*Chip-wise, I throw an old tube sock around a harbor freight magnetic socket bar. It sticks to my fixture table and catches more than half of what flies by and once a week I send it to the trash.*
Ive got a Milwaukee 18v steel cutting circ saw, its smaller and spins a bit slower, guard is made for it also. It’s awesome. The trick is to set the blade height right and not just full depth, only want 3-4mm deeper than the material.
I use a 7-1/4 inch Diablo blade on a 10 inch compound miter saw that was made for wood. The miter saw is lower RPM than 7 inch circular saws and works great on steel, including stainless. Precise cuts in metal, just like in wood. Great use for a miter saw that I didn't need any longer.
Thank you for taking the time and making this post. Great help for me! Keep doing such wonderful work in the future also. Good luck with your upcoming updates.
I LOVE using my circular saw for steel. Genuinely the best way I've found for straight lines on plate and rectangular tubing. I've been using it to cut plate steel to make a carb box and plenums for a blow through supercharger setup on a classic car.
In my welding and metal adventures, I leaned that using a wood miter saw with a metal grinding wheel is a very bad idea. It melted the plastic base, oops, lol. So then I bought a metal miter saw which did a decent job, but not good enough that I depended on it. In the end I actually more often reached for my JIGSAW because it cut faster, didn't make the metal hot, made a clean cut, and was way less intimidating. So what I wanted to say, don't underestimate a jigsaw for cutting smaller pieces of metal.
those weren't grinding wheels, those were cutting wheels and there's a LOT of difference in how much heat each one generates - grinding is by definition a heat inducing process, while cutting is much more dependent on the force applied. I may be wrong, but it seems the author of this video pushed the saws quite a bit which isn't the best way to handle such a tough cut.
Love that Steel Demon blade I’ve used it to cut all sorts of stock. Only thing to note is that the minimum cut thickness is a real limit. Mine said it’s minimum was 1/8th thick I used it on 1/16th material assuming I’d just have a rough cut or something like that. Instead the balde stalled in the material something which probably would have been really dangerous if my saw didn’t have an anti kickback mechanism.
I've always used an old plywood blade turned backward to cut very thin sheet steel. I'm an old guy and we didn't have these fancy carbide blades back in the day (or couldn't afford them).
Very nice content, brief and to the point...exactly what I was looking for. Looks like I'll be shopping for a Diablo metal cutting blade for a very simple project. [ I've used that brand name in many other projects and like the quality. ]
I got a Stihl battery powered chop saw with a carbon blade. It has a water input to keep sparks down. I normally don’t use water with it. But the Stihl chop saw cuts way faster and smoother. Plus I can put a diamond blade on and cut tile, brick, block, asphalt and masonry etc. as well. Just a better option for my use case.
Thanks for your video Tim. I’m a new sub and a beginning welder. I saw one of the evolution Dawson an advertisement and then shopped around and found the Diablo blades. Put them on my circular saw and it works great nice clean cuts Much faster than a grinder with a cutting wheel. Thanks
I have two sidewinders one late 60s industrial 7 inch Craftsman and one BandD saw force from 90s. I'm going to restore an old Skil Model 77 Worm Drive Super Duty and designate it as metal only. I love the older tools myself
Bearing in mind these steel cutting discs run about 50 Quid (55 Bucks) give or take….it would be nice to know how many cuts in thick steel you could get before it dulled.
I’m needing to cut holes to vent under my mobile home. The underpinning is made of steel. I have a circular saw so I need to go get a steel blade. Can you tell me what kind of blade to get thank you. The underpinning is wavy. It’s not flat and I’m getting too much moisture underneath my mobile home, I’m just trying to figure things out. Thank you.
I have been doing this for about 3 years with standard skills upto 1/2” plate thicknesses. Guys you need to know this. These blades do have a bit of a learning curve. #1 rule, they do not like vibration. Secure your work piece. Also try to support your drop piece. It will bind and chip or knock the teeth off the blade. Those blades are expensive but they do leave a great cut edge you can touch instantly. Also you can a bevel to your cut Illuminating the need to grind it in.
@@meo7823 I had good blade life with it on steel that thick. I would cut 200 studs or u-channel a day. Maybe about 3 days. Because your cutting steel be sure not to allow the blade to get pinched between the material when you cut.
