Cutting thick steel plate

[Woodenspoke]

I know this is probably a stupid question but here goes.

I salvaged a large steel plate about a year ago. A 150lb or so behemoth 1" thick x 15" x 24". I have managed to take a few small pieces off but the problem is cutting the plate. I don't know if it is 1018 or a hot rolled steel. All I know is its a bear to cut the full 15" across and it eats thin cut-off and reciprocating saw blades.

Tools I currently available to cut steel

4 X 6 Bandsaw (kinda small but will easy cut the steel in smaller sizes)

4 1/2" mini grinder (thin cut off blades)

Sawsall (reciprocating saw)

Circular saw (never used for cutting steel)

Any suggestion or help would be appreciated to speed up my cutting operation. I would like to reduce the plate into manageable sizes. Please don't tell me to take it to the nearest shop. It took all my strength to just get it to mine.

Woodenspoke

[massajamesb]

Try this:
http://vansantent.com/Saws/evolution_saw.htm
and check out their blades, you might have luck using one of them in your normal circular saw, but you will have to go sloooowww to prevent burning up the motor. The motors in the Evolution saws are pretty powerful and are designed to cut metal, whereas normal circular saws are not.

You can also go to just about any home improvement store and buy simple metal cutting blades for a circular saw, but they won't last long.

[Mcgyver]

while you can get away with circular sawing AL, its not going to work on steel, the saw won't go slow enough for the required cutting speeds (feet per minute) of say 80 for hss or 2-300 for carbide. same with the bandsaw unless its either for metal or you've geared it down for metal.

the sawsall will cut it at low speed with a metal blade, but the thought of doing so probably falls under cruel and unusual punishment. Other than the unmentionable solution, get rid of and buy the size you need or beg borrow buy rent steal a torch and be done in minutes.

[massajamesb]

With the appropriate metal cutting blade (same material that your grinder and cutoff wheels are made of) from your home improvement center, you can cut steel with a circular saw. You just may not want to. It is a real PITA. The carbide blades are much better than those, although they may be designed to spin slower.

I use a number of 4.5 inch cutoff wheels and grinding wheels spinning at 10000 + RPM on metal all the time. You know how messy those are, the one for the circular saw is even worse.
Best solution? borrow a torch and get ready to be grinding for a while.

[Mcgyver]

massajames is right, I was thinking circular toothed saw blade, not abrasive cut of blade. still as he says, that's no picnic either

[Woodenspoke]

Thanks everyone

I checked on the evolution blades and they will not fit my circular saw, which is a skill worm drive, the small blade mounts are 20mm and I need 5/8".

Thinking:

I don't want to attempt to use the Sawsall takes forever eats blades and I already tried. After using cutoff blades in the mini grinder I think the bigger cut-off blades would be worse, as Mcgyver said.

I checked into other metal cutting blades after massajamesb post, because I liked that Idea. I found that Morse makes a blade called the Metal Devil and fits in a standard circular saw and is priced under $40.00 on amazon. Has anyone tried these blades? Plus its easier to clean up chips rather than dust.

http://www.metaldevil.com/


Another tool I own: I do have a (little used)sears twin bladed metal saw. Looks like a beefy mini grinder. The two blades spin in opposite directions (carbide blades). Makes a lot of noise lots of chips and its not easy to keep a straight line. The kerf is 1/4 " so it hogs out a lot of metal. It was a gift. If anyone has used this monster let me know what you think of using it on such a big piece of steel.


Woodenspoke

[massajamesb]

I don't have any experience with the metal devil, but it looks like any other carbide tipped blade. I am not sure how they can advertise it to cut ferrous and nonferrous metals, as most non-ferrous metals generally clog up carbide cutting tools.
for the money, try it. At 40 bucks, it might be worth it.

[Woodenspoke]

I checked out the videos on the Morse site. They use the evolution saw? If you watch the black pipe demo you can see it will take awhile to cut through heavy material.

Anyway the evolution Blade maximum is 1/2" thickness? No indication on the morse blades. Even if it takes 10 minutes to cut through the piece its probably 25 plus minutes saved hacking through the plate if not more.


Woodenspoke

[One of Many]

There in lies the problem with scrap yard metals. If you do not know what the material is or what application it was used in to garner a guess, cutting it with a torch could spell disaster for much if any secondary cutting operations. Torch cutting can harden the edge, making it non-cold-workable after. Welding it can also compromize the structure to a brittle state.

For a $40 blade and a lot of headaches cutting it, not to mention risking the life span of your worm drive circular saw, I think I'd be buying a known grade in a more appropriate size.

DC

[efrem]

I think the best way is to go at your local machine shop equiped with a cnc oxyfuel table. I'm the operator of one machine like this and we charge 45$/hour. It should be around that price every where. All you have to do is to put your desired parts in DXF formats and bring them with you at the shop. You will not have any special tools to buy and your cut will be precise at +- 0,010" with any shape.

[Woodenspoke]

I have successfully milled and Bandsaw sliced this steel Plate. This makes the material an unknown entity but usable. If I can cut it easily it will save me money, which in turn I can then spend on more tools to cut more stuff.

I am always open to a better suggestion about cutting this plate thats why I posted this thread.


"you never get anything for fee, there is always a hidden cost"

Woodenspoke

[efrem]

The plate is usually 44w grade. The USA equivalent is A36. Thick plates 1" and above are normally 50w. It's near of the 1020 or less ...

Mechanical Properties 44W/300W:
Tensile: 65 to 85 ksi
Yield: 44 ksi min

Mechanical Properties 50W/350W:
Tensile: 65 to 95 ksi
Yield: 50 ksi min