Stainless steel and angle cutters

It will cut stainless, but you are going to have a nice hard edge where you have overheated the stainless.

What are you trying to cut? More detail and someone here will probably give you a faster and more accurite way to cut it.

I would use the technique you suggest only in a down and dirty situation.

Thanks. I have 316 strip, 25mm x 6mm and I need to cut it into over 100 short pieces at home. Sounds from what you say that I may be better finding a local shop that's prepared to do it for me.

No, not with 316 stainless, Roger. It's not heat treatable. The cut will be discolored, but otherwise pretty much unchanged. Machining it won't be any different from the balance of the material.

A silicon carbide wheel (the type used for masonry) is likely to serve better than an aluminum oxide one for this application.

Harold

depends partly on the required finish, and application too... if you are going to have to polish afterwards, then probably not a good idea. also if its food grade, or you are *really* concerned about the stainless qualities of the steel then maybe not a great idea either.

on the other hand, if you just need some stainless for a personal job or whatever, it may not be that important to you. If you do it, go with 'inox free' (iron free) cutting disks so you dont contaminate your stainless with iron particles, and - a very big no no here; dont use any grinding/flap wheels/polishing tools/cutting disks that have been used on steel - you will cross contaminate your stainless with the iron and it will start rusting in no time!

There are very thin (like razor thin!) disks that are made for cutting stainless. they are iron free, and being so thin they cut through it like butter. they dont put much heat at all in the job, and if you have a steady hand you will have no discoloration afterwards. The trick to them i find is not pressing too hard - you'll just wear the disk out real fast, and with no extra cutting either. take it steady and the disks will cut a lot more material for you. many manufacturers offer a disk of this type. We use sandvik at my work for all our stainless stuff (better than plasma cutting it!)

Shaun