Cutting 1095

J

JoshEarl

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
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197
I'm just getting started here--got my first bar of 1095 in the mail today--and I have a dumb question. How do you cut the stuff?

My stock is 1/8" thick and 1-1/2" wide. I tried a hacksaw, but the teeth basically melted off the blade. Do I just need better blades? (These were from Home Depot, so they're probably cheap...) Or does 1095 require a cutoff wheel of some kind?

Is it possible to cut this steel with a hand-held jig saw? I found a web page where a guy says you can, but he's cutting .05" stock, which is a lot less substantial that mine.

Thanks for any help you can offer,
Josh
 
I cut mine with a hacksaw. I use Lenox "Heavy Metal" blades (Home depot, lowes, w/e..). Cuts pretty good, let the saw work and don't overheat the blade too much (Don't rush)
 
I have drawn out my patterns and drilled holes at the slowest speed of my drill press just outside my pattern line and then cut out the patterns with the band saw to save wear and tear on my bi metal blades. Having the holes as a break point where the blade can make headway somehow helps on stock thicker than 1/8 but now all I use is 3/32. Still the holes help make it eaiser on the blade.

Of course I've cheated for years using what is technically a wood cutting band saw to cut metal and anything else. I've even cut up frozen meats with it besides wood. I guess most would say the blade moves too fast to cut metal but go figure I've cut metal and titanium with it for over 22 years now and average about 2 years or more of life per bi metal blade and always have. I'm still running the same blade from way back right now actually. Same motor, same everything that came on the saw too. Part of the reason the drilled holes help though is the motor I have beeing so weak. Its not the beefiest motor made for the Delta/Rockwell 14" bandsaw. I'm sure if it has a bit more ummph it would cut the stuff better. But having the holes to make a quick cut, and then break through to a hole does keep the blade from heating up and is the difference between burning it up and not burning it up. Mostly though I cut titanium with it and aluminum.

STR
 
STR,

I have an old 12" Craftsman bandsaw--a two-wheeled model with a 1725 rpm motor. Is that similar to what you have? I'd be curious to see if I could get it to work on steel...

Josh
 
Probably. I'm not sure what yours looks like. I just take my sweet time with it. If you set the press down to the slow speed and use a good cobalt you can pop holes in there without heating it up to work harden it much if at all and then simply connect the dots using the band saw blade. It will either work or it won't . For me its worked for many years doing that. I'm sure a lot of the guys here will get a laugh out of this though and I am also certain that being self taught I do everything backwards but hey, I get her done right?

Truth be told, in the early years when I still lived out on the Navojo Indian Reservation with the IHS I bought cheap fine tooth blades from the local Sears (funny looking back because local was to Farmington NM 2.5 hours away one way. :D ) and I'd buy up all I could find in 3/8" size and use them for that stuff until they either snapped or just would not cut anymore and they did it. Those old band saws are awesome man! Honestly if mine broke its the one thing I can't go without. When my dremmel died, and even when my grinder went out I was weeks getting something else but that saw?? Nope, I'd have to replace that like immediately or get it fixed.

STR
 
I have a 30 year old Sears bandsaw I have used it to cut brass up to 1/2" thick. go slow and use a silicon spray lube to reduce heat.
I have only cut mild steel on it. same thing go slow.
 
1 - get a bimetal bandsaw blade
2 - sometimes the low alloy stuff comes from the mill without having been fully annealed and can be hard to cut. Worse if you are cutting too quickly and work-harden it.
3 - with a fast-moving saw, just try to not bear down on it too much. a new blade will cut like a dream...so much that you'll want to overfeed it like a nagging hungry fat kid in a candy store. :eek: take it easy and it'll last longer
4 - I had lots of problems with my wood bandsaw "juiced up" to cut steel...finally bought a HF metal cutting saw - works great.


Best of luck! :thumbup:
 
40 strokes a minute on the hacksaw- good blades count.

honestly, i use an angle grinder often.
 
Don't by cheap blades ! Any steel of carbon content .70 % or higher should be full annealed [spheroidized anneal ] otherwise it will be difficult to work !
 
Another thing is to get the right type of hacksaw.
You need a HIGH TENSION HACKSAW . They cost about $25 ,and will really surprise you in the improvement of hand cutting. Also, get good Lenox blades.
Stacy
 
Well, no one outright asked the question, is your steel annealed? 1095 shouldn't be *that* hard to cut with a hacksaw, although I'd get a cheapo angle grinder and cutoff wheels over hacksawing a profile.
 
You can use a hacksaw to do the job. But it will take a long time to get the job done. I myself suggest getting a metal cutting bandsaw to do the job. 1/8 is 125 thousands thick, you can do it with the hacksaw. But some time down the road you will be cutting steel's that are thicker and will require something more sufficient to do the job. You would not want to take all day, just to cut a piece of steel. With a bandsaw you can cut that in 30 seconds. Remember time is money out in a shop. :thumbup::D
 
It amazes me how many people here seem to run from hacksaws. I agree with Stacy. Get a good hi-tension hacksaw and bimetal blades and go to town. The other important thing when using a hacksaw is to make sure that your work is held tightly in a solid vise. If your work moves around, you'll never get anywhere.

-d
 
I have always went with a chop saw. With abrasive blades- fully hardenened... chop, red hot... chop, annealed...chop, etc... Cuts very fast and blades are pretty cheap. I spent around $250 on my chop saw 10 years ago and it hase been one of those "could not live without" tools in my shop. If one doesn't have the chop saw, abrasive blades in a table saw or skill saw have also worked quite well for me. They also make thin cutting blades for angle grinders that do the same thing. I have an upright band saw that I get bimetal blades for,I only use for nonferrous and wood, never liked it for steel.
 
Do yourself a favor, buy a metal cutting bandsaw, stay away from the cheap blades and get the Bimetal ones. Not only do they last much longer, but they stay sharper longer, reducing your time hunched over the saw. Before using the saw, be sure to set it to its slowest speed ie; 60 SFM. Sawing faster will only ruin the blades, and don't push, just let the saw do the work. Easy does it on the curves, and your work will be accurate, and reduce the amount of profiling needed at the grinder afterwards.
 
is the 1095 Hot rolled or Cold rolled? Doesn't that make a difference on ease of cutting?
 
what about plasma cutters? :) just kidding. i have been lucky enough to have access to some for allot of my work in the past. but at home, its hot cutting in the forge, angle grinders, and hack saws. a good new hacksaw blade is a thing of beauty. faster even than the angle grinder with cut off wheels.
-Lou
 
What's easier to cut ? 1/8" 1095 or 1/8" A2 tool steel? Anyone know? Personally I use a metal cutting bandsaw at either 80 or 150 FPM. Works great and the lenox diemaster blade I use has lasted several hundred cuts and is still going strong! 1/16 - 3/8" all cut and different rates obviously, but are very precise. i'm currently using a 3/8" wide blade and probably should get a 1/4" inch for those tight corners, but what I can't get into, I just grind away after a rough cut.
 
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