Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cutting a steel I beam?

Good advice! Actually I find myself wearing a dust mask/safety goggles for almost all sanding/grinding projects.

See if you can rent a plasma cutter.

C4 and a ribbon charge. It'll look like it was done with a torch, but be a lot louder.

torch

.270 Winchester w/ Barnes boolits

Funny thing, and you've likely seen it too...many a great welder have I worked with, bit those who were truly good with a torch were few. It seems everyone wants a #4 tip to chew through sched 40.....lol.

why even do anything to it all beside drag it to the scrape yard and sell it...at the price of scrape iron, you will not get any less out of it being in one big peice, than it will be worth your time and cost to cut it up.

Torch cutting is an art as much as a science. I did it for over a year. I'm not an expert, but before I left, one of the guys at the yard told me "You're the second best torch-cutter we've ever had," next to a guy who had done it for @ 8 years. It takes patience, skill, and forethought. I enjoyed the work while I did it.

Well I may have very well been the guy that your yard man was talkin about.....

As a welding instructor for the last 25 years, I can tell you that circular saw and abrasive wheel is going to get old real quick on thick I-beam. A torch will make short work of that project.In any event, good luck with whatever you choose.

Wy Ya,....thats about as close as you can get to screwin a monkey with a football...

Having half assed my way through any number of projects like this before, I can tell you from experience. Rent the torch, or take it to a professional. It'll be cheaper in the long run.

You can cheap out and go oxy/propane to save a buck. I would expect to use up about $50 worth of cut off wheels....not including the lung cancer or time at the eye Dr......and should you drop, crack, run one out of balance.....just throw it away.

What's the problem? 2 or 3 cut of blades for the circular saw, cut through on top and bottom.

Couple cut-off blades for the 4-1/2" grinder, remove the guard and cut through the web...

Nothing to it, just takes time and a little patience...

Be prepared to get covered with grinding dust.

Phil

Do yourself a favor and rent a oxy/acet torch if necessary.

By the time you worry through that beam with circular saw and 4.5" grinder, you'll need a new one of each along with having a pile of spent wheels/blades.

Has anyone suggested finding a torch yet?

If you have the ability to use a cutting outfit, and want to spend the money and time to rent a cutting out fit to cut one beam for scrap have at it.

Otherwise what you have will cut through it in less than 20 minutes and most of that will be tied up in changing wheels.

Place your marks and make a lite cut first 1/8" to 1/4", then set the saw for a 1" cut and have at it... the lite cut will guide the saw.

Same in cutting the web.

Have done it quite offten... and blades for the two are fairly cheap.

Phil

Cheap is the idea.
I am doing this as a favor for a neighbor and I fear it is going to end up costing me money that I don't want to spend right now!

No good deed goes unpunished!

I just didn't want to start into this and end up not being able to finish it with the equipment at hand.

You want cheap? Get that neighbor to do it himself!

I am afraid that the sparks would ignite his oxygen!