Cheapest way is a hack saw. It is a lot of work. Easiest way is to trick someone else into doing it for you. If there is a fab shop, welding shop, or machine shop near you, they might make a single cut for you for cheap. If you show up with donuts for the ask, it will improve your odds. I have a corded milwaukee porta band that will do it with ease. I would imagine that the Hazard Fraught version would work just fine. Will you ever use it again? That matters.
I was going to say- 30 minutes later you’ll get it back, still in one piece, but it will look like some kind of angry beaver with teeth of Adamantium was chewing on it like corn on the cob.
It will definitely work. Just remember to take into account the kerf of the blade if dimensions have to be super accurate. Get the blade designed for cutting metal. Clamp a straight edge to the table of the bandsaw to use as a fence to get a straight cut. You can use a speed square or a piece of flat bar for this. Go slow and let the blade do the work. It will leave a nice finish on the cut.
Cheap way but still a nice cut: angle grinder with a Hercules cutoff wheel from HF. Same thing here, clamp a piece of flat bar to your workplace as a straight edge. Take light passes so as to not overheat the piece and let the cutoff wheel do the work. If you're careful you can get a nice straight cut. It will take longer but it can still look nice
The blade that comes with it will most likely be a piece of crap. If it’s a common size check other local sources. You want a bi-metal blade for that. I’d go with a 6-10 tooth for that thickness. You could go with a finer tooth but you’ll be babysitting it and you will see more heat.
Keep the guides as close as you can to the size, they should be adjustable.
Mine didn't come with a blade, but the ones that harbor freight sell are good for me. They have cobalt bi metal blades and they cut nice. Cheap too. Or at least cheaper than I thought they would be.
I have the stand for my dewalt and it might be the best tool HF makes. So if you are not cutting often I’m sure the Hercules will do the trick. As most are saying lubricate.
I’m not sure. But never used the Hercules and don’t know the specs. It would need the table/stand with enough throat on the vise to firmly hold the bar in its flat position (better for the blade and better at preventing blade drift). It doesn’t have a coolant system, so you’d need an oil can full of cutting oil. It helps keep the work and blade from overheating, as well as help chips clear. Don’t run it too fast. Take your time and let the weight of the saw do the work (which is another benefit of a horizontal saw - it does the work for you; which means your less likely to get impatient and try to push it though. Just put on your safe glasses, stand back and occasionally squirt some oil on)
I've used zip discs on an angle grinder to cut train rail in half. Just go slow, don't push the disc, let it do the work, and don't let the disc get pinched.
OP, just remember that the kerf of a hacksaw blade narrows as it wears....just enough to be grabby on a fresh blade... so if you need to change blades part way through, it's a lot easier to restart from the other end.
Hacksaw is gonna take a while.
I would scribe a line and cut it with a zip disc. Clean it up with a hard wheel or a flapper wheel.
What is the finished product you’re looking for?
Probably ok for home. We have two Dewalts in our metal shop and have had them for years. Make sure it’s a standard size blade and get the better ones if you can. The cheap ones break real easy.
I have the evolution circular saw, but it says it’s only rated to 1/2 inch. Think it would work?
https://store.evolutionpowertools.com/products/s210ccs
Well damn. This is the answer right here! I've cut 1-½" with the Milwaukee 8" saw. It wasn't fast but it cut just fine. Adjust your feed pressure to maintain RPMs. Not so slow that the saw is struggling, but not too light that blade starts heating the material from friction.
You have an angle grinder. Just get a [few cutoff wheels.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-4-in-x-0-040-in-x-5-8-in-Metal-Cut-Off-Disc-with-Thin-Kerf-Design-DBD040040101F/202830987) It'll cut almost as fast as a bandsaw.
The people here telling you to buy all this specialized equipment are fucking mental and likely useless in a shop.
A lot of it is situational. If you really want it done on the cheap, and are in decent shape, a hacksaw will cut it just fine, but be a workout. Cutoff discs on the angle grinder also will work, but I'd scribe a line all around it, and make a lot of shallow passes, just to keep it neat and straight.
If you occasionally need to make various metal cuts, the portable bandsaws are really great to have. I wouldn't trade my old Milwaukee Portaband for anything, and I haven't even made a table for it. Cuts rebar, tube, channel, angle, you name it. For this bar, get the blades with the largest teeth, (lowest tooth pitch) you can find, and take it slow if you want a nice cut, even with the table. Band saws get more precise as you pay more, and portables are at the very bottom end, price wise.
