Need metal rod help

[Robin Powlus]

I have a custom order for 30 cutting boards similar to below. I need to add a 3/8+ metal rod to the one end. I am clueless with metal. Any suggestions as to what type of metal I should use and a vendor. Easy to cut? They will be used in a restaurant on a Caribbean island, so rust resistance is a plus.


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[Randall J Cox]

Hard to figure out pic. What's rod for? Use stainless steel for rod, but do your research, there are different types of SS and some with much more rust resistance than others. You don't want rust on a cutting board... Hopefully someone will chime in who knows SS. Randy

[Bruce Page]

Robin, I can't tell anything from the mini pic. Please post a larger one.
Any SS with an L designator, 304L, 316L, etc. will be suitable. I believe most restaurant kitchen fixtures are made from 316.

Not "easy" to cut, but you can cut it with a hacksaw and a good bi-metal blade. Of course, the larger the diameter the more effort required.

[Bill Dufour]

Stainless and cut it with a abrasive blade in a chop saw. You can use a mitre saw but it will melt any plastic bits. Do it outdoors so the slag does not ignite wood dust. Zoro or speedy metals is probably your cheapest supplier. Will it just be inserted into the hole from one and and the hole plugged? threading stainless is tough.
If it is to be threaded you will have to find a food safe antisieze for the threads. If you do not use antisieze the threads will gall and lockup before it is tight.
Bill D.

[Robin Powlus]

Stainless and cut it with a abrasive blade in a chop saw. You can use a mitre saw but it will melt any plastic bits. Do it outdoors so the slag does not ignite wood dust. Zoro or speedy metals is probably your cheapest supplier. Will it just be inserted into the hole from one and and the hole plugged? threading stainless is tough.
Bill D.
I plan to drill in from the sides, insert the rod, then plug the ends with a 3/8" wood dowel.

Resized pic (this is all they gave me). It is sort of U shaped with a rod going across the opening.
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[Pat Barry]

The rod may not need to be solid. Perhaps stainless tubing would be OK also? You could cut it with a tubing cutter.

[Adam Herman]

copper pipe would look neat as well.

[Andrew Gibson]

I think stainless would be overkill, and it's a PITA to work with. If you get stainless hot enough to discolor it looses its stainless quality. I would go with aluminum. Cut it on a regular chop saw with a carbide tipped blade. It's light and wont rust... should be cheaper than stainless to boot and plenty strong for the purpose.

[Adam Herman]

Al will corrode in the salty air without some kind of coating after a while.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I think stainless would be overkill, and it's a PITA to work with. If you get stainless hot enough to discolor it looses its stainless quality. I would go with aluminum. Cut it on a regular chop saw with a carbide tipped blade. It's light and wont rust... should be cheaper than stainless to boot and plenty strong for the purpose.

Just to add my own personal slant in our collective efforts to assist in completely over-thinking this:

If this is used in food service application I'd seal around the holes where the rod (or tube) is held. Sounds like Robin has got the insertion side planned already, but I might epoxy them in to keep the wee nasties at bay...? Or, ugly rinse water from running out of the tubes and onto the salad forks.:o

[Bruce Page]

If you get stainless hot enough to discolor it looses its stainless quality.

Absolutely not true of low carbon stainless steels. Hospitals, nuclear reactors, ship building, restaurant kitchens, to name a few, all have countless numbers of SS welded joints. If that were true all those joints would rust and fail. They don't.

[Ryan Mooney]

Absolutely not true of low carbon stainless steels. Hospitals, nuclear reactors, ship building, restaurant kitchens, to name a few, all have countless numbers of SS welded joints. If that were true all those joints would rust and fail. They don't.

Yup, all the brewing and milk house equipment is 316L and I've seen systems that are over 30 years old still chugging along.

316 is probably overkill compared to 304 in this use case because I'd wager the boards will fail first...

[Jim Finn]

I am a retired sheet metal worker and have worked with stainless steel. I suggest you use type 316 stainless. (food grade) Cutting stainless is not as easy as cutting mild steel but can be done using plenty of lubricant while cutting. We used a product called "rapid tap" for this.

[Michael J Evans]

316 welded tubing should be pretty easy to find and fairly cheap. It will cut just fine with a hacksaw, or if you have to have a perfect end, tubing cutters work, but take more time in my experience.

[Robin Powlus]

OP - would this work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XN9TVG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Bruce Wrenn]

Is this rod uses as a butcher's steel for their knives? If so, it needs to be harder than the knife itself.

[Wayne Lomman]

304 or 316 stainless steel is ideal for this. The bit of heat from cutting won't be a problem.

For general information, if you weld stainless steel it does discolour and will corrode. This is overcome by passivating (google it) the surface with nitric acid usually in a paste form for smaller jobs. This is how you are able to see large welded installations that are corrosion free. It doesn't just happen. Cheers

[Keith Outten]

Sorry Wayne but 304 or 316 stainless steel will not corrode or discolor from welding unless you exceed the welding technique specifications by using to much welding heat. I averaged over a thousand weld inspections per month for many years at North Anna Power Station and several other nuclear plants and I never saw a properly welded stainless weld corrode or discolor. I also worked in operating plants so I have seen these types of welds in service for decades.

Most likely bacteria will be a problem with this design, the metal rod is a very bad idea and tubing would not be preferred over solid rod.

[Bill Adamsen]

316 rod or tube. It is a bear to machine and does work harden, but likely not an issue in this application.

[David Winer]

I needed to cut a stainless steel rod for a cart axle, 3/4" diameter. Bought a low cost grinder (probably will find a use for it again someday) and a metal cutting blade. Beautiful; cut quickly and left a fairly neat surface that could be abraded to be more respectable.

[Wayne Lomman]

Keith, I stand corrected. The stainless welding I see is apparently performed by guys who have an unjustified opinion of their skills. We more routinely produce machined products using 431 and 630 for the maritime sector. Cheers

[Bill Adamsen]

The marine suitable stainless are (typically) those with a lot of nickel and the only type of stainless with a lot of nickel are those of austenitic structure. Austenitic steels also have chromium and in the case of the type 316, a lot of nickel and small amount of molybdenum. Type 316 and 316L (L for welded applications) have 10.5 and 10.8 percent nickel respectively. It is pretty available for rod and tube in the US. When buying screws from catalogs I have found they are rarely labelled for the type of stainless rather just "stainless." However, I just went to my favorite search engine and type "316 stainless screws" and was surprised by how easy it would be to focus on just those suppliers selling 316 stainless screws. Because of this issue in the past I stuck with silicon bronze. Maybe now that is less of a risk.

Stainless marine suitability, there are exceptions. Series 431 unlike most of the 400 series is martensitic, but is unusual in that it is considered suitable for marine even with its very low (~2% +/-) nickel. There are other specialty stainless series like "Carpenter 20" that might be suitable as well. My suspicion is you would not be able to readily source or buy them. Series 316 on the other hand is readily available from suppliers like Online Metals. I am shocked that when I buy from Online Metals the product is shipped from a nearby distribution center and arrives almost always the next day. I am sure other suppliers are good as well. Their 1018 cold rolled stock is gorgeous.

[Ole Anderson]

I would use 316 grade ss 3/8" solid rod. Cut with a 1/16" abrasive blade on a chop saw or an angle grinder. I used to buy mine from Copper and Brass sales in Detroit.