I have always worked in mild and spring steels. A friend of mine strong-armed me into making him a stainless helm. I will use by B-2 shear for most of the cuts but I find that my Bosch saw has been useful for detail cuts. Has anyone played around with cutting stainless with a sabresaw? Is there a blade that works best? How about a speed for cutting. I vaguely remember having trouble cutting stainess with a saw the last time I tried it (about 15 years ago.) How about good drill bits and speeds. Is lubricant necessary for cutting or drilling? If so, What kind?
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Doug Strong
Sir William Talbot, OL
(The artist formerly know as Talbot Mac Taggart)
http://talbotsfineaccessories.com
cutting stainless with a sabresaw
I had someone try to cut some 14g stainless with my jigsaw. It didn't go well at all. He didn't use any cutting fluid and was using medium quality blades. He ended up melting the blade itself. I suspect if he was using at least a slightly slower blade speed and some cutting fluid, he would have been alright.
I have drilled a few holes in stainless. Cobalt bits work really nice. Slow speeds and lubricants are very helpful. I've used a cutting fluid that I got at the hardware store but it stinks to high heaven. I've switched to using 3 in 1 oil for any cutting/drilling lubricant I need. I've been meaning to get ahold of a water soulable cutting solution like I used when I was working in a welding shop. It worked great.
Jurgen
I have drilled a few holes in stainless. Cobalt bits work really nice. Slow speeds and lubricants are very helpful. I've used a cutting fluid that I got at the hardware store but it stinks to high heaven. I've switched to using 3 in 1 oil for any cutting/drilling lubricant I need. I've been meaning to get ahold of a water soulable cutting solution like I used when I was working in a welding shop. It worked great.
Jurgen
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wcallen
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I don't use a saw, but I second the cobalt bits suggestion. I have thrown all my other bits away, just not worth the trouble to take them back out of the drill when they don't work.
Tom was experimenting with something even more expensive, but cobalt has been good for me. Almost makes drilling as good as punching.....
Wade
Tom was experimenting with something even more expensive, but cobalt has been good for me. Almost makes drilling as good as punching.....
Wade
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Pheylin Quinn
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Talbot,
I am looking at an ENLARGED and cleaned up line drawing of the helm you were working on last night. (If this is the project you are referring to.)
I only see one area that would require anything other than a B2 to cut and that is in the browband/occulars. Even that COULD be done with a B1 and a short amount of time at the expander wheel, but it would be difficult and probably not the best method.
You are more than welcome to use my B1 (yes, you can use a B1 on 14ga SS, just don't do it too often) for any detailed curves/shapes. It is not doing much more than collecting dust right now. I can run it over whenever you need it. I do not have it mounted at present.
Also, the Sears Hardware adn Home Depot up the road both carry cobalt blades that will work nicely for 14ga stainless. I will be at Home Depot this weekend if you would like me to pick some up. I am thinking somewhere along the range of 36-tooth count.
I have been using cobalt drill bits as of late and find them to cut well and last quite a bit longer than Ti and most other recommended SS drill bits. Although, they still do not last as long as I would like them to. I do not see why blades would be much different.
Pheylin
[This message has been edited by Pheylin Quinn (edited 04-24-2002).]
I am looking at an ENLARGED and cleaned up line drawing of the helm you were working on last night. (If this is the project you are referring to.)
I only see one area that would require anything other than a B2 to cut and that is in the browband/occulars. Even that COULD be done with a B1 and a short amount of time at the expander wheel, but it would be difficult and probably not the best method.
You are more than welcome to use my B1 (yes, you can use a B1 on 14ga SS, just don't do it too often) for any detailed curves/shapes. It is not doing much more than collecting dust right now. I can run it over whenever you need it. I do not have it mounted at present.
Also, the Sears Hardware adn Home Depot up the road both carry cobalt blades that will work nicely for 14ga stainless. I will be at Home Depot this weekend if you would like me to pick some up. I am thinking somewhere along the range of 36-tooth count.
I have been using cobalt drill bits as of late and find them to cut well and last quite a bit longer than Ti and most other recommended SS drill bits. Although, they still do not last as long as I would like them to. I do not see why blades would be much different.
Pheylin
[This message has been edited by Pheylin Quinn (edited 04-24-2002).]
I've been disappointed by most exotic type metal blades and bits (read cobalt and titanium) I never did get the bang for my buck out of those.
For cutting stainless or mild with my jigsaw, I use a normal, cheap, 17 tooth per inch metal cutting blade. Oil it up with some household oil, cut a few inches worth at a slow speed, take a break for half a minute to let the blade cool and do it repeat. A little tedious, but gets the job done.
For drilling, I've always liked black and decker "bullet" bits (the ones for drilling metal). They go right through stainless, though I'd oil them, run the drill at a slower speed, and not do too many holes without a short "cool down" break. The bit should last almost indefinitely used in that fashion.
For cutting stainless or mild with my jigsaw, I use a normal, cheap, 17 tooth per inch metal cutting blade. Oil it up with some household oil, cut a few inches worth at a slow speed, take a break for half a minute to let the blade cool and do it repeat. A little tedious, but gets the job done.
For drilling, I've always liked black and decker "bullet" bits (the ones for drilling metal). They go right through stainless, though I'd oil them, run the drill at a slower speed, and not do too many holes without a short "cool down" break. The bit should last almost indefinitely used in that fashion.
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Asbjorn Johansen
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I was cutting aluminum blanks and some steel pieces the other week with a jig saw. Cuting was slow, and vibration was bad. So I took some tape and taped along the line I was cutting. I have no idea wether this is a common practice or not, or what the long term effects on the blade are, but man did it make the cuts smoother and quicker.
Asbjorn
Asbjorn