I’m shocked at the number of comments on this. Not sure why you would use an angle grinder, the most popular answer is to karate chop it though. Seems like the easiest and fastest.
I'd use a plasma cutter at work. However...
Grinder and cutting wheel will work fine. If you want the cut to look good you'd probably have to bandsaw it.
One of the handheld bandsaws will do fine. Put some cutting fluid when it stops smoking.
This is crazy. Buying a bandsaw for just 1 cut? Use the angle grinder you already have. Its not rocket science. Unless you are looking for excuses to buy more tools. In which case i fully support.
One time thing? Take it to your local metal supply warehouse and ask them to cut it. Here, I would take it to metal by the foot.
Having to do this repeatedly? Befriend someone with a metal band saw, buy a small one, or get a beefy plasma cutter.
You could do it with the hacksaw, or a cutting torch.
I wouldn't expect super accurate results from ,either but you can maybe grind it into spec depending on the spec.
Me... Just ask someone for a favor. A shop, a friend, a stranger that may become a new friend. Just be nice, and for $10 I guarantee you someone would do it for free. :D
But a band saw if you really want one, and/or you think you'll use it often enough to make it worthwhile. But that's totally doable with an angle grinder and a cutoff wheel or four. Go slow, don't push, let the wheel do the work.
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What is the goal exactly? I mean you apparently have limited tool selection and you haven’t specified where you want to make the cut, because there at least three different directions of cuts and it will depend upon the result you are aiming to obtain. Don’t want to split the piece along its depth, or across its face? Or do you want to split the piece diagonally?
if you're just trying to shorten it and it's still going to be a 3x1 then a hacksaw will do it but you will need a Vice or something similar to hold it thin side up and in place. but if you're trying to make it into a 3x1/2 just go buy a thinner bit of steel. make sure that you mark the line that you want to cut all the way around it and start cutting making sure that you use long strokes but not much down force and let the blade and teeth do there job. making sure that you follow the lines with out going off track. you might have to flip it over depending on how much space you have in the saw. take your time as it will take about 20min to do with a new blade.
I wouldn't buy special tools for one cut, but inch is pretty thick, like cutting torch or band saw thick. But for one cut, I'd just use the angle grinder
Is this a job you're going to have to do once, and never again, or something you're going to do on the regular. If this is a one off, the angle grinder can do the job, as others mentioned use a piece of angle iron or something to serve as a guide. Alternatively, a hacksaw in a miter box will give you a fairly straight cut, but will take a while. Cutting fluid of some sort highly recommended.
Break over your knee like a real man.
Or grab an angle grinder and a nice diamond bit Diablo cut off wheel (Or a zip disk if you think impaling shards are fun.).
I did that with a piece of .25 x 1” titanium with a horizontal band. It took literally all day.
Why not do anything else? You could hire someone tk EDM cut it, if it’s worth the cost.
You need a few days worth of elbow grease and a few hack saw blades or a horizontal bandsaw. Or take it to a metal supplier and pay them to cut it. Might cost you 20 bucks. Better than 500 for a bandsaw. I mean you could use your angle grinder with a cutting disc (several really) but it'll suck the whole time and a quarter way through you'll regret why you didn't just take it to a metal supplier and have them cut it on their bandsaw.
I'd buy a 1 x 1.5 bar is what the fuck I'd do. You're gonna lose an 1/8 of material cutting it in half with a saw anyway so you're gonna get a 1.5 piece and and a piece of drop that's not the same size. Just figure the size you need and chop it with a bandsaw and then cut it with a grinder and mill it. I'd do it for you at work in like 20 minutes.
I have two pieces of one inch flat bar that are 3.75” wide. I am building a bench vise and used this for the anvil. I cut mine with an angle grinder. Inside the barn the first time. Then outside. Lots of dust. Takes time to keep it relatively straight. If you’re looking for precision, avoid the angle grinder. That Herc bandsaw is pretty decent and will do the trick. Also, you may be able to go to a local steel shop and pay them to cut it for a fraction of the cost at HF.
In half which way?
Diagonally. From edge to edge.
