Cutting mild steel fuel tank-advice please

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rosie

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I need to cut a mild steel diesel fuel tank to remove it from inside the transom of my Leisure 29. Can anyone suggest a suitable tool for the task? I have removed a small bracket from the outside of the tank using an angle grinder but there was a lot of mess, and I would be reluctant to do the whole job that way. What are the new breed of electric saws like for cutting metal? I guess the metal is about 3mm, and I can drain the tank before cutting. The tank is 60x40x30 cm and I need to cut it in half. Inevitably there is not much room to work so any tool should be fairly small. Thanks in anticipation.
 
depends how tick the material is, you could use a jig saw and use bi-metal blades, drill a 10mm hole first to get the blade in and begin cutting.

With a good blade, you can cut 4mm quite easily, but still watch for your eyes.

Otherwise, you could wet a cloth and put it in such a place where the sparks land and use the angle grinder

regards ongolo
 
You don't have to follow the power route. It must be 30 years since I used a nibbler to cut out holes for 4 windows in a Ford Transit Van to make a bus out of it. It was hard work but the tool was small and very controllable.
You might also use a cold chisel and a hammer but that would be noisy.
 
I'd be very surprised if it was as thick as that! Most are less than 2mm thick. Depending on whether you have power available and what sort of access you have, I'd go for a reciprocating saw and a good supply of blades. Better still would be an air hacksaw (very compact) but of course, you'd need a compressor and they are quite greedy for air so it would have to be a big one. Either way, get some cutting fluid (aerosol from RS components (and probably other places). It makes a big difference to the life of the blades.
 
Have been cutting holes for Deck saloon Windows, 4mm mild steel with Metabo Jig Saw & bi-metal blades with copious amounts of cutting fluid, each blade would cut about a 6-8' before reqiring replacement.....reasonable pressure & not to long to do! HTH
 
If you're patient a jigsaw blade should last a lot longer than 6-8 inches even in 4mm MS, just set the speed (if available) to mid speed and don't feed it too fast.

Get some decent quality blades for steel - avoid DIY shops (B&Q etc) if possible.
 
Not my fault Guv:

'Ere - "mate" - 'cor blimey 'wos only quoting what the bloke in the bunk above had said (MudPlugger), 'tain't my fault - honest.

I believe in keeping most folks sweet, so will "152.4mm - 203.2mm" do instead? and the length of cut per blade might be 600mm upwards.

Slightly seriously, though, don't we subconsciously convert metric back into imperial for 'ish quantities? What the previous poster was saying is "about two hands breadth"? 'cos that's how one would visualise it.

When you think about it we haven't really metricated - 8' x 4' plywood is sold as 1220 x 2440 sheets 12.5mm or 19mm thick (1/2 inch or 3/4) - nom that's a bastard measure, timber is sold in standard lengths which are nearly the imperial (feet) lengths, copper pipe is 15mm or 22mm just a bit over 1/2 and 3/4 inch again. If it were true metric the sheets should be 1500 x 2500 and so on. Lots of other things have been metricated properly, but pedantically it's still a muddle.

Thanks anyway - you were basically right! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
the cheapest way is to drill 10mm holes, one after another and cut thru the remaining steel with a hacksaw. You do not have to buy any tools and it wont need much elbow grease. This works also if the metal is thicker than 2 mm.

Peter
 
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