This is a game-changer. I never even thought I could get a metal cutting blade for my circular saw! With that and an inexpensive welder from Harbor Freight, I can start doing those little one-off metalworking jobs I've wanted to try without investing loads of money right away. Outstanding!
I have evolution miter saw. Its blade lasted only ~20 cuts through square tubing with .25 wall. After that it become completely dull. And new blade costs $70…
What a let down. I have the evolution 14” dedicated metal chop saw and the blade is still going strong after many, many cuts. I’d be pretty disappointed if it died that soon.
We use Diablo 14" blade D1472CF for steel (ferrous mateirals). Its a beast! Make sure you run it on slow dry chop saw. Speed and heat is what kills the blade.
I ruined my 14" Evolution blade too. I was cutting 1.25 x 1.25 x 0.125 angle bed rails. Chincy little bed rails?? Come to find out, bed rails are often hardened steel, not mild. And hardened steel will kill a metal cutting blade real quick. Expensive lesson for me; confirm the hardness of your metal before cutting!
Nice video. I’ve tried a steel demon on a non-sliding miter saw. Works, but bogs down. A slider might do better, as the blade wouldn’t be trying to plunge into the side of plate.
I didn’t see this video earlier, but now that I have, I admit I’ve been thinking about this for a while. There are a number of these, and some are pretty expensive. I have a Morse blade for steel for my cabinet saw, but it’s only up to 0.125”. I can’t get one for thicker steel, and I get why. Aluminum is easy I can cut up to 2” thick with a non ferrous blade. I use plasma for long steel, but you know that can be a mess. I wonder if a worm drive saw would work well for this. It’s slower, and has massive power.
Curious if the old B&D saw had a 13 amp or a 15 amp motor. I feel like a lot of older circ saws were 13 amp. Probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but still wondering. Think I am going to pick up one of those Diablo blades until I am ready to pull the trigger on an Evolution.
It’s 13 amp. It’s fairly worn out, so I’m surprised how well it worked. It made a bit of a mess, but cut faster and left a cleaner edge than a cutoff wheel.
IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FINALLY THANK YOU Thanks for trying it out man, metal cutting circular saws are extremely hard to get and I always wanted to ask someone if slapping a metal cutting blade on a regular circular saw is a good idea. Mainly because i have no access to oxy-ace/plasma etc. And that metal cutting saws are very expensive where Im at.
Makita makes a specialty version of this saw that collects all (or almost all) of the hot little metal chips. If you put a Diablo blade in it it works fantastically.
I was skepticle of a 20 volt circular saw. But I have several B&D 20 volt batteries and the drill Works great ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxjpBI8OOeUXib_iT7UomCrQ-uauwZJ62c . I saw the 4 stars and some glowing reviews so decided to purchase this saw. Well, leave your money in your pocket and run a cord because this little saw won't cut
How is the Diablo still holding up for you? I picked one up and was using it to make 12” straight cuts on 1/4” plate steel. Half way through the 4th cut, it stopped cutting any farther. I got a total of 43” use out of it. The first 3 cuts were impressive. Until it stopped on the 4th cut, there was too much heat either. 😕
I tried this. It works but not ideal for my use. I bought a carbide tipped saw blade for steel. Similar to the Diablo. Can’t remember the name. Returned the blade.
It depends on what you want to do. I bought this to cut sheets to size to fit on my CNC plasma cutter and cut weld coupons for video demos. Compared with my handheld powermax 30, the circular saw is much faster. It also leaves a cleaner, basically machined edge that is ready to weld. If what you have is doing what you need, I wouldn’t bother with it, but it is another option.
I've never used a circular saw to cut steel but it seems like your blade depth is way too deep. You'd want to set the blade depth so it's barely deep enough to cut the material. I found this out while cutting wood using a guide and I kept getting crooked cuts. It was because the the saw blade was way too deep so it would get caught going in a direction that was slightly off and then it wouldn't want to correct becuase half of the blade inside the cut as opposed to it barely sticking through and being able to use more of the saw blade teeth, if that makes sense. Another reason to do this, no metal espeically, I would think the saw blade might wear out quicker like abrasive disc does on an angle grinder if it's inside of a deep cut. Best trick to make angle grinder disc last a longer is to not have them too deep, just as much as required or else your unneccesarily rubbing the disc on material that's already cut through. That makes a huge difference in the longevity of a disc. Fireball tools has a great video about it.