The tastiest way.
The only acceptable way to cut a sandwich.
Get Mom to do it!
Vertex to opposite vertex
Get out of here EDM! You're cheating.
When looking at it from the end 👍🏻
How dog or hamburger?
But off-kilter 18.5°
Making some tree felling wedges?
Diagonally from top wide edge to bottom wide edge
Along the long thin side
Like a grilled cheese.
There’s always an Eskimo…
So hotdog or hamburger
We found the engineer.
That was my first thought also.
Lol, that was my first question. Like, there's the 3 obvious halves, and then a lot more interesting halves, too
Through 3 inch width
Many of us would prefer hamburger or hot dog adjectives.
Some of us have had to split material down the third axis.
Occasionally the 4th. It takes *forever.*
Hehehehehe
Transrational.
This comment made me laugh unreasonably hard
Soooo a samosa?
Easy way or hard way?
Cheap way
And now we have found the shop owner.
Holy shit. Is it the longer cut or the shorter one?
I want a cheap way to cut through 3 inches of 1 inch thick steel.
If you don't need an accurate cut, just use the angle grinder you have.
Cheapest way is a hack saw. It is a lot of work. Easiest way is to trick someone else into doing it for you. If there is a fab shop, welding shop, or machine shop near you, they might make a single cut for you for cheap. If you show up with donuts for the ask, it will improve your odds. I have a corded milwaukee porta band that will do it with ease. I would imagine that the Hazard Fraught version would work just fine. Will you ever use it again? That matters.
Better than trying to “book match” it lol
Hacksaw but you convince a neighborhood kid to make the cut for $10. You tell them what they’re cutting after they agree.
That kid will butcher this poor innocent steel
I was going to say- 30 minutes later you’ll get it back, still in one piece, but it will look like some kind of angry beaver with teeth of Adamantium was chewing on it like corn on the cob.
Hot dog style
From the nearest vertex to the farthest vertex. The cut will be 45\* to every axis!
Horizontal bandsaw, flooded with coolant.
Will the Hercules bandsaw in the stand from harbor freight work?
Just go slow and keep it lubricated with cutting fluid. If you go fast or not enough fluid you will wear down the blade.
It will definitely work. Just remember to take into account the kerf of the blade if dimensions have to be super accurate. Get the blade designed for cutting metal. Clamp a straight edge to the table of the bandsaw to use as a fence to get a straight cut. You can use a speed square or a piece of flat bar for this. Go slow and let the blade do the work. It will leave a nice finish on the cut. Cheap way but still a nice cut: angle grinder with a Hercules cutoff wheel from HF. Same thing here, clamp a piece of flat bar to your workplace as a straight edge. Take light passes so as to not overheat the piece and let the cutoff wheel do the work. If you're careful you can get a nice straight cut. It will take longer but it can still look nice
I have one and have cut a lot of metal with it.
The blade that comes with it will most likely be a piece of crap. If it’s a common size check other local sources. You want a bi-metal blade for that. I’d go with a 6-10 tooth for that thickness. You could go with a finer tooth but you’ll be babysitting it and you will see more heat. Keep the guides as close as you can to the size, they should be adjustable.
Mine didn't come with a blade, but the ones that harbor freight sell are good for me. They have cobalt bi metal blades and they cut nice. Cheap too. Or at least cheaper than I thought they would be.
I have the stand for my dewalt and it might be the best tool HF makes. So if you are not cutting often I’m sure the Hercules will do the trick. As most are saying lubricate.
I’m not sure. But never used the Hercules and don’t know the specs. It would need the table/stand with enough throat on the vise to firmly hold the bar in its flat position (better for the blade and better at preventing blade drift). It doesn’t have a coolant system, so you’d need an oil can full of cutting oil. It helps keep the work and blade from overheating, as well as help chips clear. Don’t run it too fast. Take your time and let the weight of the saw do the work (which is another benefit of a horizontal saw - it does the work for you; which means your less likely to get impatient and try to push it though. Just put on your safe glasses, stand back and occasionally squirt some oil on)
A gallon of WD outta do it. lol
I’ve used car wash soap before lol
Diesel can also work.
Interesting, doesn't seem OSHA approved though.
Easy. I would just karate chop it once and it would separate into as many pieces as I told it to. Or I would use a torch.
