I have cut many hundreds of feet through stainless steel sheet goods and thin plate using my Bosch jig saw. No, it's not fun at all but it's doable. Go slow. Turn down the speed and don't expect to race through it. And wear ear protection. BTW: The Bainbridge Island-metal blades last a good long time.
I use a 4 tooth or skip tooth blade cutting aluminum on the bandsaw. In general aluminum sands like wood for smoothing purposes but it builds up on the paper. When I built Passage, all the metal parts from anchor roller to chain plates, etc was silicon bronze. I cut the parts out of 1/4" sheet, jigged them up, had them joined by a welder for me. Bronze also cuts much like wood with a skip tooth blade, sands well. You'll find the feed speed as you go along. Wear protection. Be prepared to clean the bandsaw carefully after. I found doing the fittings with bronze was much more fun than trying to do stainless. Bronze and aluminum are softer woods. The bronze pieces I cut or had cast for me in PT back in the day when casting bronze was local were a treat to work with comparatively.
I cut aluminum on my chop saw with a wood blade. Works great, and safer than a table saw. Good advice to wear protection from the hot chips -- and safety glasses with side shields. Don't ask me how I know...
I have cut many hundreds of feet through stainless steel sheet goods and thin plate using my Bosch jig saw. No, it's not fun at all but it's doable. Go slow. Turn down the speed and don't expect to race through it. And wear ear protection. BTW: The Bainbridge Island-metal blades last a good long time.
I use a 4 tooth or skip tooth blade cutting aluminum on the bandsaw. In general aluminum sands like wood for smoothing purposes but it builds up on the paper. When I built Passage, all the metal parts from anchor roller to chain plates, etc was silicon bronze. I cut the parts out of 1/4" sheet, jigged them up, had them joined by a welder for me. Bronze also cuts much like wood with a skip tooth blade, sands well. You'll find the feed speed as you go along. Wear protection. Be prepared to clean the bandsaw carefully after. I found doing the fittings with bronze was much more fun than trying to do stainless. Bronze and aluminum are softer woods. The bronze pieces I cut or had cast for me in PT back in the day when casting bronze was local were a treat to work with comparatively.
Shoulda said I "used" as I haven't done that in decades now. Time flies when you're having fun.....
I cut aluminum on my chop saw with a wood blade. Works great, and safer than a table saw. Good advice to wear protection from the hot chips -- and safety glasses with side shields. Don't ask me how I know...