How to cut 1/8" steel shelving?

[BulletHead]

I need to cut a few shelving units endsd to reduce the height, the type you see in CVS. They are fabricated with about 1/8" steel. Would I need a plasma cutter or will an angle grinder do the trick?

 

[brokenparts]

angle grinder and a cutoff wheel will go through it like butter.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Wear safety glasses and gloves,have someone hold the other end, agrinder will do it or saw zaw. Mike

 

[BulletHead]

do i need to get a special kind of wheel on the angle grinder? diamond tipped etc?

 

[bigndn]

do i need to get a special kind of wheel on the angle grinder? diamond tipped etc?

Just a cutoff wheel.

 

[porten1134]

just to state the obvoius.....a hacksaw costs about 10$ might be just as cheap as a set of cutoff wheels. i hear those things aren't cheap.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

just to state the obvoius.....a hacksaw costs about 10$ might be just as cheap as a set of cutoff wheels. i hear those things aren't cheap.

cheap cut off wheels are like $3.50 each

 

[BulletHead]

would $30-40 harbor freight angle grinders work?

 

[2mbb]

I did all the cutting to make this bumper with a 4 1/2" angle grinder and a 1/16" thick cut off wheel (Ok...I used several cut off wheels). I even cut the 1" thick bar with the grinder.

The harbor Freight one should work fine for what you are doing.

 

[Junk]

Just use a hacksaw, or if you think you'll use a 4-1/2 grinder for other projects, then pick one up. Cheapo is fine. If you start doing serious work you'll end up burning it up at some time, but if you do then you'll know you need something better like a metabo. For now, cheap is good. Cheap cutoff wheels can be found for $1.65. If you've never used a grinder with a cutoff wheel, then just be carefull. Remember to wear safety glasses!!!

 

[davegonz]

As the Junkmeister said....be very careful.

Pop Up Camper Modification for Carrying Motorcycle. Also, warning **GORE PICS** - Expedition Portal Forum

 

[porten1134]

ya know, after i thought about it some. bag the hacksaw idea. if i were in your position i would use this as an excuse to go buy a grinder, sawzall, plasma cutter,and a oxy-acetaline torch kit. tell your wife you'll need all of them to get the job done. then be sure to invite friends over and show them to make em jelous. at least thats what I would do.

 

[john_eckels]

I use my Bosch Jigsaw with a metal cutting blade for stuff like that. If you go slow and keep it oiled, it makes a very nice cut

 

[MOfj40]

skil saw with a metal blade. Works great - much faster than a grinder if you have to do more than a couple small cuts. $30-40 at HD or Lowes.

 

[BulletHead]

when you say skil saw, do you mean a circular saw?

 

[Dirtsquirt]

yes

Circular saw is the way I would go.
go to Ace and buy PN 2079960
cut off blade for a circular saw

works good do it all the time. we keep the blades on hand
some times it is just the best solution.

 

[MOfj40]

when you say skil saw, do you mean a circular saw?

yes

Circular saw is the way I would go.
go to Ace and buy PN 2079960
cut off blade for a circular saw

works good do it all the time. we keep the blades on hand
some times it is just the best solution.

I prefer the DeWalt blades (don't know who makes them for DeWalt). They seem to last longer than others I've tried, but they all get the job done.

In my shop at work I've got a plasma cutter, oxy/acet torch, jigsaw, sawzall, angle grinder, numerous die grinders/ cut off tools, porta band, etc. For cutting sheet weight steel I reach for the circular saw almost every time. It's faster and more accurate than any other method. I've even cut 1/2" plate with mine and even though you burn up blades quickly at that thickness, you get a perfect cut with no grinding.

 

[rusty_tlc]

would $30-40 harbor freight angle grinders work?

I've been using this one for few years, maybe three or four. If I owned a metal fab business I'd get a Milwaukee, but for casual use the HF unit will work fine and last many years. I have cut steel up to 1/4" thick with it using cut off wheels. Since I got this the only thing I use a hack saw for is PVC sprinkler pipe.

 

[rusty_tlc]

yes



I prefer the DeWalt blades (don't know who makes them for DeWalt). They seem to last longer than others I've tried, but they all get the job done.

In my shop at work I've got a plasma cutter, oxy/acet torch, jigsaw, sawzall, angle grinder, numerous die grinders/ cut off tools, porta band, etc. For cutting sheet weight steel I reach for the circular saw almost every time. It's faster and more accurate than any other method. I've even cut 1/2" plate with mine and even though you burn up blades quickly at that thickness, you get a perfect cut with no grinding.

Isn't it kind of hard on the saw?

 

[MOfj40]

I did burn up one $30 Skil brand saw, but it had seen 7+ years of abuse in a manufacturing environment so it was living on borrowed time. It made it through several cuts in 1/2" plate (about 2') that day but died trying to cut 18 gauge corrugated sheet a few minutes later.

Replaced it with a Milwaukee worm drive - it doesn't even slow down.

Cut some 1/4 plate yesterday - the other benefit of the circular saw method is your workpiece barely gets warm. You can pick it up without gloves immediately after cutting.