Cutting Stainless Steel Tubing

[AngWood]

Think this'll do the job?

http://images.lowes.com/product/017197/017197351808.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg

I'd rather not wrestle a hacksaw when it comes to customizing the trolling motor I just bought for an electric skiff I'm building.

[ 02-01-2005, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: AngWood ]

[nedL]

Nope...... Not to be smart, but unless it is a very thin wall tubing I don't think that type of tubing cutter (made for copper) will cut S.S. A hack saw with a fine tooth blade will do it best at home.

[AngWood]

Shoot. This won't do it either, huh?

http://images.lowes.com/product/017197/017197352355.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg

I'm wishing the motor I got such a great deal on (Ebay) had one of those composite shafts instead of that bulletproof steel.

[Krueg]

That first one is even hard to cut copper pipe. It's only used when there's not room for the bigger one (cutting a pipe already in a wall).

[Donn]

Use a cut-off wheel (or 2 or 3) on a Dremel. You can cut the steel precisely, without damaging the wiring inside the shaft.

[Paulyboy]

If you want to avoid the dreaded hacksaw, try using another tool (good excuse to buy another tool). It looks like a pipe wrench with a piece of bicycle chain attached to one jaw and is appropriately called a chain cutter. It works like a typical tubing cutter pumped up on steroids.

[John Bell]

I've used both of the cutters illustrated above on SS chromatography tubing and on larger thin walled SS tubing.

You ain't going to cut 316 threaded pipe with either, but for the thin stuff you should be OK with the larger of the two.

[AngWood]

Hmm...so how thin is thin? I wonder if MotorGuide shafts are 316 steel?

[Donn]

Run a drill thru it and see how thick the wall is.

What model MotorGuide is it?

[Bob Smalser]

I've used the larger pipe cutters on them.

You need a pipe cutter anyway as even if it isn't up to cutting the pipe, as nothing else provides a better mark to hacksaw proud and file to that line accurately.

[Keith Wilson]

Oh, for God's sake, you could have cut it with a hacksaw in the time it took to read this thread. Get a new blade with the finest teeth you can find and go to it. Clean it up with a file. No big deal.

[Ian McColgin]

I've cut a lot of SS tubing for dodgers, biminis and thiscker stuff for lifeline stauncheons. I use a real hack saw with quality blades. We did it so much that I modified a vice to hold the tube with no marring and to provide a convenient right angle guide on one side. Dress the cut after.

In the production work of a two person canvass shop, various cutting blades that can be added to different drills and grinders did not actually speed the job. A really good machinist's band saw would be faster, but that's a lot of $$ to invest for such a limited purpose.

[Magwitch]

Originally posted by Keith Wilson:
Oh, for God's sake, you could have cut it with a hacksaw in the time it took to read this thread. Get a new blade with the finest teeth you can find and go to it. Clean it up with a file. No big deal.Dead right, and to make life easier lubricate /cool with paraffin and once you start keep going.
IanW

[NormMessinger]

Originally posted by Keith Wilson:
Oh, for God's sake, you could have cut it with a hacksaw in the time it took to read this thread. Get a new blade with the finest teeth you can find and go to it. Clean it up with a file. No big deal.Don't ya just hate it when some smart kid joins the ranks of the philosophers. :D

[Keith Wilson]

"Paraffin" in the US refers to wax, like candle wax. I think Ian is suggesting what we'd call kerosene, which is better than nothing, although genuine cutting fluid will work better.

Two nations separated by a common language, once again.

[Gary E]

Oh, for God's sake, you could have cut it with a hacksaw in the time it took to read this thread. Get a new blade with the finest teeth you can find and go to it. Clean it up with a file. No big deal. ....what we'd call kerosene,which is better than nothing, although genuine NOTHING will also work just fine for you..unless your going to production sawing, then better get a BIG Marvel or DoAll

[Magwitch]

Originally posted by Keith Wilson:
"Paraffin" in the US refers to wax, like candle wax. I think Ian is suggesting what we'd call kerosene, which is better than nothing, although genuine cutting fluid will work better.

