I’ve got 4 stainless steel (304, I think it’s called) hinges I need to cut into ~2′ pieces. What’s the best way to do this? I bought some Lenox 18tpi hack saw blades, but I’m wondering about maybe using a grinder. Anyone cut these things and have a good tip or two?
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
FG,
I would try the hack saw first with a bit of oil or wax to make the cut go easier and to reduce wear on the blade. Some stainless cuts easily some can be near impossible. If the hacksaw doesn't cut well then go to the grinder but controlling and cleaning up the cut will take longer and the edges of the cut may be discolored from the heat.
John W.
32 tooth hacksaw blade will cut it easily.
mike
"32 tooth hacksaw blade will cut it easily." This is where things get confusing. I was going to get a higher TPI blade (higher than the 18's I bought) but one of the customers hanging out, who seemed to be familiar with SS, and his buddy the submarine demolition guy, said that SS works hardens very easily so "make chips, not dust." My hubby, however, who's an engineer with metallurgy background said this particular kind of SS does not work harden at all easily.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I'd vote for the hacksaw. You can borrow my power hacksaw if you promise to bring it right back. You can polish up the end with a file or sanding block. SS is a relatively soft steel.
You call SS "relatively soft"?!? I bought a large handful of SS knife blanks hoping to make some folding knives out of them. I can't put more than a dimple in them even using titanium or cobalt bits in a drill press, flooded with bit lube! If you have a secret to drilling SS, I'd love to hear it! The lowest speed on my drillpress is 215 RPM.Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
The kind of stainless steel used in knives is very different from that used in "general purpose" applications. Are the knife blanks already hardened? If so, that's why you can't drill through them.
-Steve
I suppose so - I broke a total of four bits trying to drill one darn hole. Once the dimple reached the diameter of the drill bit (1//8"), nothing else happens.Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
If the knife blanks are 400-series stainless steel and are already hardened, it's going to be tough to drill through them. A carbide-tipped drill would probably be your best bet. (In general, abrasive techniques, such as a diamond-tipped drill, work best with hardened steels, but you might have trouble finding something like that in small sizes.) You have to use a combination of firm pressure and lots of coolant. The best lubricant/coolant I know of for cutting stainless steels is WestLube, but I don't know where to get a small container of it.
-Steve
Oops, I should have said "I have recently read that SS is relatively soft" and then let you argue it out with the author. Wish I could remember where I read that. Anyway thanks, glad you caught that.
There is a wide variety of stainless steel alloys in two general groups, corrosion resistant stainless steel (CRES), and heat resistant stainless steel (HRES). I don't know which variety is in the hinges, although if I had to guess, I would guess corrosion resistant stainless. Back in the day, I've machined quite a lot of both types of SS. In general, you will want to use slower cutting speeds than what you would use in carbon steel and use adequate feed on the cutter, or the material WILL work harden. Using abrasive type cutting techniques can be very difficult, especially in heat resistant stainless, although it can work if you know what you're doing. If you Google the web about machining stainless steel, you will find more information. Good luck.Jeff
Yeah, a few years ago I had to drill a bunch of countersunk bolt holes in some 1/8" SS plate. I had exactly the same experience you mentioned - using the best bits I could find, the lowest speed on the drill press, and oodles of lube, each holes took forever and I couldn't even get a start on the countersinks.
I finally took it took a local machine shop where the guy had it done in 10 minutes (my drill hole starts meant he didn't have to do any careful measuring :-)) and charged me $15. He made some lunch money for very little effort and I didn't have to keep destroying my inadequate tools for a one-off job; a good deal all around.To the man with a hammer, all the world is a nail.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you learn how he did it and what tools he used? I've heard that a diamond bit will work. (I was also told cobalt, titanium, and lube would work).Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I've never heard of a titanium drill, you probably mean a TiN (Titanium Nitride) coated HSS drill. The coating makes the cutter last longer. We used TiN coated end mills to extend the cutter life....
Unfortunately, I was far more interested at that time with the fact that he had the machinery to accomplish the job than with what that machinery was. He did tell me what he was using, but it has slipped my mind in the intervening years. All I remember for sure is that he ran his drill press at a MUCH lower speed than mine was capable of and that he used a bit that was far more expensive than I would have considered purchasing for myself. It may have been diamond. I did try a cobalt bit and that did not work for me.
Sorry I can't be more help...
MikeTo the man with a hammer, all the world is a nail.
I've had good luck with cobalt and SS, a machinist told me the trick was not to stop or let up on the pressure once you have started as that would cause work hardening and it would be near impossible to continue.
It's worked for me.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
That has been my experience as well: You have to be resolute. I think where many people go wrong is that they start tentatively, and once they've done that, the steel is hardened and all is lost.
-Steve
That's good to know. I was indeed approaching those holes tentatively in an attempt to not burn the bit.To the man with a hammer, all the world is a nail.
I believe that the guy at the store is right that the stainless steel in the hinge (almost certainly 300-series) will work harden easily. However, I don't understand at all how that translates into the idea that you should use a coarser blade. If you were machining a big chunk of it, maybe, but a thin piece like your hinge isn't going to care one way or the other.
The hinge pin is probably already hardened, so it's going to be more work to get through than the rest.
-Steve
I mentioned 32 teeth because that's what I have used before on stainless steel piano hinges. Worked fine for me, did not need cutting fluid either.
mike
Thanks, Mike, I'll pick one of those up to and try it before I open the 18tpi I bought.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hacksaw tpi is selected according to the thickness of the metal being cut. Generally 32tpi is for metals up to 1/16" thick, 24tpi for 1/16" to 1/8" and 18tpi for metals 1/8" to 3/16".
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
Thank you, Jerry, that's the most definitive info I've gotten. The "pin" or rod through the hinges is the thickest part.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
If you have a roto tool, get a cutt off wheel and cut it a hair long and then finish it with the disc sander. If you don't have a small cuttoff tool, use a hacksaw and finish it with a disc sander. I have a little dremel tool, and a rotozip. The rotozip is the one I reach for the most. I've cut evertthing from tile to drywall, to metal ductwork with it. What a great little ditty to have in the back of the tool box.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I've used an abrasive blade (used to cut metals like steel, brass, aluminum, etc). You can put the blade (they come in various sizes and are inexpensive) in your table saw or miter saw. Just advance the work into the blade slowly, and watch out for sparks.
After you make the cut, you'll usually have a sliver of metal still attached; this can be cleaned up with a light touch to a grinding wheel or use a fine metal file.
You can find the blades at any home improvement store or contractor's supply.
"I've used an abrasive blade (used to cut metals like steel, brass, aluminum, etc). You can put the blade (they come in various sizes and are inexpensive) in your table saw or miter saw."Um, definitely not ! ! ! Unless you want the possibility of torching your saw. I had a student do this ten years ago when I wasn't around. He put in an abrasive blade to cut some sheet metal on the table saw. I come in the next morning and something smells vaguely like a campfire. Later that day another student tells me there was a fire in the cabinet of the Unisaw the night before because said student was shooting sparks all over the place.
Ted--
If you'll reread my post, I said watch out for sparks.
FG
What I've done is just use my sabre saw with a metal cutting blade on slow speed. Sandwich the opened , flat hinge between some strips of wood to keep it from jumping around. Follow the squared ends of the strips at your cut line. Follow with a file.
Paul
I really don't know how well this would work for SS, but a metal shear works absolutely amazinly on brass and brass plated steel piano hinges. So quick and easy it's the only method I'd use. Clean cut too!View Image
Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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