Hi I'm late to the party but here's my input; I cut mainly 3/4 plywood and small timber like 2x2 a lot and I learned early on that you get a professional finish to the ply edges, and less strain on the saw and blade if you cut in 2 stages. For 3/4 I set the blade shallower than halfway, this stops blowout at the back. After this cut I set the blade at about 2-3mm below the workpiece. I'm just thinking aloud that this might be effective for cutting steel, and blade life.
@@TimWelds exactly, and the OEMblade is very thin kerf and made in Japan ... I have 3 of the and I cut 1/2" with it regularly ....you would have to pry them out of my dead hands ...
@@halledwardb i have the 18 volt version also. Its ok - ish. 5 3/8” blade diameter Its cuts ok for a battery powered tool. No comparison to the corded one though !!! And you need at at bare min 5.0 ah batteries 9.0 ah are strongly suggested. And buy a few spare blades as well! Smaller diameter + less teeth = much shorter blade life span
I cut 1/4 inch wall 2 inch square tubing g with my 48 tooth steel demon on a standard wood cutting saw No problems. Just don't push hard. My old abrasive chop saw is collecting dust
You should’ve tested with either the same saw comparing different blades or same blade with different saws. Not sure what this video is doing other than showing us two different blades and two different saws.
I made the mistake of buying two Evolution multi material chop saws and they are absolute junk. The 7 1/4 motor blew nearly a week in and the larger 14" is so far out of sq and bevels. I should have payed more attention to the reviews but I ended up buying a better brand from welding supply store.
Same experience. I bought the one he's using in this vid. Two days of full time cutting for fabrication (3x2 3/16th tube) and the saw is junk. The internal gearbox is shot and won't spin the blade when you start into material.
You pretty much hit on it, it’s not so much a question of which is better than the other it’s which is best for you. if you’re in a metal fabrication get the right tool if you’re just gonna cut a little bit a tubing or a small amount of sheet metal just get the blade for the tools you have. the right answer is what do you need not what tool can you brag about to your neighbors and friends.
You can learn to weld. I'll show you exactly what to do in my affordable online welding courses at courses.timwelds.com.
*Chip-wise, I throw an old tube sock around a harbor freight magnetic socket bar. It sticks to my fixture table and catches more than half of what flies by and once a week I send it to the trash.*
It's wild to see a circular saw plowing through Steel with a freehand cut. I can easily see how that would come in handy quite often.
I think it’s pretty cool too!
Your spot on sir
Ive got a Milwaukee 18v steel cutting circ saw, its smaller and spins a bit slower, guard is made for it also. It’s awesome. The trick is to set the blade height right and not just full depth, only want 3-4mm deeper than the material.
I use a 7-1/4 inch Diablo blade on a 10 inch compound miter saw that was made for wood. The miter saw is lower RPM than 7 inch circular saws and works great on steel, including stainless. Precise cuts in metal, just like in wood. Great use for a miter saw that I didn't need any longer.
How long can u used such a blade diablo or evolution ? I cut 1.5mm steel
Great info. Will try.
Got the Evolution...couldn't be happier...cut heavy tube steel like butter...Thanks so much!!!
Thank you for taking the time and making this post. Great help for me! Keep doing such wonderful work in the future also. Good luck with your upcoming updates.
I LOVE using my circular saw for steel. Genuinely the best way I've found for straight lines on plate and rectangular tubing. I've been using it to cut plate steel to make a carb box and plenums for a blow through supercharger setup on a classic car.
We have that saw in our shop, we cut 1/2" plate with it. Just swapped out the breaker for a tad bigger one to stop it from kicking out
In my welding and metal adventures, I leaned that using a wood miter saw with a metal grinding wheel is a very bad idea. It melted the plastic base, oops, lol. So then I bought a metal miter saw which did a decent job, but not good enough that I depended on it. In the end I actually more often reached for my JIGSAW because it cut faster, didn't make the metal hot, made a clean cut, and was way less intimidating. So what I wanted to say, don't underestimate a jigsaw for cutting smaller pieces of metal.
those weren't grinding wheels, those were cutting wheels and there's a LOT of difference in how much heat each one generates - grinding is by definition a heat inducing process, while cutting is much more dependent on the force applied. I may be wrong, but it seems the author of this video pushed the saws quite a bit which isn't the best way to handle such a tough cut.
