I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and
it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

I wouldn't know the best way, but I can tell you how I cut some when I was
replacing a reed valve on a little compressor. I sandwiched the stainless
between two thin pieces of sheet steel (I think it was pieces of an old
paint-thinner can), holding the sandwich tightly and close to the cut in a
vise, and cut through the sandwich with a cutoff wheel in a Dremel.

It cut clean, but it was tricky to keep shifting the sandwich in the vise.

--
Ed Huntress

On 04/08/2011 02:51 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to
use in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today,
and it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly
without curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

I have cut reed valves for Cox 049 engines out of sheet brass with tin
snips, and rubbed the edges flat again with a burnisher (well, the
handle of an X-Acto knife, but I said "thou art a burnisher" before I
did it).

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

On Apr 8, 6:40*pm, Tim Wescott wrote:
On 04/08/2011 02:51 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:

I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to
use in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today,
and it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly
without curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

I have cut reed valves for Cox 049 engines out of sheet brass with tin
snips, and rubbed the edges flat again with a burnisher (well, the
handle of an X-Acto knife, but I said "thou art a burnisher" before I
did it).
Tim Wescott

A piece of 0.020" stainless I salvaged from an outdoor sign cuts
satisfactorily with tin snips.

jsw

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever
to use in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived
today, and it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it
cleanly without curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

Guillotine paper cutter.

Tim Wescott wrote:
I have cut reed valves for Cox 049 engines out of sheet brass with tin
snips, and rubbed the edges flat again with a burnisher ...

It might work on SS, but I'm skeptical. A damaged edge means stretched
material and that would work harden SS, not to mention that shrinking it
back is much harder than stretching.

My $.02,
Bob

Bob La Londe wrote:

I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to
use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and
it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

If it's fairly thin, like .010, then just a sharp scissors or shears.

For thicker, decent tin snips will work fine.

When you're getting into the .040 and up range, you might want to find
someone who has a shear. ;-)

Good Luck!
Rich

On 2011-04-08, Bob La Londe wrote:
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

How thick? If not too thick, you can use a sharp pair of paper
scissors for straight edges and reasonable curves. I use them for
0.0015" steel shim stock.

A bit thicker, perhaps tin shears such as are used in air
conditioning ducting.

If yet thicker, you will need a shear -- with the gap adjusted
according to the thickness of the stock.

If you are the one wanting rings of shim stock, you will need to
make a guided punch to make clean burr-free edges.

I don't think that the suggested knife-edge steel against a hard
rubber backing will produce your needed freedom from burrs.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
On 2011-04-08, Bob La Londe wrote:
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to
use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and
it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

How thick? If not too thick, you can use a sharp pair of paper
scissors for straight edges and reasonable curves. I use them for
0.0015" steel shim stock.

A bit thicker, perhaps tin shears such as are used in air
conditioning ducting.

If yet thicker, you will need a shear -- with the gap adjusted
according to the thickness of the stock.

If you are the one wanting rings of shim stock, you will need to
make a guided punch to make clean burr-free edges.

If that edge has to be dead flat, as for a reed valve or certain electrical
connectors, I don't think a punch will do it in shim-thickness stainless.
Press tools to make burr-free IC lead frames, for example, typically have
tolerances of +/- 50 millionths of an inch or even closer. And the alloys
used for that are a lot less inclined to draw a burr.

It's all a matter of how burr-free you have to be. But any punch to cut such
thin stock cleanly requires EXTREMELY close punch-to-die clearances. Unless
the punched shape is round and the die can be turned, it's a bugger to make
one.

--
Ed Huntress



I don't think that the suggested knife-edge steel against a hard
rubber backing will produce your needed freedom from burrs.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. |
http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and
it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

Last time I went to buy some, the guy just looked me and said, "What?"

I never deal with anything with those tolerances, so can't help.

Steve

Locksmith type shimstock, typically .0015 or .002 cuts
nicely with sharp scissors.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself
over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It
arrived today, and it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it
cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

--How thick is it? If it's thin enough you can do it with a paper
cutter; makes a nice clean edge on brass anyway..

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Steel, Stainless, Titanium:
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : Guaranteed Uncertified Welding!
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

"Bob La Londe" wrote:

I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

Depending on thickness, a pair of scissors works well for me. There is also 'plastic'
shim stock that works pretty well and the thicker sizes are easy to cut with scissors to
boot.

Wes

"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Bob La Londe" wrote:

I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to
use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. It arrived today, and
it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

Depending on thickness, a pair of scissors works well for me. There is
also 'plastic'
shim stock that works pretty well and the thicker sizes are easy to cut
with scissors to
boot.

Wes

You cut *stainless* shim stock with scissors? I've cut brass that way, but
I've never tried stainless.

How thick?

--
Ed Huntress

On Apr 8, 3:51*pm, "Bob La Londe" wrote:
I bought a piece of stainless shim stock thinking myself over clever to use
in the solution of some minor adjustment problems. *It arrived today, and it
just occurred to me that I have no idea how to cut it cleanly without
curling or damaging the edge.

So, what's the best way to cut it?

Cut oversize with tin snips/scissors and Dremel/stone the burr off.
Alternative, use a thin cutting disk to chew out your piece. Another
alternative, use a standard sheet metal nibbler to cut the piece out,
then file to your scribed line. I've used all of these methods at one
time or another, just depends on how intricate the piece needs to be
and how thick. Nibbler can go quite thick for shim stock, maybe not
so thick with stainless as with brass, aluminum or mild steel. I've
punched thin shim washers out with a Whitney punch and spent a little
time with a diamond hone getting the burrs knocked back. Worked fine
for gun stuff.

Stan

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

You cut *stainless* shim stock with scissors? I've cut brass that way, but
I've never tried stainless.

How thick?

0.001 to 0.006" normally. After that I get out tin snips.

Wes