This Home Made Power Hacksaw Cuts Quick And Clean

If you’re cutting metal in the workshop, you’re likely using a table-mounted cutoff saw, or perhaps a bandsaw for finer work. The power hacksaw is an unwieldy contraption that looks and feels very old fashioned in its operation. Despite the drawbacks inherent in the design, [Emiel] decided to build one that operates under drill power, and it came out a treat.

The build uses a basic battery powered drill as its power source. This is connected to a shaft which rotates a linkage not dissimilar to that seen on steam locomotives, but in reverse. The linkage in this case is turning the rotational motion of the drill into linear motion of the hacksaw, which moves along a metal rail, guided by a 3D printed bearing.

With a body of plywood and plastic moving parts, this might not be your tool of choice for high-volume, fast paced work. However, as [Emiel] notes, it’s faster than doing it by hand, and it was a fun build that by and large, used what was already lying around the workshop. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a powered hacksaw use 3D printed parts, either. Video after the break.

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The Almost Useful Machine

[Alex] is no stranger to making machines of negligible utility. A few years ago he made the Almost Useless Machine, a solar-powered system that cuts through a 20mm dowel rod while you wait (and wait, and wait). Enamored by the internet’s bevy of powered hacksaws, he sought to build a sturdier version that’s a little more useful. Approximately five months of free time later, he had the Almost Useful Machine.

It runs on a wiper motor and a recycled power supply from a notebook computer. [Alex] rolled his own board for controlling the motor with an ATtiny25. The circuit turns potentiometer movement into PWM, which controls the motor through a MOSFET. After the cut is finished, an endstop microswitch  immediately cuts the motor.

Every bit of the chassis is aluminum that [Alex] machined by hand. Don’t have that kind of setup? How about a powered hacksaw with a 3D-printed linkage? Make the jump to see it in action, and stick around for the two-part time-lapse build video.

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