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Boat Forum / Building / November 2005ughh,.. how do you cut stainless steel plate?
It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, a file, a diamond file, then got a beefy angle grinder and gouged grooves in it and forced it through what was left of the bandsaw metal blade, dressed it fairly straight with the grinder and ground it to shape on a big bench sander with gnarly grit paper. This took several frustrating hours. There was course language and graphic violence. It won't fit in the power hacksaw because of it's initial shape. Is there an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear thing locally. Thanks as always. An average bandsaw or jigsaw blade WILL cut stainless steel. The trick is running the blade very slowly, with plenty of cutting oil and plenty of patience. If you do rush then it will bugger the blades, but thats the only reason. Stainless steel can work harden, but this shouldn't present a problem with what you are doing. Good luck, Dave > It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the > bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear > thing locally. Thanks as always. we do a fair bit of stainless sheet at work, guillotine is nice and fast, accurate. if you dont have the money to buy one then mark it out and take it to a local engineering mob with a 6 pack near closing time. plasma is ok for big fat pieces with tricky cuts, but the guilotine is the way to go. forget the bandsaw. There are some nice blades we have for angle grinders that are *really* thin... you've got to be precise using them because if you twist while cutting or push to hard they just explode. They were made for stainless and a bit pricy, but they are really good and accurate, and you can get semi-good life out of them if you use only a little pressure. You didnt say what dimensions/shape you are trying to cut You have to be very aggressive with 300 series stainless. It will work harden at the surface of the kerf and the next tooth has to get behind it or it will quickly burn up. It really needs a metal cutting bandsaw that can be run slow with a lot of coolant. For one or two straight cuts you would be much better off taking it to a metal shop and have them shear it.  SignatureGlenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com > It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the > bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear > thing locally. Thanks as always. I went thru this a few months ago. Someone suggested "burning" it by putting a disposable saw blade in the table saw. It worked fine, but do clean up any sawdust that's laying around since the fireworks are impressive. The theory is that the blade has time to cool as it moves from the cutting point around the perimeter, but the SS doesn't. I used a 6" plywood blade that had been expended trying to cut Masonite. The cut edges do have to be cleaned up with a grinder. For drilling 1" holes in 1/4" plate, I got to 1/2" but that was the limit for my 1/4 hp drill press. The local machine shop charged a minimal fee and used a machine that's bigger than my car. Roger derbyrm@NOSPAMinsightbbNOSPAM.com http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm > It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the > bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear > thing locally. Thanks as always. I do not know what you are exactly cutting? So suggesting the appropriate method may not be practically feasible. However, be careful when shearing and stamping stainless steel. I had to replaced chain plates that were originally made by shearing and stamping. I detected hair line cracks around the shearing and punching. The probabilities of finding hair line cracks after shearing, stamping and punching are about 50%. It's like flipping a coin in the air. The hair line cracks will develop with time and exposure to saline atmosphere. Conversely if the part is not subject to stress , impact or heavy load stamping, shearing and punching will save you money. Depending what you are making, sometime it is safer to use flat bar stock drill and cut to length with the appropriate cutting compound. If you have access to a shop that uses plasma cutting you may be able to get an affordable quote for getting your work done. .568291$x96.331154@attbi_s72... > I went thru this a few months ago. Someone suggested "burning" it by > putting a disposable saw blade in the table saw. It worked fine, but do [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear > > thing locally. Thanks as always. --304 is awful stuff to work with. Suggest you contact local welding shop and see if you can use a plasma torch for a few minutes; they cut this stuff like soft butter. You'll have to clean up the cut edge with a grinder but the bulk of the grunt work will be done. --If you're planning on doing a *lot* of this stuff you might want to invest in your own plasma rig; they go for around $1k. Signature"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Bummed to be living in the Hacking the Trailing Edge! : Golden Age of Bullshit... http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm ---Decks a-wash in a sea of words--- On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:32:39 GMT, somebody wrote: >It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the >bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear >thing locally. Thanks as always. SS is work hardening. You use lubricant (kerosene if I recall,) and a hearty feed. It's tough. In a power bandsaw, you use a bimetal blade of course, but for choice its one made by ..er.. aw shucks I can't dredge up the name, but I will..... Maddox, Braddox - no, Lenox - that's the ticket. Brian Whatcott Altus OK > On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:32:39 GMT, somebody wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Brian Whatcott Altus OK According to the then owner of Metal Masters in Toronto, (who's name I cannor recall, quite disgracefully, one of my failings,) when I arrived on a saturday after a 3 hour drive to find the door open and the place deserted, and called him from his desk and put coffee on and waited, and then bought some perforated toerail for my SC22 (for NO discount!) and chatted with him about his exploits in Nazi Germany the day before war was declared by England, while he was escaping by the skin of his teeth from a large manufacturing plant that was filling up with Storm trooper guys carrying sub machine guns, where machinists were using white hot bandsaws to cut out big gun breech blocks, when he asked the saw operator "Vas is das?" as he sprinkled a white powder in the saw kerf, noticibly improving cutting and cooling, he got the reply "Borax." Flux, lubrication and cooling is critical when machining SS. He walked out calmly and took that gem back to England with him, where it helped the allied war effort considerably, he felt. Terry K Terry, you wild font of esoterica. Borax,.. hmm. tanks much. >> On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:32:39 GMT, somebody wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > >Terry K Plasma cutter. > It's 1/8in plate, dull and greasy, probably 304. I buggered the > bandsaw blade, then two "hardened carbide, blah, blah" jig saw blades, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > an easier way? We don't have a pneumatic metal stamper, cutter, shear > thing locally. Thanks as always. |
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