I am looking for a better faster way to cut or shear 304 stainless rod. From 1/8 upto maybe 3/8. Certainly 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 & 5/16. I need to be able to maintain predictable lengths. Larger than 3/8 its probably just as easy to do it on the lathe, because I have to radius one end anyway.
The abrasive chop saw is the fastest I've tried in my shop, but the ends need a horrible amount of work. Bandsaw is slow and/or dangerous depending on setup.
I figured some sort of shear the cuts it with a scissoring action might work. I can't have the end bent over, but a burr that can be quickly removed on the belt grinder would be tolerable.
One of the neatest tools I've seen is a disk mounted on a hardy shank with various size holes. Then a matching disc was bolted to it free to rotate around a common center. In this case it was a shop made tool and the user seemed to only be doing hot cuts. The second disc had a protrusion he would strike with a hammer after inserting the rod. The rotation of the second disc would shear the rod. I'm not so sure something like that would work for cold cutting. I'm also not so sure I want to spend a day building a tool like that if there is something ready made available at a reasonable price.
Before folks say, "Just use a hacksaw," or "Why CAN'T you do it on the lathe?" I do a lot of these and time is important. If it was just once in a while and just a couple pieces it would be no big deal.