Milwaukee 6232-6 6 Amp Portable Band Saw

You've probably seen one of these Milwaukee portable band saws around on various job sites for years. The 6232-6 is Milwaukee's kit number for the 6230 variable-speed, deep-cut band saw with a blow molded plastic storage case.
I bought the 6230 band saw for the same reasons that everbody else does, to cut steel strut, pipe and conduit. Although it doesn't cut nearly as fast as a chop saw, this tool does have certain advantages over and above even the best chop saws. The most obvious being that you can bring this tool to the work as opposed to bringing the work to the tool. It also doesn't require dedicated space and the ampere draw is much lower for generator-powered job sites.
It has the capacity to handle up to 4" heavy-wall rigid conduit or black iron pipe and it's heck of a lot faster than a hacksaw or pipe cutter. It also makes a much cleaner, straighter cut. The variable-speed switch makes it easier to start a cut and to control the saw throughout the entire cut than...Read more

My experience with portable band saws started with an earlier version of the Milwaukee 6230 (the 6230 and the 6232-6 are the same model) and it was the two speed model. That two speed model worked very well in cutting Uni-Strut and rigid conduit. My only problem with the saw was that it had two speeds, low and high. The low speed was ok, but you could not "ease" into the cut or switch into high while cutting.

When my electrical job was done I sold that saw and used an abrasive chop saw for a long time for cutting conduit and Uni-Strut. While at a job site I saw a guy with a Milwaukee 6230 Deep Cut Band Saw. It was a variable speed saw and what appeared to be a slightly larger capacity cut. I tried it and it would start at a crawl and go to full speed (and any speed in between) by pulling the trigger. I was hooked! I had to get one.

The chop saw was fine except that it was loud, threw sparks everywhere and the cut often left a large sharp burr that had to be...Read more

I cut a lot of conduit at work and had used band saws belonging to others several times. Finally I decided to take the plunge and buy one of my own. I had never used a deep-cut model and will probably never cut anything larger than unistrut, so my selection was based on the variable-speed feature more than anything else. To cut to the chase, this saw is a bit awkward to use...Milwaukee located the motor dead in the line of sight of the blade and it's harder to get and keep the cut on a line than with the standard depth saw. It cuts very well and the variable speed control is great, but after using the standard depth model (which affords great visibility for making cuts) this one is somewhat of a letdown. Had I tried one in the field first I would not have bought one. In terms of quality, it's a Milwaukee...! I just wish the design were more user-friendly.