cutting long cut in 1/2 steel plate

[ZipSnipe]

I need to cut about 12" angle into a 4 X 22 x 1/2 inch steel plate reducing one end to about 2" wide, what would be the best way to go about this? I have at my disposal bandsaw(yet to see if I can get it to go vertical), sawzall(this would take hours to cut thru) angle grinder(not really an option) and I thought about mounting a metal cutting blade on my cheapo table saw but if you guys have an easier solution I,m definetly open to ideas.

[Ken_Shea]

ZipSnipe,
If you know someone with a plasma or torch set, burn it off leaving enough material to clean up with the grinder.

Ken

[ZipSnipe]

Thats what I thought, I cut 4 inches before using my chop saw but damn if it didn,t take all day.

[wizard]

I'd go the band saw route if you expect to machine or otherwise work with the component agian. A plasma torch being the second choice. But if niether of those is a reality I'd seriously opt for using a sawsall or hack saw. I once cut through a 6" diameter A2 bar with a hacksaw and a sawsall when I had nothing else to work with.

Yep a lot of hacksaw blades. Incidently the hacksaw actually worked better than the sawsall. I'm not sure why but it might be the better control of pressure and speed. The only good thing about this was that it was not a production oriented task, as it did take some time. Well that and it did add a bit of muscle tone.

I geuss what I'm saying is don't rule out traditional hand tools when faced with a one off task. Further Mild steel will cut very vast relative to A2 with the right hacksaw blades. It is not as bad as it sounds. Of course if you know somebody with a bandsaw or a torch you might want to run over there instead.

Thanks
Dave

[BobWarfield]

1. Plasma Cutter

2. Carbide Blade in Table Saw. Clean the saw carefully before and after. I have also heard of people putting abrasive chop saw blades into table and radial arm saws. Clean even more carefully to get rid of the grit!

I have a De Walt multicutter that is very close to #2, but drives the blade slower for longer life. My bandsaw is all but retired between that and my ESAB 1500 plasma cutter that will do 1.5" steel.

3. OxyFuel cutting torch. Real handy to have an O-F rig around anyway and they are pretty cheap.

4. Take it to the local welding shop. They won't charge much to cut it for you.

Best,

BW

[Zumba]

Originally Posted by ZipSnipe I need to cut about 12" angle into a 4 X 22 x 1/2 inch steel plate reducing one end to about 2" wide, what would be the best way to go about this? I have at my disposal bandsaw(yet to see if I can get it to go vertical), sawzall(this would take hours to cut thru) angle grinder(not really an option) and I thought about mounting a metal cutting blade on my cheapo table saw but if you guys have an easier solution I,m definetly open to ideas.

Are those all the tools you have or are they "support" tools for your mill and lathe?

My bandsaw only goes to 7x12 at 90 degrees, so if I were doing what you're doing, I'd use the mill. 1/2" endmill with a .050" depth of cut per pass, 10 passes in about 5 minutes and I'm through. I would be wasting some material with a 1/2" kerf, but it would save a ton of time and headache.

[ZipSnipe]

Yeah the mill is almost finished, I have to turn a pulley and then I,m set BUT it only has 12" of travel which I guess if I have to I could just cut an 11 1/2" angle. I also have a bandsaw but unfortenetly it only is horizontal, I,ll have to do some retroing to it to get it vertical. This is not some thing I have to do right away, I just wanted some suggestions so down the road when I,m ready I can plan on cutting it the easiest way, THANX

[DareBee]

Your hand grinder with an .045 Walter Zipcut would make VERY short work out of cutting the piece off.
Never force a grinder if you are using the correct disks they will work very effectively with little more than gravity.