Cutting Steel Plate.

[John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848]

If the plate is galvanized forget the gas axe or plasma. Vaporized zinc or zinc oxide should not be inhaled.

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Is the wife’s washing line 75 feet up in the air then? 🤔 Dave W

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I use 115mm x 1mm blue spot stainless cutting discs to cut steel plate up to an inch thick

remove the grinder guard and wear sensible ppe

You do it in stages, cutting an approx 0.5 to 1cm deep trench for the entire length of each pass until all the way through

NEVER force the disc, ever, let it do the work, and stay clear of the kickback zone

If you are going in too deep it will start to pull so stop and come in from a different direction

With a bit of practice it's actually pretty easy, so do the easiest part first to get a feel for the job, you need a steady hand, cut straight lines to minimise kickback/pulling friction, and stay focussed

Edited By Ady1 on 19/09/2021 09:13:26

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

If you're looking to make it neat you will probably need to do two jobs, one to get the maln plate off and one to make the welded sections look nice

[John BaronParticipant @johnbaron31275]

Posted by Samsaranda on 19/09/2021 08:28:47:

Is the wife’s washing line 75 feet up in the air then? 🤔 Dave W

No ! The tower base and 8 ft support post is all that is left. The actual tower was scrapped some time ago.

I have some people coming to cut the gusset plates away ! They are aware that its galvanised and said that its not a problem.

Thanks for the advice guys, its appreciated !

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Posted by Ady1 on 19/09/2021 08:56:54:

I use 115mm x 1mm blue spot stainless cutting discs to cut steel plate up to an inch thick

remove the grinder guard and wear sensible ppe

You do it in stages, cutting an approx 0.5 to 1cm deep trench for the entire length of each pass until all the way through

NEVER force the disc, ever, let it do the work, and stay clear of the kickback zone

If you are going in too deep it will start to pull so stop and come in from a different direction

With a bit of practice it's actually pretty easy, so do the easiest part first to get a feel for the job, you need a steady hand, cut straight lines to minimise kickback/pulling friction, and stay focussed

Edited By Ady1 on 19/09/2021 09:13:26

Hi Ady1, no disrespects, but you should Never use an angle grinder (or any other type of grinder) with the guard removed, nor should you advise anyone else to do so, I agree about PPE but this is a secondary defence not a first one, all other forms of safety should be considered and put in place first and the guard is the first defence, the correct and undamaged guard fitted and correctly adjusted properly will prevent burst parts of a disc, being flung onto the operator, the only parts that may hit the operator should only be any that may bounce back from something else and these will have less force for your PPE to deal with. My advice is to wear full face protection and a leather welders apron whenever using an angle grinder, even for a job that takes only a moment. A moment is all that is needed for a part of a flying disc to cause a serious or even a life changing injury.

Regards Nick.

P.S. if however you like playing Russian Roulette, that's your own choice, I guess.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 19/09/2021 12:31:53

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

The most dangerous part of any angle grinder is a locking trigger

Lockable triggers on angle grinders should be illegal

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Ady1, sorry I have to disagree with that, unless you have a very old seven or nine inch grinder or some horrible foreign piece of junk, you are unlikely to have one of those with a locking trigger. I've used angle grinders all my working life almost every day and I'm afraid the most dangerous part I've seen, is some operators of them and I've never had any problems with the locking (or rather latching) triggers with any of the five inch and below ones, nor have I known anyone else in my working environments having problems with them. Using them correctly and safely and with due confidence will reduce accidents considerably, all usage of angle grinders should be assessed, and any pitfalls taken into account and only when a safe method of doing the job safely, should allow you to continue, if a danger of injury is perceived, then reassessment is needed or a different method employed.

Regards Nick.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Plasma cutters are becoming quite cheap now:

Lidl plasma cutter

Don't know if they will deliver to UK now following Brexit.

Russell

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Russell Eberhardt on 19/09/2021 15:01:43:

Plasma cutters are becoming quite cheap now:

Lidl plasma cutter

Don't know if they will deliver to UK now following Brexit.

Russell

I'll pop down with my facemask and 'Swag for Life' bag to grab one of those before I pop round the bank.

Neil

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Posted by Russell Eberhardt on 19/09/2021 15:01:43:

Plasma cutters are becoming quite cheap now:

Lidl plasma cutter

Don't know if they will deliver to UK now following Brexit.

Russell

I believe there's a little rubber boat cross channel service which is very reliable

French submarine yards are also moving into rubber boat production as of last week so there should be no shortages

[Author]

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