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How to Cut a Stainless Steel Sink

C.L. Rease

Stainless steel is a hard material to cut with standard power saws that use toothed saw blades. When you cut into the stainless steel, heat builds up quickly where the saw blade and the surface of the stainless steel meet. This heat quickly builds up beyond the melting point of the hardened steel cutting blade. Switching to an abrasive blade will eliminate the problems associated with the teeth melting off the saw blade. Unlike other types of saws, using a grinder with an abrasive cutting blade reduces the chances that the abrasive blade will catch and damage the stainless steel sink.

  1. Put on your safety glasses, face shield and leather gloves.

  2. Attach a 1/32-inch abrasive blade to the 4-inch grinder. Ensure that the wheel is on center and tightly secured to the grinder so it does not shatter from being out of balance.

  3. Lower your face shield and press the trigger of the grinder to start spinning the abrasive wheel.

  4. Align the spinning abrasive blade with the location that you need to cut the stainless steel sink and lower the blade to the sink's surface.

  5. Slowly push the abrasive cutting wheel across the surface of the stainless steel sink, creating a score line. Continue pushing and pulling the abrasive blade along the entire line until you cut through the stainless steel sink.

  6. Remove the abrasive cutting wheel from the grinder and attach the flapper wheel to the grinder after you have cut through the stainless steel sink.

  7. Run the flapper wheel along the cut edge to remove the sharp edge left from the abrasive blade and dress the edge of the stainless sink.

  8. Round the edges at the end of the cuts to eliminate snag hazards when you install the cut stainless steel sink.