tools to cut metal
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
hey yall!
this coming year i really want to start making stuff with a metal/wood combination, such as tables, beds, dresser, and nightstands.
so i was wondering what are the best tools for cutting metal?
the other day i was looking for some power saws that cut metal but never found really anything.
thanks God bless!
ryan
That depends….
1) type of metal (iron, steel, stainless, brass/bronze/copper)
2) form of metal (solid, bar, thick wall tube, thin wall tube)
3) power or hand.A hacksaw works well for thinner cuts but you need to select a blade appropriate to your material
An angle grinder can take on thicker materials with a cutting disk. And with other ‘blades’ you can do various metal finishing
A power hacksaw or bandsaw can do even heavier cuts but require more space and money. Most band saws don’t seem to have a speed range apropriate for both steel and wood – so it’s not generally a two birds with one stone situation.
There are metal cutting blades for a circle saw although that’s probably hard on the saw
And there are special circle saws designed for cutting metal. Again the blade needs to be matched to the material
There are cold saws which look a bit like a power miter box, but are made to cut off metal stock
You can use an oxy-acetylene cutter or a plasma cutter (which requires electricity and compressed air)
Or you can use a cold chisel with a forge
What I generally use is a hacksaw or rotary grinder. But I’m usually cutting thin wall tubing.
Offer up some more particulars and I’m sure we can give you better guidance
I would stay away from power tools, unless absolutely necessary. It took me about 10 minutes to cut through a 10x30mm soft steel bar, but how often will you do that? And how sharp was my saw (probably not very)? Power tools have the same disatvantage as power tools for wood, they produce a lot of noise and dust, and you have to address many safety issues. And in many cases you need to use cooling liquids. Anyway, you have to be aware of metal debris, while working on projects with wood and metal, to avoid contamination of the wood and damage on wood and tools.
Hacksaws and framesaws are the tools of choice to cut most metal profiles. Blades are fairly inexpensive. I have a junior hacksaw and a larger (around 30 cm) saw. You can use the wooden frame saw by Paul Sellers with a suitable blade for larger jobs.
For drilling, I prefer a drill press, because of the accuracy and safety over hand-held drilling machines. You also need a center punch to visually and physically (guidance for the drill bit) mark the spots to drill. This is the one powered machine that I would readily use, because drilling metal manually is not exactly fun, although it is possible. And you can use it for woodworking too.
Files are quite effective for shaping solid metal, even soft steel. The ones, that cut steel, will also cut wood, so there are plenty of applications.
Sheet metal can be cut accurately with appropriate shears.
Wire cutters come in various hardnesses, according to the material to be cut.
Softer metals can even be cut with blades (knives, chisels etc.). But I would not use my woodworking blades on metal, better have a dedicated set.
Well, it really depends on what you want to do…
Dieter
i mostly use a jig saw thats kind-of like a table saw with a jig saw blade, do yall happen to know if there are jig saw blades that are made for metel?
Ryan, I don’t know anything about jig saws but if you want to take a hand tool approach, I’d recommend a jeweler’s saw (sometimes called a fret saw). These are pretty cheap and use replaceable blades with different tooth configurations, depending on what you’re working on.
Dave
ok thanks i will look into that!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
