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Cutting A Stainless Steel Counter
After reading your pages about cutting a
hole in a stainless steel sink, I wondered if you could settle an
argument?
We are looking to buy a stainless steel work top which is 10 cm (4 inches)
too long, my boyfriend said you can cut the 10cm off the end. I am worried
that it will spoil it
How easy would it be to cut 10 cm off a 200 cm work top 60 cm deep? Also
if it is possible how good would you have to be to do it?
Debbie
Cutting
something like stainless steel, or any metal, doesn't so much depend on
good you are at it, rather it depends more on what tools you have
available.
Stainless steel is much harder than ordinary steel. When I try to drill
a hole in stainless using an ordinary drill bit (which is made from a
material called High Speed Steel) I inevitably dull the drill bit to
oblivion.
I presume this work top you are considering is like a counter-top, but
made of stainless steel sheet metal. The thickness of this sheet metal
will determine how difficult cutting will be. But even if you get a
perfect cut, what will the cut end look like? Does the work top have
folded metal front and sides? If so, you may want to fold the cut end
over. This implies some basic sheet metal work, work that is not
difficult but is best done with a sheet metal brake (a huge machine for
bending metal).
Maybe the best thing to do is contact a local sheet metal fabrication
shop (look in the Yellow Pages) and ask if they can cut the work top and
fold the end over to match the front and sides. Some small shops can do
this kind of thing in a fraction of an hour, which shouldn't cost too
much.
If I was doing something like this I would try a metal cutting abrasive
blade in a circular saw. Then I would grind or file the cut end until it
was smooth and straight. But metal bending... I would take that to a
sheet metal shop.
Bruce W. Maki, Editor.
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