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cutting stainless steel
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Posted by jtsullivan (My Page) on Wed, Jul 15, 09 at 19:26
| I need to cut stainless steel counter tops for removal. It is heavy guage material. This is demolition work so I don't care if it winds up rough. I just need to remove this quickly and efficiently. This work will be done in a cafeteria setting so one concern is noise. Any suggestions? |
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RE: cutting stainless steel
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Since no response was given, posting this to let it disappear.
Quietest, oxy/acy or plasma. No, you can't cut with any accuracy with the gas torch, but it WILL melt the stuff apart. An old method of accurate cutting was to inject iron powder in the cutting port.
Cut-off wheel in a grinder. Noisy unless you dampen(weight) the sheet.
Sawzall with the right blade, noisy but quick, no sparks, a big + if you need a fire watch. |
RE: cutting stainless steel
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| "Quietest, oxy/acy or plasma. No, you can't cut with any accuracy with the gas torch, but it WILL melt the stuff" Depending on the grade of stainless oxy/acetylene may not work well at all.
Stainless grades with a lower iron content can be very hard to burn through. A sawzall will make quick work of it with the correct metal cutting blade. |
RE: cutting stainless steel
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"Depending on the grade of stainless oxy/acetylene may not work well at all.
Stainless grades with a lower iron content can be very hard to burn through. " The iron content isn't a problem. Chromium in both austenitic & martensitic alloys react under heat to form refractory oxides. Not work well at all, guaranteed. The typical counter top even of "heavy gauge"- at best 16- will cut nonetheless. |
RE: cutting stainless steel
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| "The iron content isn't a problem. Chromium in both austenitic & martensitic alloys react under heat to form refractory oxides." The very low chromium alloys cut fine (they have more iron). The higher chrome ones can be cut if you also feed flux into the cutting kerf as you heat up the material. It is enough of a hassle to just use a saw. |
RE: cutting stainless steel
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| "The very low chromium alloys cut fine (they have more iron)." All stainless steels are alloy additions to basic low carbon steel. The "iron" content is fixed.
It is the amount & balance of alloys that determine grade.(304,316,410, etc.)
I agree that a lower alloy addition would yield a ratio of "more iron".
But you won't find a stainless grade with "more iron", simply lower alloy content.
The standard for fabricators has been austenitic 304, ( sometimes called 18/8) with slight alterations of trace alloys for improved machinabilty or complex bends. Many counters are so composed.
Sinks often use the magnetic 400 series,"chromium irons", which contain but traces of nickle, if at all. It seems better suited to deep drawing and stamping.
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