How to Cut a Stainless Steel Rod
The properties that make stainless steel stain resistant also make it hard to cut with conventional saws that use blades with teeth. As you cut the stainless rod, heat builds up in the cut. This hardens the stainless steel and causes the blade to heat up and the teeth of the blade to melt. To avoid this problem, it is best to cut with an abrasive blade. An abrasive blade will still cause the stainless steel to heat up, but you will not encounter the problems with teeth melting and not cutting through the stainless steel rod.
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Permanent marker
- Vise
- Safety glasses
- Face shield
- Leather work gloves
- 4-inch grinder
- 1/16-inch abrasive cutting wheels
- 4-inch flapper wheel
Instructions
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1
Stretch the tape measure along the stainless steel rod and mark the length you need to cut with the permanent marker.
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2
Secure the stainless steel rod in the vise, with the cut mark resting 2 inches past the edge of the vise jaws.
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3
Don your safety glasses, face shield and leather work gloves.
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4
Attach a 1/16-inch abrasive cutting wheel to your grinder and lower your face shield.
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5
Depress the trigger of the grinder to spin the abrasive cutting wheel and bring the blade toward the stainless steel rod, holding the grinder at a 90-degree angle to the cut mark you placed on the rod earlier.
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6
Move the grinder slightly forward and backward, keeping the grinder at a 90-degree angle to the stainless steel rod until you cut through the rod. Exchange the 1/16-inch grinder wheel if it reduces in size to the point that you cannot keep the grinder at a 90-angle to the cut.
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7
Remove the 1/16-inch abrasive cutting wheel from the 4-inch grinder and attach the 4-inch flapper wheel to the grinder.
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8
Hold the flapper wheel at a 30-degree angle to the cut end of the stainless steel rod and while the flapper wheel is spinning, run the flapper wheel around the cut to remove the burr from the end of the rod.
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9
Allow the stainless steel rod to cool for five to 10 minutes before handling, as the cut end of the rod will be extremely hot and can cause severe burns.
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