Which side should I cut stainless steel from?

[ModernMaterials]

i reckon i would go with the jigsaw blade and great care.

tin snips would be useless when he reached the corners and grinding it would almost certainly discolour it.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Well I finally got around to doing this job, and the winner was:





THE JIGSAW!!!





As some people had predicted, the angle grinder (Dewalt 4.5inch with 1.2mm metal cutting blade) did discolour the stainless steel (thankfully there was sufficient excess steel to have a few practice runs). The cutting blade scorched the steel each time I started to cut, although once through the steel the rest of the cut was clean.

The jigsaw (Dewalt 18v with a Piranha metal cutting blade and a steady hand!) went through the stainless steel like butter. It was the best method for doing this job by a country mile!!

 

[Hitachimad]

Glad you posted an update Andy.

The discoloration from the cutting disc must be due to your technique or more likely, quality of the disc. Ive never had that problem.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Always happy to provide feedback.

I had several attempts with the discs, trying to approach the steel from different positions/angles.

I could get the angle grinder to cut cleanly on the body of the stainless steel, however the problems arose (I think) because on either edge of the cooker hood there is a 5mm lip where it can be fixed to the wall. Therefore the grinder was effectively cutting through a 5mm rather than 1mm bit of steel to start with.

I suppose I could have flipped the stainless steel over to cut the lip at a 90 degree angle, but that it just seems like too much faffing when the jigsaw did it with ease.

Finally, I also felt I had far more control when trying to cut with the jigsaw. Although it probably comes with more experience, I don’t feel I would have been able to get as straighter cut with the grinder as I did with the jigsaw.