put on the ground next to the metal. To use the band saw would require a lot of lifting and a couple of properly adjusted stands rather than a couple of blocks of wood thrown on the ground. A reasonably priced 14" chop saw [I would NOT buy a Harbor Freight model as cautioned in another post] is cheaper than a band saw. A reasonable quality 1/2" blade for my little Jet band saw is $35 [don't even plan on getting by with a cheap blade, you won't]. Chop saw blades at Harbour Freight are really cheap and work well. A chop saw has a number of problems. One is that if you cut a piece of steel and then put it in a lathe the cut area will be as hard as the hinges of hell. As mentioned above, even a quality 14" chop saw will require a bigger circut breaker than the "standard" 15 amp. And it's true that it's not all that hard to burn one up. They're a fire hazzard. Once I set the weeds in the back yard on fire and burned up two good garden hoses. Both kitchen windows on the back of the house are spattered with hot sparks. Also, the use of a dust mask is probably a good idea. If the piece being cut loosens itself in the vice a band saw will probably not do anything dangerous. A chop saw will probably blow the blade with possible dire consequences. The head on the little band saw can be stood up vertically and used to freehand cut curves in even thick steel. The chop saw won't do that. Noise is a consideration for me. I don't have a problem riding a straight piped mini during the day, but at 11 0'clock at night the chop saw might be instant cause for umbrage amoung the neighbors. Buy a small cheap band saw [1/2" thick blade] but be looking around for a good used 14" chop saw.