Love that Steel Demon blade I’ve used it to cut all sorts of stock. Only thing to note is that the minimum cut thickness is a real limit. Mine said it’s minimum was 1/8th thick I used it on 1/16th material assuming I’d just have a rough cut or something like that. Instead the balde stalled in the material something which probably would have been really dangerous if my saw didn’t have an anti kickback mechanism.
I've always used an old plywood blade turned backward to cut very thin sheet steel. I'm an old guy and we didn't have these fancy carbide blades back in the day (or couldn't afford them).
Worm drive saws run at 4400rpm
I've been using one to cut steel for a while. Works fine
Awesome...I always wondered how well those Diablo blades actually worked, good to know that's a decent option 👍
Very nice content, brief and to the point...exactly what I was looking for. Looks like I'll be shopping for a Diablo metal cutting blade for a very simple project. [ I've used that brand name in many other projects and like the quality. ]
I got a Stihl battery powered chop saw with a carbon blade. It has a water input to keep sparks down. I normally don’t use water with it. But the Stihl chop saw cuts way faster and smoother. Plus I can put a diamond blade on and cut tile, brick, block, asphalt and masonry etc. as well. Just a better option for my use case.
Thanks for your video Tim. I’m a new sub and a beginning welder. I saw one of the evolution Dawson an advertisement and then shopped around and found the Diablo blades. Put them on my circular saw and it works great nice clean cuts Much faster than a grinder with a cutting wheel.
Thanks
Thanks for your video. It helped me to solve the square edge cutting problem. Keep it up.
Thank you! I'm going to put this to use tomorrow!
I have two sidewinders one late 60s industrial 7 inch Craftsman and one BandD saw force from 90s. I'm going to restore an old Skil Model 77 Worm Drive Super Duty and designate it as metal only. I love the older tools myself
Bearing in mind these steel cutting discs run about 50 Quid (55 Bucks) give or take….it would be nice to know how many cuts in thick steel you could get before it dulled.
I’m needing to cut holes to vent under my mobile home. The underpinning is made of steel. I have a circular saw so I need to go get a steel blade. Can you tell me what kind of blade to get thank you. The underpinning is wavy. It’s not flat and I’m getting too much moisture underneath my mobile home, I’m just trying to figure things out. Thank you.
If you've never used this type of saw you need to try one out. They cut great, just don't push too hard.
Thanks for this nice video. I'll definitely be getting a steel cutting blade for my Black and Decker.
can you show the blades carbide tips close-up of both metal and wood saw blades
I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for a spare circular saw. Thanks for the video!
Just bought one . need to cut 1/8 thick titanium plate for knife handles to put in my cnc mill
Hope it will work
Thanks for making this video 🍻🍻
I have been doing this for about 3 years with standard skills upto 1/2” plate thicknesses. Guys you need to know this. These blades do have a bit of a learning curve. #1 rule, they do not like vibration. Secure your work piece. Also try to support your drop piece. It will bind and chip or knock the teeth off the blade. Those blades are expensive but they do leave a great cut edge you can touch instantly. Also you can a bevel to your cut Illuminating the need to grind it in.
How long can u used such a blade diablo or evolution ? I cut 1.5mm steel
@@meo7823 I had good blade life with it on steel that thick. I would cut 200 studs or u-channel a day. Maybe about 3 days. Because your cutting steel be sure not to allow the blade to get pinched between the material when you cut.
I thought maybe a year off longer😥
This is a game-changer. I never even thought I could get a metal cutting blade for my circular saw! With that and an inexpensive welder from Harbor Freight, I can start doing those little one-off metalworking jobs I've wanted to try without investing loads of money right away. Outstanding!
I have evolution miter saw. Its blade lasted only ~20 cuts through square tubing with .25 wall. After that it become completely dull. And new blade costs $70…
What a let down. I have the evolution 14” dedicated metal chop saw and the blade is still going strong after many, many cuts. I’d be pretty disappointed if it died that soon.
We use Diablo 14" blade D1472CF for steel (ferrous mateirals). Its a beast! Make sure you run it on slow dry chop saw. Speed and heat is what kills the blade.
