Help cutting Stainless Steel

[Mark Rios]

Hello all....Long time no see. I've been away awhile and have recently returned back, for awhile anyway. I've got a dilema and I knew I could turn here for the answer.

I'm looking for a tool recommendation. I was given two workbench's that measure five feet long and 30 inches wide. I need to cut them narrower, to 24 inches wide, but the tops are made of brushed stainless steel (with neato rolled over edges. Does anyone have suggestions what to cut the tops with? Any certain blade on any certain tool? The tops are attached (glued?) to 3/4 inch plywood. Any help to get these tops cut down is appreciaed.

Thanks, Mark

[Cecil Arnold]

Mark, I've had a lot of luck with my Bosch saber saw and their metal cutting blades. I've cut everything from flashing to 3/32 untempered 440 stainless.

[John Hart]

I agree with the saber saw idea...course then, there's also a sawzall. That would make short work of it but a little harder to control...it might tear it up. Maybe with a steel guide bar or something.

[craig carlson]

I'd probadly go to the local steel supply house and see if they could shear it.
Craig

[Bill Lewis]

Well a metal shop won't be able to shear it unless it is flat. They might be able to cut it with a plasma torch. Which is a whole lot cleaner cut than a regular oxy-acetylene torch. You could do it with a jig saw, but buy a bunch of blades, that SS will wear them out.

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Jig saw,swasall,good ideas.Another one is a grinder with a cutoff blade.

[David Wilson]

Mark
Check around your area for fabrication shops. A local shop here is getting what is called a water jet cutter. They use a very high pressure jet with an abrasive in the water. From what I have heard these machines do a cleaner cut than a plasma jet with virtually no warping since there is no heat involved.

[Maurice Ungaro]

How about an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel?

[Don Baer]

I usualy use a 7 1/4" cutoff blade in one of my circ saws to cut metal. It should work fine for SS. There cheap and you can pick um up at your local HD.

[Mike Parzych]

How about an abrasive blade on a Skilsaw?

As a side note, I owrked as a sales rep for a waterjet cutting shop in Phoenix. An amazing process....55,000 psi coming through an .020 orifice juiced up with garnet abrasive. They once cut through 14" titanium. They bought a new machine and ordered the water supply pipe, only unbeknownst to everyone, the supplier sent only 40,00o psi rated pipe. When they ran full pressure the first time a pipe ruptured, luckily, in the pump room. It blasted a hole through the cinderblock wall, went 30' across the driveway, and knocked the paint off the building next door. An the full pressured was mitigated by the size of the pipe split. Had anyone been in the pump room, in the path, they would have most likely been beheaded.

Unfortunately, it's a rather costly process and is only cost effective when no other process is satisfactory.