Can you cut steel with a jigsaw?

[slim j 10+ year member]

I am trying to make some cutouts out of 16 or 18ga steel. Is it okay to cut them out with a jigsaw or a router?

Will it tear up my jig saw?

Any suggestions?

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[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

ummm no.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

with the appropriate blade I'd say yes.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

YOu can cut steel with a jigsaw if you use metal cutting blades . Probably the reason they make metal cutting blades for them //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

bandsaw is much better...but yeah i should have specified with metal cutting blades....but you better have it clamped down real good to cut sheet metal.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

http://www.boschtools.com/accessories/accessories-detail.htm?H=176310&G=54789

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[slim j 10+ year member]

Up to how thick? I was going to cut some diamond plate.

I did not see any metal cutting blades for the router.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

bandsaw is much better...but yeah i should have specified with metal cutting blades....but you better have it clamped down real good to cut sheet metal.

yep bandsaw would be better , if I'm feeling spicy I will break out the plasma cutter //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Up to how thick? I was going to cut some diamond plate.
I did not see any metal cutting blades for the router.

No no for the router . don't really know how thick , I usually don't cut it with a jigsaw. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[slim j 10+ year member]

Is steel ferrous?

ferrous means it contains iron...As the chemical symbol if Iron is FE. I do not know if steel contains iron.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Considering steel is iron with other stuff added I hope it does //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[slim j 10+ year member]

Gotcha...I didn't know what steel was made of.

What is the difference between HSS and Bi-Metallic?

Which is better?

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Hss usually stands for high speed steel and is sometimes called hhss hard high speed steel . Strong arse blades that usually last longer than regular blades , but are more prone to breaking because of the stiffness

Bi metallic usually means the actual cutting portion of the blade is made of hss and is welded to a backing of spring steel to give the blade a little flex . and it also makes the blade more forgiving as far as stress on it goes ( pushing to hard instead of letting the saw do the work ) //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

as to which is better , it really depends on the user and the application . I would go with bimettalic if for no other reason the extra give in them makes them a little safer for the user //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

steel is an alloy....most made of iron and carbon.