I am looking for a better faster way to cut or shear 304 stainless rod.
From 1/8 upto maybe 3/8. Certainly 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 & 5/16. I need to
be able to maintain predictable lengths. Larger than 3/8 its probably
just as easy to do it on the lathe, because I have to radius one end
anyway.

The abrasive chop saw is the fastest I've tried in my shop, but the ends
need a horrible amount of work. Bandsaw is slow and/or dangerous
depending on setup.

I figured some sort of shear the cuts it with a scissoring action might
work. I can't have the end bent over, but a burr that can be quickly
removed on the belt grinder would be tolerable.

One of the neatest tools I've seen is a disk mounted on a hardy shank
with various size holes. Then a matching disc was bolted to it free to
rotate around a common center. In this case it was a shop made tool and
the user seemed to only be doing hot cuts. The second disc had a
protrusion he would strike with a hammer after inserting the rod. The
rotation of the second disc would shear the rod. I'm not so sure
something like that would work for cold cutting. I'm also not so sure I
want to spend a day building a tool like that if there is something
ready made available at a reasonable price.

Before folks say, "Just use a hacksaw," or "Why CAN'T you do it on the
lathe?" I do a lot of these and time is important. If it was just once
in a while and just a couple pieces it would be no big deal.

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