Two nations separated by a common language, once again.Yup, sorry, kerosene it is. There are better fluids but workshops not set up for metalwork may not have pukkah cutting fluid but everybody has kero,,,,,or diesel,,,,,, or paint thinner,,,,,, what else do wooden boat folk heat and light their boats with? smile.gif
IanW

[AngWood]

All righty then!

I think I've got the answers I needed. Sincere thanks to all.

But this thread isn't officially finished until I goad Cleek into reproaching me for not doing it with a block plane.

[Dave Carnell]

Put an old dull plywood blade (fine tooth) in your table saw. Suit up with a face mask, jacket or heavy shirt, and gloves. Push the piece forcefully into the blade until you get a steady stream of sparks. This is a bit of overkill for tubing, but you can cut stainless up to 3/8" thick readily this way to make hardware. The blade will last for years and years, as though you are burning your way through the steel by friction, only the small spot in contact gets hot. Cuts hardened steel such as files just as well. No danger, as from an abrasive disk of flying apart into dangerous missiles.

[bainbridgeisland]

Originally posted by Dave Carnell:
Put an old dull plywood blade (fine tooth) in your table saw. Suit up with a face mask, jacket or heavy shirt, and gloves. Push the piece forcefully into the blade until you get a steady stream of sparks. When I worked in the trade, we used to use this method all the time but always turned the blade around backwards. Almost any old blade will do if installed in reverse though we never used carbide tipped blades. Blades thicker than the common plywood blades do not warp as much.

You need to push the metal into the blade hard enough for the blade to get hot before cutting starts. Then it glides right through.

About paraffin, Chemically two Hydrogen per Carbon: Though not identical, candle wax and common kerosene are essentially both made from this same proportion of Hydrogen and Carbon. The main difference is in the size of the molecules.

Ethane,30 grams/mole, Gaseous
Hexane, 86 grams/mole, liquid
Paraffin, 760 grams/mole, semisolid
Polyethylene, 20-K grams/mole, solid
UHMWPE, 4x10^6 grams/mole, solid

For this reason kerosene, paraffin and even polyethylene have all been called paraffin from time to time.

David Mancebo
revise to correct Chemistry

[ 02-03-2005, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: bainbridgeisland ]

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Two Hydrogen per Oxygen - this soulds like the kind of paraffin you sail a boat on.

This side of the pond it is a hydrocarbon.

[bainbridgeisland]

Originally posted by P.I. Stazzer-Newt:
Two Hydrogen per Oxygen - this soulds like the kind of paraffin you sail a boat on.

This side of the pond it is a hydrocarbon.OOPS, I corrected my post. Two Hydrogen per Carbon would be the correct proportion. Sometimes, I just go too fast and don't check my posts as well as I should.

[AngWood]

The consequences of mistaking H2C (?) for H2O could be devastating (if you're looking for a nice beverage).

[bainbridgeisland]

Originally posted by AngWood:
The consequences of mistaking H2C (?) for H2O could be devastating (if you're looking for a nice beverage).Most of us commonly mix the two together with our food and drink all the time. Since 'Tupperware' and many other microwavable containers are made from Polyethylene, you can see how easy this is to do.

[AngWood]

Okay. But don't drink the kerosene.

[Paulyboy]

Now that this is the third day for this thread, how many pieces of tubing could you have cut if a good cut would cut good? :D

[Keith Wilson]

There's no such thing as H2C. There's CH4 (methane), but it's hard to drink unless you get it REALLY cold, and even then it doesn't taste good. ;)

[Curtis George]

Hello all. I just found out how to reply. It may sound dumb but I didnt look at the hole topic, I was trying to reply to just one of the questions.

Any how. My name is Curtis I am a pipefitter by trade. and this is pretty much up my line of work! ;)

AngWood (thanks for guideing me.) You are looking at tubeing cutters, a pipe cutter is a lot bigger, thay can have one or up to four cutters. Ridgid Is a good brand, but there are many comp. that make cheaper units (both in quality and price) Harbor fright and Northern electric come to mind when looking at buying a cost effective cutter.
the only problem with cutters are thay slightly squeze the ends closed a little,normly about a 1/32" on most standard pipes. but the bur, can be removed rather easly.
a better way to cut stainless steel is to use a chop saw, (the big cutter looks like a skinny grinding wheel.) thay will cut stainless quickly and easly. (thay too can be bought at the sites Ive already stated.+ meny others as well.)