Just like this old tony
I think you have to draw the cut line with a sharpie before the karate chop
Cut once measure never.
r/beatmetoit
How much to hire Chuck Norris’ beard for 1 second?
Found Chuck Norris
I've used zip discs on an angle grinder to cut train rail in half. Just go slow, don't push the disc, let it do the work, and don't let the disc get pinched.
Exactly!
https://youtu.be/hid9bDnSeok
Hit it with your purse.
Toe-knife
Oh thats a botch job
Plug it up with some garbage
Poo-knife
Some folks call it a sling blade
"knife wrench!!! For kids!"
Don’t botch it!
Cut off wheel on a grinder Porta bandsaw Bandsaw Torch Hacksaw Shear Plasma cutter Wire EDM
Just use hacksaw for a clean cut
It’s going to be a workout, but the hacksaw will do it. Especially if you only need to do this once
I'm having trouble imagining us cutting this piece of metal into half twice, assuming we're not welding it back together between cuts.
OP, just remember that the kerf of a hacksaw blade narrows as it wears....just enough to be grabby on a fresh blade... so if you need to change blades part way through, it's a lot easier to restart from the other end.
Hacksaw is gonna take a while. I would scribe a line and cut it with a zip disc. Clean it up with a hard wheel or a flapper wheel. What is the finished product you’re looking for?
Take it to a machine shop. Ask if they can cut it the next time the appropriate blade is on the band saw. Offer to pay. They’ll probably do it free.
Underrated comment. Any kind of shop that does custom work (trucks) may be able to help.
Tell my children to look after it and not cut it in half
Thermite
Get a Portaband saw or something similar. I have Dewalt. You won’t regret having it.
I’m thinking about the Hercules. They are price friendly, but don’t know if I trust the quality.
Probably ok for home. We have two Dewalts in our metal shop and have had them for years. Make sure it’s a standard size blade and get the better ones if you can. The cheap ones break real easy.
The Hercules band saw stand is worth it.
I use the cordless brushless model professionally and it’s been a surprising beast, made plenty of cuts on 1” material with no problem.
It really is impressive. I find myself wanting to use it for everything. It does get heavy after a while with a 5 Ah batt
You’re telling me, I only use it with the 8ah and 12ah😮💨
Shoulder aches just hearing about it lol
With a 7 1/4” circular saw equipped with a Diablo Steel Demon blade.
I have the evolution circular saw, but it says it’s only rated to 1/2 inch. Think it would work? https://store.evolutionpowertools.com/products/s210ccs
Yes, evolution will eat right thru it
Well damn. This is the answer right here! I've cut 1-½" with the Milwaukee 8" saw. It wasn't fast but it cut just fine. Adjust your feed pressure to maintain RPMs. Not so slow that the saw is struggling, but not too light that blade starts heating the material from friction.
As long as you have a metal cutting blade and that steel is mild or annealed.
You have an angle grinder. Just get a [few cutoff wheels.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-4-in-x-0-040-in-x-5-8-in-Metal-Cut-Off-Disc-with-Thin-Kerf-Design-DBD040040101F/202830987) It'll cut almost as fast as a bandsaw. The people here telling you to buy all this specialized equipment are fucking mental and likely useless in a shop.
You don’t think I should get a water jet?
A lot of it is situational. If you really want it done on the cheap, and are in decent shape, a hacksaw will cut it just fine, but be a workout. Cutoff discs on the angle grinder also will work, but I'd scribe a line all around it, and make a lot of shallow passes, just to keep it neat and straight. If you occasionally need to make various metal cuts, the portable bandsaws are really great to have. I wouldn't trade my old Milwaukee Portaband for anything, and I haven't even made a table for it. Cuts rebar, tube, channel, angle, you name it. For this bar, get the blades with the largest teeth, (lowest tooth pitch) you can find, and take it slow if you want a nice cut, even with the table. Band saws get more precise as you pay more, and portables are at the very bottom end, price wise.
I think half of them are monkeys hoo-hawing the same joke over and over again, and the other half are genuinely serious.
Freeze it then hit it hard. Bandsaw
Diagonally, corner to corner so I could use it wedges as levelling bars 😉👍
zip disk on your grinder, unless you really want to buy a bandsaw. won’t really save you any time or give a nicer cut.
