Can you put a metal wheel on a miter saw to cut metal without destroying your compound miter saw. I understand that the sparks will cause problems to the plastic guards. But is there any other problems associated with doing this. I have a 12 in Craftsman. I want to cut metal. But I hate to buy a cut off saw if I could transform this into a cut off saw.
Thanks

There are metal cutting wheels that you can put on most saws. I have done this frequently when cutting spring steel for small folk musical instruments that I make. I don't know how thick the metal is that you are wanting to cut. That might be an issue to other components of the saw. When you are cutting metal, the metal gets incredibly hot. The spring steel that I cut is very thin. It doesn't take long to cut it.

I have not put a metal cutting blade on my miter saw. But, I have put one on my table saw.

How thick is the metal that you are wanting to cut? Are you also wanting to cut miters in the metal? How fast does your miter saw rotate?

I would suggest purchasing a cut off saw. The heat produced by the metal being cut could cause irrepairable damages to the saw unit itself. And as far as the plastic shield goes, it would probably make it to where it would ruin the visibility of the guard. If you enjoy woodworking as I do, you should not use the compound miter saw for metal cutting. How much metal are you going to be cutting? Is this going to be a hobby, or is this a one time task you are going to be performing? The reason I ask this is because I have always figured if a man needs to borrow a tool one time, that is one thing, if you need to borrow the same tool twice, you need to own that particular tool. And I realize you are not asking about borrowing a tool here, I am saying if it is just going to be a simple small task, you may wish to rent, or borrow a cutoff saw and protect your other saw. If this is not the case, buy yourself a good cutoff saw that will last you a long time. Some units are high in price, but will outlast you if they are properly maintained.