I realy like the look of this fourm. and am hopeing to learn a lot.
If I can shair any thing I will try.
I promise that!
take care.
sincerly yours.
C.A.G.

P.S. please excuse the spelling earas. Im a verry bad speller and even worse at useing a conputer.
;) WHERE IS THE SPELL CHECK?
C.A.G.

[Gary E]

Welcome Curtis,
I see you are from the home town of the DeVlieg Jig Mills, wonderfull precision machines, to bad they are not still around.

One thing about this forum that somewhat disturbs me is the sugestions that are made on the use of power tools. This subject was started by a fine fellow, but clearly not very mechanicaly inclined so he asks for advise. I wonder if he is like our family insurance agent Milt, capable of changing a light bulb and not much more. He had a cabin cruser on the river that he also knew only how to start the motor and steer, not much more, and that was evident with the trouble he got into, but I suspect he was insured real good.

So someone who may be an accomplished machinist sugests using real power to cut tubing without building good holding fixtures and using even better saftey measures just makes me wonder about just what some folks are thinking. We realy dont need to find that this tubing ends up being a unwanted catheter.

Spell check???
We dont need no stinkin speel check, we got Donn. smile.gif

Again, welcome to the forum.

[ 02-03-2005, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Gary E ]

[AngWood]

I'm glad y'all love talking about this stuff. I was hoping an $8 tubing cutter might be coaxed into doing the trick--I'm only making one or two cuts. There's wiring inside the tube, so I don't think a chop saw or some of those other contraptions would be feasible.

I can change lightbulbs with the best of them, but I've got more experience cutting wood than metal.

BTW, how much does a coat of paint weigh? ;)

[John of Phoenix]

What color?

[westinghouse]

"You are looking at tubing cutters"

I think Curtis George has given you your answer there. You've got tube, and you've got tube cutters. 'Sall good.

We use your specimen #2 at work to cut stainless tube, it makes a burr inside (as previously noted) so if your wiring is stuffed in there tight you might do some damage. It'd have to be stuffed in there pretty tight, though.

Eli

edited to add: Curtis, sorry to put an editing gaf in the spotlight. I've amended it.

[ 02-04-2005, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: westinghouse ]

[Curtis George]

Hi guys just got home from work.
AngWood I would pull the wires back before cuting.
If you cant, "WELL" take things slow. your tubeing cutters just might work, depending on two things, One the size of the pipe,and two the quality of the cutter.
one big common mistake made with cutters, are people try to cut to quickly. One 1/4 to 1/2 turn of the cutters blade per 3 rotations around the pipe min. slow and easy.
after the cut has been made, you can flatten the bur with a round edge of a screw driver.if you pull the wires back a little, or use a de-buring tool.
the worse that will happen to your cutters is the wheel will break. But that can be replaced. slow and light preasure, and lots of turns around the pipe. what do you have to lose!?. "O" also watch for Dog tracking, make sure you stay in the grove until the grove is well started. or else you will have a mess on your hands.
good luck.
C.A.G.
P.S.
What no spell check?!!! ;) OK, if thats how it has to be. I spell as it sounds. and if it sounds weard then perhaps you are not lesioning! ;)
(thats a joke!)
have a good day.
C.A.G.

[ 02-04-2005, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Curtis George ]

[otterbfishin]

AngWood,
I have been a metal fabricator in stainless and aluminum for many years. There are only two good ways to cut stainless:
1) Use an abrasive cut off wheel, preferably in a "chop saw".
2 Put a 60 tooth carbide blade in your skill saw in the normal direction, and cut away. Just be sure to use a full face shield and preferably a leather welding jacket. I also wrapped a towel or rags around my neck to prevent the hot stainless chips from burning my neck. The thinner the tubing, the slower you cut. Cut too fast and the tubing collapses and ruins the cut. Do this in a well ventilated area, as the the hot stainless gives off vapors from the nickle and chromium in the stainless which can cause cancer.
Good Luck
otterbfishin

[AngWood]

Thanks, guys. smile.gif