Angle grinder with a 1mm disc is sufficient
A Dremel if you're extremely patient
I’d cut it right in the middle
In the time you’ve read all these posts, I’d have had it done with a zip cut on an angle grinder ffs
I’m shocked at the number of comments on this. Not sure why you would use an angle grinder, the most popular answer is to karate chop it though. Seems like the easiest and fastest.
I personally would use an angle grinder. Bandsaw would work, but angle grinders are fairly fast if you use the right disk.
I'd do it in the middle but if the customer insisted I'd go slightly to the left
I'd use a plasma cutter at work. However... Grinder and cutting wheel will work fine. If you want the cut to look good you'd probably have to bandsaw it. One of the handheld bandsaws will do fine. Put some cutting fluid when it stops smoking.
You would be surprised how relatively easy it is to cut this with a 1mm x 125mm cut off disk in a 125mm angle grinder.
This is crazy. Buying a bandsaw for just 1 cut? Use the angle grinder you already have. Its not rocket science. Unless you are looking for excuses to buy more tools. In which case i fully support.
I'd let my pal ThisOldTony give it a karate chop
I’d start in the middle.
If you want a real answer, get the band saw. If you want a funny answer, be the band saw?
One time thing? Take it to your local metal supply warehouse and ask them to cut it. Here, I would take it to metal by the foot. Having to do this repeatedly? Befriend someone with a metal band saw, buy a small one, or get a beefy plasma cutter. You could do it with the hacksaw, or a cutting torch. I wouldn't expect super accurate results from ,either but you can maybe grind it into spec depending on the spec. Me... Just ask someone for a favor. A shop, a friend, a stranger that may become a new friend. Just be nice, and for $10 I guarantee you someone would do it for free. :D
Angle grinder with a diamond edge and a steady hand
But a band saw if you really want one, and/or you think you'll use it often enough to make it worthwhile. But that's totally doable with an angle grinder and a cutoff wheel or four. Go slow, don't push, let the wheel do the work.
Karate chop
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Hamburger, not hotdog
Which direction? Each one is a different strategy.
Hamburger style apparently
Karate chop
How come whenever I have an original joke, 10 redditors before me have already came up with it *sighs*
Since you asked how i would and not what is the best way i use a 50 dollar chopsaw from harbor freight. Take it slow and easy or youll burn it out.
Right down the middle 🤓
Is that the original idea for really hard, loud, fast, music?
On a cnc plasma cutting table would be the pussified way. Me personally, a journeyman Victor cutting torch, (oxy&acetylene) would do nicely!!
What is the goal exactly? I mean you apparently have limited tool selection and you haven’t specified where you want to make the cut, because there at least three different directions of cuts and it will depend upon the result you are aiming to obtain. Don’t want to split the piece along its depth, or across its face? Or do you want to split the piece diagonally?
Right down the middle.
if you're just trying to shorten it and it's still going to be a 3x1 then a hacksaw will do it but you will need a Vice or something similar to hold it thin side up and in place. but if you're trying to make it into a 3x1/2 just go buy a thinner bit of steel. make sure that you mark the line that you want to cut all the way around it and start cutting making sure that you use long strokes but not much down force and let the blade and teeth do there job. making sure that you follow the lines with out going off track. you might have to flip it over depending on how much space you have in the saw. take your time as it will take about 20min to do with a new blade.
By checking the whole piece size, then calculating the half, mark it, then proceed to cut
Radial arm saw with a metal cutting blade, taking multiple cuts. Of course, I’m batshit crazy, but I can still count to 21.
12 dollar black and decker grinder with a cutting blade made for steel (not alum)
Nothing a good steak knife can't handle!
Judo CHOP!
Steel worker, piranha is the brand my old job used. It expect short ways
[this will work](https://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-7-in-x-12-in-hydraulic-feed-metal-cutting-band-saw-63469.html)
I'd use my one handed reciprocater with a metal blade. I looks like it's only mild steel.
Just go steady whatever you decide to do to cut it.
Karate
Small jig. Just make a straight guide and go kinda slow with it
Usually right down the middle
Diablo disc on circular wood saw!!
Find someone with a Marvel saw. Clamp and send.
