Cutting .063 4130?

[Jim Hann]

Hey folks,

I'm primarily a wood builder but I need to cut some brackets, etc. out of .063 steel. I don't have anything beyond a hacksaw right now. I was hoping to get an angle grinder from Harbor Freight to do the little cutting I need. What say ye of more knowledge? Down the road I might need to cut some .125 also, but that isn't on the radar for now.

Thanks!

Jim
PS, HF link: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?keyword=4-1%2F2"+angle+grinder

[Jack]

Jim,
An angle grinder will work but you will have a lot of waste due to the thick blade. A small air powered angle grinder with a cut off wheel will due a better job. Not a big fan of HF but here is one. http://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-high-speed-air-cutter-47077.html Use your own judgement with the Chinese discs, I only use the US made.

I prefer a plazma cutter for everything but the simplest of cuts.

Jack

[Chad Jensen]

I am a fan of Harbor Freight...that being said, take Jack's advise to NOT use the Chinese discs. The tool itself will do the trick just fine, and will more than likely last you the length of your build.

[Mike Switzer]

I prefer a plazma cutter for everything but the simplest of cuts.

I agree, but they are pricy if you won't be using it a lot. I paid over $1200 for mine back in 1999, but I use it quite a bit for auto body work. It also came in real handy for trimming the ends off all the steel studs for my apartment/office/shop that were a bit long.

[Tom Downey]

get a pack of metal cutting blades for your jig saw go slow

http://www.grizzly.com/products/VS-Jigsaw-President-s-Special-/G8994Z

c (http://www.grizzly.com/products/VS-Jigsaw-President-s-Special-/G8994Z)ut big, shape on your belt sander.

[LJM]

I used a hacksaw to cut all of the fittings for a full size Great Lakes. There were well over 100 pieces using from .065 through 1.25 thickness. Yes, I also hand filed them until I got the idea to borrow a buddies belt sander. Must admit, they were very nice fittings. As I learned latter, there are easier ways. I used a die grinder for some metal work. Admittedly faster, but not better.

larry

[Neil]

You should really be using a metal cutting band saw. You can buy one of the cut off saws sold my many of the tool supply houses for a couple hundred dollars. Make sure to get one that has the upright attachment for sawing small parts. The local welding supply house here has a guy that makes up blades for these in about any pitch you want. Something around 18 to 24 pitch would be about right. All machine shops purchase blade stock on rolls so you might be able to get blades made at a local shop. Wood cutting band saws can be fitted with metal cutting blades but they must be slowed down a lot to cut anything other than aluminum. The blade guides on the wood cutting saws aren't the best for metal work but you can get by if you gear the saw down enough.

[Jim Hann]

Guys, thanks for the great information. I'm thinking that my jigsaw doesn't go slow enough but I'll check it out. Chad and Jack, do you have a suggestion for cutoff wheel acquisition (Lowe's, Sears, HD, ???) I've got options here in STL, the only thing I don't have is a business ID so I can buy from Grainger :-(

Neil, I'd love to have a metal cutting band saw but I have two problems, it is hard to spend that much money on something I won't use much at all and I will become homeless (i.e. my wife will throw me out!) Most of the metal parts have been cut for my fuse, I still need to do wing fittings and parts and right now I've got an 18X36 piece of 4130 that is begging to be cut!

Jim

[Chad Jensen]

I honestly can't remember where mine came from (maybe Van's???), but just make sure they say "Made in the USA" on them. Should be printed in white.

[Jack]

Jim,
3m Green Corps are good ones, McMaster-Car has them, not sure of the brand, and you can find them at paint/body shop supply stores. I'm sure Amazon has them. I get mine at a local mine and mill supply.

Jack

[Bugs66]

I used a 6" plate shear extensively for my project. I was able to cut 3/16" 4130 using a cheater bar. Makes nice clean cuts. Then take to grinder to finish shape any round corners, etc. I've cut everything with it, steel, aluminum, plastic, composite plate, etc. Very useful.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Plate-Shear-6-/H0732

[patmike]

your angle grinder idea is the cheap way to go. you can get 4 1/2"x .045 depressed hub wheels for it at lowes or home depot. also a sawsall with an 18 tpi blade works good too. built 3 race cars using just those 2 things for cutting and notching. when your cutting with the wheel trace out your part with a sharpie and then with the grinder slowly follow that path a little at a time. don't try to cut it in one shot.
good luck
Pat

[Hangar10]

+1 on Neil's comments.

My project is mostly wood, but I recently purchased a Jet metal bandsaw and it is now one of my facorite tools in the shop. Sure, they all have their purpose, but for cutting fittings and tubing this is just the ticket.
http://www.kitlog.com/photos/project_687/full/FP21092011A0002H.jpg

The vertical table was kind of flimsy and it had to be removed for horizontal work, so I fabricated a rigid table from a piece of .250" stainless and shaped it to clear the bed during horizontal operations. Not my idea, but it sure works great.
http://www.kitlog.com/photos/project_687/full/FP21092011A0002O.jpg

I tried to cut metal with several different tools prior to picking up the band saw... wish I would have done it a lot sooner.

[nrpetersen]

From my experience, slow a wood band saw down by a factor of at least ten. Use 32 tpi blades. A little bit of sulfur cutting oil helps blade life. Use genuine DuAll blades.

[nrpetersen]

And - You want the 1/tpi (makes it inches per tooth) to always be less than the thinnest metal you expect to cut. If you are cutting .063 minimum you could get by with 16 to 18 tpi, but if you are also cutting thinner 4130 stock, you should use proportionately finer blades. Otherwise the stock feed becomes extremely aggressive and you will break or strip teeth out of the blade.

I have an old Sears craftsman 15 inch bandsaw that I cobbled two jackshafts with simple wood b bearings, pulleys etc that is just fine for cutting 4130.

[Clarke Tate]

+1 on Neil's comments.

I fabricated a rigid table from a piece of .250" stainless and shaped it to clear the bed during horizontal operations. Not my idea, but it sure works great.

I tried to cut metal with several different tools prior to picking up the band saw... wish I would have done it a lot sooner.

That is a very nice table and solution for metal cutting! If anyone else fabricates something similar please be VERY careful and don't even think of having your hands anywhere but behind a blade without some kind of even basic guard. I learned on a semingly benign scroll saw cutting 1/4" pine what can happen when being "safe" without a guard and hands in front of a blade. I don't even want to think what a power hacksaw or bandsaw can do!

[Tom Downey]

Metal being cut on a band saw gets hot. a trick to cutting small parts are to attach them to a piece of wood big enough to hold. and don't force them thru the blade, let the blade cut, rather than try to hurry.

[Jim Hann]

An update folks, I purchased a 3" pneumatic cutoff at HF for 6.99 (coupon) and the wheels at Lowe's (Gator, MADE IN USA), now I hope I have a nipple for it, I have to dig in my spare bin or rob one off of a tool I don't use (most of my pneumatics qualify). I'll let you know/post pics when I get everything up and working in the next week or so!

Jim