Not that bigger is always better....

The added capacity of 6 inch cut off wheels seems well worth an additional $8.00. This unit appears sturdier as well.

[www.harborfreight.com]

David,
All true.
One big difference, with the 6 inch wheel compared to the 3 inch wheel, is that the 6 inch wheel is twice as thick.
Not that it is that big a deal, but the 6 inch wheel will have double the saw Kerf.

One thing that I really like the 6 inch chop saw for, is to cut PVC pipe that you use for shipping rods. You can easily cut a 4 inch tube with the 6 inch chop saw, by spinning the 4 inch tube.
You are absolutely right, the 6 inch saw is considerably more robust than the mini chop saw.

But, for typical rod building the mini chop saw is nice and small, takes up almost no room, and is just the right size for the bulk of what you need a chop saw for in rod building.

Roger

David,
All true.
One big difference, with the 6 inch wheel compared to the 3 inch wheel, is that the 6 inch wheel is twice as thick.
Not that it is that big a deal, but the 6 inch wheel will have double the saw Kerf.

One thing that I really like the 6 inch chop saw for, is to cut PVC pipe that you use for shipping rods. You can easily cut a 4 inch tube with the 6 inch chop saw, by spinning the 4 inch tube.
You are absolutely right, the 6 inch saw is considerably more robust than the mini chop saw.

But, for typical rod building the mini chop saw is nice and small, takes up almost no room, and is just the right size for the bulk of what you need a chop saw for in rod building.

Roger

Roger, sounds like a lot of work for an application that a bigger saw would accomplish without all the custom modifications. By the way, I was not getting it to cut blanks, but small wood blanks for custom turned reel seats.

You can practically make anything work if your willing and able to spend the time and $$ to modify.

I have the small saw (without the mods) and it works ok but I have a bit of "extra" space since I removed one older home-made rod lathe so I'll fill it with the larger saw - especially if it has the capacity for 30, 60, 90 degree angles for projects other than rod chopping.

Phil,
Since I like to make clean cuts with minimum waste and effort, my main chop saw is one made of an 8 inch miter saw.
These saws are quite inexpensive, i.e. about $50.

This a picture of a typical saw:
[www.amazon.com]

Again, since I only choose to do straight chopping, I have added a straight bar along the back of the saw, and elevate the cutting surface by 2 inches by adding a piece of aluminum channel.
'That way, as the abrasive cut off wheel wears, I still have usefull chopping ability from the saw.
The standard chop saw that uses a blade has a stop at the bottom end of the stroke to preven the saw from going too far.
If one replaces the steel balde with an abrasive wheel, one finds that as the wheel wears, the user comes to a point where the wheel will no longer cut all of the way through the material, since the wheel has become smaller than the stroke of the saw. But, by elevating the curtting surface by 2 inches, the wheel diamter can wear down to under 6 inches and still be able to cut cleanly to the bottom of the material being cut.

By the way, I use this saw to cut aluminum, steel, plastic, fiberglass, graphite, etc. It cuts every thing like a hot knife through butter. But, with the abrasive wheel, it does not cut wood very well or other fiberous material.
For that, I use my other chop saw that has a conventional carbide tipped blade.
By the way, the larger 8 inch chop saw with the abrasive wheel does a wonderful job in cutting shipping tubes of cardboard or pvc. With no teeth on the wheel, there is nothing to catch and tear material out of the side of the shipping container.

I then use .060 thich 8 inch abrasive wheels to do the chopping.

I have the 8 inch chop saw in my "dirty shop" where I do my main cutting and lathe work.

The mini chop saw is in my "clean room" where I do very minimal cutting and or drilling.

This is a picture of the first chop saw that I built from an 8 inch miter saw:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

This was built from a $20 pawn shop saw and has since been sold to another rod builder who uses it today.

I have built another one with a newer saw but it is essentially the same design.

Roger

Roger, I wasn't looking to get into a debate about the merits of various saws! I merely was pointing out that if one believed the Harbor Freight adv that it will cut 3/4" depth they would be disappointed, because it will not.

I have many other tools for rod building including larger cutoff saw, miter saw, lathe, drill press, etc.

Phil,
My response was simply aimed to share the idea of a modified miter saw with the rod builders as another option to have in the shop, if they don't already have such a convenient item.
Be safe
Roger