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Cutting Stainless Steel Sheet

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Kman

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Is it really 1/8"?

How much cutting are you doing?

Straight, curved inside corners?

 

I did not have access to a shear and the ss counter had a bullnose.

I used a 4" angle grinder with a thin disc to cut a 1/16" commercial kitchen pot shelf into a window sill.

It worked for inside corners and a 32" long cut.

Clamped a guide as a fence and ran the grinder (multiple times) on the waste side of the workpiece. It takes time!!!

Grinders and discs are cheap.

Have fun.

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Hand held tin snips will not cut 1/8" SS. If you can find a place to rent an electric shear or even buying one would be your best bet. A dremel might also have a hard time, a 4" angle grinder will do it, but you'll go through a lot of discs, depending on my many cuts you have to make.

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Does the cut have to be clean? If you know someone with a portable plasma cutter, that would be the best choice. Leaves a burn mark on the cut so you would have to undercut and finish off with a grinder. If you are a patient man, you could do it with a variable speed jigsaw. I've found bosch or porter cable to be the best. Be prepared with handful of blades (metal cutting, fine tooth). Once it burns, change it. Need to cut 1/4" at a time, letting blade cool after each cut. Cutting oil helps too. SS is a pita to work with.

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Abrasive disc in a skil saw.

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1/8" SS is no joke to cut. It would help if I knew just what you had in mind. Do you need to cut a hole or cut the sheet to size or...?

 

I'd second the plasma cutter if you are cutting a shape out of it but it would have to be a heavy duty unit. If you just need to cut it to size, then a sheet metal shear will be the best thing but you probably need a plate shear - i.e. something that can cut steel plate. My 10' shear probably wouldn't cut 1/8" stainless steel.

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Only you know the size of the cut your making but i can suggest a few things you may have access to.

 

A band saw, a sawzall, a skilsaw or a hacksaw.

 

For 1/8" thick plate, dont use a coarse blade. You want to try to have at least 2 teeth engaged in the work or the blade will grab the plate.

 

Dont use a high speed setting, Stainless does'nt like speed. If the saw has a speed setting, go with the slower setting.

 

Throw a little oil on the blade every now and then and you'll be fine.

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plasma would be your best bet. especially w 1/8" ss. i work in a metal shop and we use plasma for everything. ss it a mother ****er. with it being so thick it might be a problem for the shear. just check the rating on the machine before you cut on any shear. (it will have a rating like 420 or 816, meaning 4' of 20 gauge, or 8' of 16 gauge. just an exaple of course your rating may be different) you can cut heavier sheets but it has to be 1/2 the size and at most 4 gauges thicker. the ratings on the machines are for mild steel not stainless. it may not be capable to cut such thick sheet. dont try cause if the shear cant do it and you do bad things can happen. tell us what you are trying to do and what sizes you have to cut and everyone can help a little more.

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