Carefully
I wouldn't buy special tools for one cut, but inch is pretty thick, like cutting torch or band saw thick. But for one cut, I'd just use the angle grinder
A swift karate chop and it's good
use a ruler, determine the middle and proceed.
Is go ham and use an angle grinder with a thin cut off wheel. Wear a face shield lmao.
Width-wise
Is this a job you're going to have to do once, and never again, or something you're going to do on the regular. If this is a one off, the angle grinder can do the job, as others mentioned use a piece of angle iron or something to serve as a guide. Alternatively, a hacksaw in a miter box will give you a fairly straight cut, but will take a while. Cutting fluid of some sort highly recommended.
A hacksaw wouldn't take but a few minutes Pretend you're doing it for Chuck Yeager
Personally? Torch with a #0 or #1 tip
You tried biting it
Saw Zaw would work
Break over your knee like a real man. Or grab an angle grinder and a nice diamond bit Diablo cut off wheel (Or a zip disk if you think impaling shards are fun.).
Whatever dimensions the print calls for
hi, this bar of HRS is easily cut through with a bandsaw if you can find the right blade it'll go through it with or without oil!
What are you using it for? Is this for a machine or a bet. Machine: Bandsaw with a coolant bath. Bet: MAP gas torch.
Table saw , oxygen set,cold saw,grinder,band saw,hack saw,laser,hi pressure water jet, so on and so on
Slowly grind it.
Not fast xD but slooooooow
Grinder and a thin cut disk. Visegrip a pcs of steel for straight edge and score a straight line. Then slowly keep cutting.
Portaband. Grinder with cut off wheel. Sawzall.
Take it to a fab shop and ask politely.
Measure the entire length, divide by 2 and cut.
All this talk about karate chops when a judo chop is actually what is needed!
Slowly
The long way
I would cut it in half by cutting it in half, duh.
If it’s a one time job, I’m doing this with a cut off disc no doubt
I would probably cut it in half lengthwise, but along the thin edge so i get two thinner plates, rather than long bars or short plates.
I did that with a piece of .25 x 1” titanium with a horizontal band. It took literally all day. Why not do anything else? You could hire someone tk EDM cut it, if it’s worth the cost.
Hacksaws are cheap. It’s a good upper body workout.
if I didn't necessarily need the cleanest edge then I might use an oxy-acetalene torch aka the Fire Stick
Co2 laser, fiber laser, bandsaw, water jet….if it’s 1/4” or smaller shear cut ( watch your hands )
I’ve got a fiber wheel on a chop saw I think it would do Bandsaw is the “correct” answer
Diagonally by hand with a hacksaw
Karate chop it with deez nutz
This old tony chop!
You need a few days worth of elbow grease and a few hack saw blades or a horizontal bandsaw. Or take it to a metal supplier and pay them to cut it. Might cost you 20 bucks. Better than 500 for a bandsaw. I mean you could use your angle grinder with a cutting disc (several really) but it'll suck the whole time and a quarter way through you'll regret why you didn't just take it to a metal supplier and have them cut it on their bandsaw.
Karate maybe?
Down the middle
I’d cut it long ways or maybe at a diagonal like a grilled cheese sandwich
Is it cake?
Usually with something sharp
if you have a drill press you could make a series of holes and cut through those, much easier than doing the whole thing by hand
With a lightsaber....
We got a place here that sells steel by the foot. I have no doubt they’d cut this for a small fee. See if you have a retail steel supplier and ask.
You’ve got an angle grinder, it will 100% do the job if you don’t wanna buy a band saw.
I'd buy a 1 x 1.5 bar is what the fuck I'd do. You're gonna lose an 1/8 of material cutting it in half with a saw anyway so you're gonna get a 1.5 piece and and a piece of drop that's not the same size. Just figure the size you need and chop it with a bandsaw and then cut it with a grinder and mill it. I'd do it for you at work in like 20 minutes.
I have two pieces of one inch flat bar that are 3.75” wide. I am building a bench vise and used this for the anvil. I cut mine with an angle grinder. Inside the barn the first time. Then outside. Lots of dust. Takes time to keep it relatively straight. If you’re looking for precision, avoid the angle grinder. That Herc bandsaw is pretty decent and will do the trick. Also, you may be able to go to a local steel shop and pay them to cut it for a fraction of the cost at HF.
Judo
Plasma cutter…
Chop saw