I ruined my 14" Evolution blade too. I was cutting 1.25 x 1.25 x 0.125 angle bed rails. Chincy little bed rails?? Come to find out, bed rails are often hardened steel, not mild. And hardened steel will kill a metal cutting blade real quick.
Expensive lesson for me; confirm the hardness of your metal before cutting!
@@steves7896I figured out how to resharpen it with angle grinder.
@@_Mikekkk Good thing, I didn't throw my ruined blade away. (I never throw anything away, it's terrible. 😅)
Man! I have a brand new Skil Sidewinder that will get one of those Diablo blades! Perfect for small projects. Thanks for this videos!!!
Nice video. I’ve tried a steel demon on a non-sliding miter saw. Works, but bogs down. A slider might do better, as the blade wouldn’t be trying to plunge into the side of plate.
@@benisrood Mine is 5/8 arbor?
Wow never thought I could do that. Thanks.
Definitely a super helpful channel for me as a beginner fabricator/welder. Subbed, thanks brother
Tim. 🍿🥁✌️👍
Using the diablo on a small old cordless crafstman for angle pieces 🙄😂😂😂
I love those Diablo steel demon blades.
I didn’t see this video earlier, but now that I have, I admit I’ve been thinking about this for a while. There are a number of these, and some are pretty expensive. I have a Morse blade for steel for my cabinet saw, but it’s only up to 0.125”. I can’t get one for thicker steel, and I get why. Aluminum is easy I can cut up to 2” thick with a non ferrous blade. I use plasma for long steel, but you know that can be a mess.
I wonder if a worm drive saw would work well for this. It’s slower, and has massive power.
I bet a worm saw would be perfect!
Thanks for the lesson!
I saw a trade show display booth guy cut half inch steel off a length of I beam with the diablo
Curious if the old B&D saw had a 13 amp or a 15 amp motor. I feel like a lot of older circ saws were 13 amp. Probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but still wondering. Think I am going to pick up one of those Diablo blades until I am ready to pull the trigger on an Evolution.
It’s 13 amp. It’s fairly worn out, so I’m surprised how well it worked. It made a bit of a mess, but cut faster and left a cleaner edge than a cutoff wheel.
I'm a beginner and has a small arc welding machine. Is it possible to use E6013 rod to weld stainless steel ? Thanks !
To the point, and educational. Thanks!
Another great and informative video Tim . . . keep em comin!!!
Thanks Daniel!
can we use the normal circular saw that used to cut plywood? only change the blade is it?
These saws are designed to cut metal and run at a lower rpm then a regular wood saw. Your wood saw might burn up if you use it a lot cutting metal.
@@justinw123 i cant find the specific circle saw machine for curting metal sheet.
how much is the circular saw for cutting stee l?
I bought three blades for my skill saw and not one made it through a 4 foot cut of 3/16 plate... i guess i need the specialy saw
IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FINALLY THANK YOU
Thanks for trying it out man, metal cutting circular saws are extremely hard to get and I always wanted to ask someone if slapping a metal cutting blade on a regular circular saw is a good idea. Mainly because i have no access to oxy-ace/plasma etc. And that metal cutting saws are very expensive where Im at.
You should leave the Amazon link for the skill saw blade to make a little money off that.
Useful video, good information I think I will try one of this cutter it’s seems to be a good cutter.
Makita makes a specialty version of this saw that collects all (or almost all) of the hot little metal chips. If you put a Diablo blade in it it works fantastically.
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t seen that saw before, but I just looked it up and it looks really nice.
I was skepticle of a 20 volt circular saw. But I have several B&D 20 volt batteries and the drill Works great ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxjpBI8OOeUXib_iT7UomCrQ-uauwZJ62c . I saw the 4 stars and some glowing reviews so decided to purchase this saw. Well, leave your money in your pocket and run a cord because this little saw won't cut
How is the Diablo still holding up for you? I picked one up and was using it to make 12” straight cuts on 1/4” plate steel. Half way through the 4th cut, it stopped cutting any farther. I got a total of 43” use out of it. The first 3 cuts were impressive. Until it stopped on the 4th cut, there was too much heat either. 😕
How much force did you apply during the cut?
