Cutting stainless panel ??

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In the morning I need to cut a rectangle in a stainless counter top that is in a kitchen trailer. I was planing on using the plasma cutter then cleaning up the edges, but concerned about protecting the area below the cut. I am looking for alternatives for this type of cut.Thanksken
Reply:How big?  I would just shear it, but thats because we have a 10ft hydraulic shear. Honestly plasma cutting it is a horrible idea.  Its going to warp and burn and look like a hack job.  If you cant bear to pay a shop to shear it for you (probably no more that $5 per cut) then I would go with a cutoff wheel on a grinder.  Thin stainless cuts real nice and if you can keep it straight will yield nice results.Edit:  Im an idiot, I though you were cutting a piece to make a counter.  Now I see you need to cut it out.  You could jigsaw it, but thats loud and slow.  I would still prefer to use a cutoff wheel and a grinder, just drill holes to make the corners clean.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Yeh I will drill holes, I seem to have a hard time getting a straight line with cutoff wheels. Any suggestions how to, maybe a guide? The rectangle is about 12"x18", maybe 18-20ga. Are there bimetal blades for a jigsaw that will cut stainless, slow is ok for this.Last edited by KGIOR; 05-31-2010 at 12:31 AM.
Reply:Hello KGIOR, if you have any way to clamp a piece of flat bar(preferably stainless steel) on the line that you can guide the cut-off wheel with that will generally help with cut straightness. If you can't clamp it in any way try to find a SS plate or SS flat bar that is really heavy that you can hold down while you "carefully" cut the line. You may already be aware of the cross-contamination issues with steel and stainless so please disregard my comments in that case. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Kgior,I agree with Aevald's solution of using a SS flat bar.Last fall I had to cut a thin SS panel as a front cover for a small refrigerator.Plasma is just too aggressive for this thin a material.I took a 1/4" x 2" SS flat bar and used it as my cutting guide.  Use the thinnest wheel you can find for a cutoff grinder.  The bar guide serves two purposes.  It keeps the cut straight and it also pulls heat (helps to minimize distortion) away from the thin panel.You only want your wheel penetrating about 1/8" into the material.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Up to about 22 gauge we use an over and under, Wiese or Max tin snips. I don't know if your pizzeria has stainless steel walls. But if they do they are usually 22 gauge. And we just cut it with the over and under style snips. You can cut stainless steel with a saber saw. But you will need some bee's wax. It is a fairly slow go. But faster then you would think. Nothing like in the old days.You will want to take a piece of quarter inch Luanne plywood in a rectangular shape and cut a slit into the plywood. About 3./16" deep. Then put the jig saw on top of the plywood with the back of the blade in the slit, and let the plywood glide across the surface. That stops the chatter. Because it stops the stainless from lifting up. After each cut suck up all the crumbs before you start again and clean the plywood off each time.       Sincerely,             William McCormick