Re: Cut metal without stretching?


"HotRod" <NoSpam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:11thsmcd96jvj9a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I want to cut some thin stainless that I have in my shop to create so door
> sill protectors for my car. BUT how can I cut it without leaving tool
marks
> or stretching the material? My chocies.
>
> 1) Band Saw
> 2) Grinder
> 3) Die Cutter
> 4) Hand Held metal shears
> 5)???
>

Any grinding process will introduce considerable heat, so that's not a great
choice. Shearing the material will leave a rolled edge, often curling the
piece in question, so that's not a good choice.

You mentioned a band saw. If you use a base piece that has a slot the
same size as the blade, and use a very fine toothed blade in the saw, you
can usually saw parts in thin stainless without distorting them. The key is
to use the narrow slot support, and not push hard, for stainless is
notorious for stripping teeth from the blade. If the blade starts
shucking teeth, you have nothing to lose, so you can usually run the speed
up considerably and get the job finished, although it will continue to shuck
teeth. Time your feed rate in keeping with the missing teeth to minimize
losing more----

To avoid scratching the material on the bottom side, from sliding in chips,
tape some heavy paper on the bottom side of the part, while you're sawing
the profile, or a couple layers of masking tape. Or, keep the bottom side
the bottom, so when they're installed the scratches won't show. It's
hard to avoid scratching the bottom face when using a band saw.

Harold


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cutting melamine/mdf
    ... from the blade should be against the side you want chipless. ... I cut melboard with a rip blade on my table saw...top surface is fine, ... If I want the bottom side to be chipless too I cut in two ... I use tape on plywood, no idea if it would help on mel board. ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: wisdom teeth worries, need for braces?
    ... > made an appointment for extraction. ... Bottom is impacted. ... my teeth have been ultra sensitive and all my teeth ... alveolar nerve on that side. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: How do you find winter patterns ???
    ... I sometimes drag a short-arm ... for a big Colorado blade to revolve around the blade shaft. ... chartreuse & white short-arm spinnerbait and told me to toss ... bottom and then pulled it through the knees, too slowly for the blade to ...
    (rec.outdoors.fishing.bass)
  • wisdom teeth worries, need for braces?
    ... I went an got an xray and both top and bottom need to come out so I ... made an appointment for extraction. ... it took the nerve near my chin two years to heal due ... my teeth have been ultra sensitive and all my teeth ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Dado set
    ... An adjustable or "wobble dado" is ground when it is set at a certain ... At that thickness, ... Wider gives a concave bottom and narrower yields a convex bottom. ... When a blade says is for veneer, etc., that should mean that the blades have ...
    (rec.woodworking)
Loading