@@vaakdemandante8772 not much at all. I let the blade do the work.
I tried this. It works but not ideal for my use. I bought a carbide tipped saw blade for steel. Similar to the Diablo. Can’t remember the name. Returned the blade.
How about the makita 40v one
Thanks for the video.
The cheaper one is better for me as long as it does the job.💯
It’s good to use the tool designed for the job and no substitute for good blade.
Absolutely! The right tools make work so much more enjoyable.
How much
Any advantage of having one of these if you already have a Powermax85 plasma cutter? It's a tool I want but can't really justify...
It depends on what you want to do. I bought this to cut sheets to size to fit on my CNC plasma cutter and cut weld coupons for video demos. Compared with my handheld powermax 30, the circular saw is much faster. It also leaves a cleaner, basically machined edge that is ready to weld. If what you have is doing what you need, I wouldn’t bother with it, but it is another option.
Great video
I've never used a circular saw to cut steel but it seems like your blade depth is way too deep. You'd want to set the blade depth so it's barely deep enough to cut the material. I found this out while cutting wood using a guide and I kept getting crooked cuts. It was because the the saw blade was way too deep so it would get caught going in a direction that was slightly off and then it wouldn't want to correct becuase half of the blade inside the cut as opposed to it barely sticking through and being able to use more of the saw blade teeth, if that makes sense. Another reason to do this, no metal espeically, I would think the saw blade might wear out quicker like abrasive disc does on an angle grinder if it's inside of a deep cut. Best trick to make angle grinder disc last a longer is to not have them too deep, just as much as required or else your unneccesarily rubbing the disc on material that's already cut through. That makes a huge difference in the longevity of a disc. Fireball tools has a great video about it.
Thanks for the comment! It is better to have a more shallow depth.
@@TimWelds you seem like a good dude, keep it up, I’m going through all of your videos currently
Hi I'm late to the party but here's my input; I cut mainly 3/4 plywood and small timber like 2x2 a lot and I learned early on that you get a professional finish to the ply edges, and less strain on the saw and blade if you cut in 2 stages. For 3/4 I set the blade shallower than halfway, this stops blowout at the back. After this cut I set the blade at about 2-3mm below the workpiece. I'm just thinking aloud that this might be effective for cutting steel, and blade life.
Get the milwaukee 8” you will never be disappointed or look back!
That Milwaukee looks like a beast! The chip collection looks good on it too.
@@TimWelds exactly, and the OEMblade is very thin kerf and made in Japan ... I have 3 of the and I cut 1/2" with it regularly ....you would have to pry them out of my dead hands ...
@@halledwardb i have the 18 volt version also. Its ok - ish.
5 3/8” blade diameter
Its cuts ok for a battery powered tool. No comparison to the corded one though !!! And you need at at bare min 5.0 ah batteries 9.0 ah are strongly suggested.
And buy a few spare blades as well!
Smaller diameter + less teeth = much shorter blade life span
I cut 1/4 inch wall 2 inch square tubing g with my 48 tooth steel demon on a standard wood cutting saw No problems. Just don't push hard. My old abrasive chop saw is collecting dust
Absolutely my abrasive chop saw also it’s make a lot of dust, I will try one of these new blade.
You should’ve tested with either the same saw comparing different blades or same blade with different saws. Not sure what this video is doing other than showing us two different blades and two different saws.
@edvardini ahhh I figured this guy only made educational videos
Seem safer than a angle grider, but i could be wrong
I made the mistake of buying two Evolution multi material chop saws and they are absolute junk. The 7 1/4 motor blew nearly a week in and the larger 14" is so far out of sq and bevels. I should have payed more attention to the reviews but I ended up buying a better brand from welding supply store.
Same experience. I bought the one he's using in this vid. Two days of full time cutting for fabrication (3x2 3/16th tube) and the saw is junk. The internal gearbox is shot and won't spin the blade when you start into material.
Looked like the saw blade was set too deep.
You pretty much hit on it, it’s not so much a question of which is better than the other it’s which is best for you. if you’re in a metal fabrication get the right tool if you’re just gonna cut a little bit a tubing or a small amount of sheet metal just get the blade for the tools you have. the right answer is what do you need not what tool can you brag about to your neighbors and friends.
Totally! Sometimes the simplest solution is the best!