I done lost my angle grinder (I don't know how) and the only hacksaw blade I have is bent and, I have been trying to cut a piece of 1/2x1/8 flat bar for half an hour and I'm less than a quarter of the way through. I would fire up the forge and just hot cut what I need but I'm not allowed to use the forge at the moment. Is there another way to cut the flat bar or do I have to wait?

Trace:

If you can notch or cut it enough with a file or chisel you can bend it back and forth at the notch until metal fatigue sets in and it will break there.  Your quarter of the way through may be enough.  If you bend it and it makes a sharp bend at the cut continue on bending back and forth.  If it just makes a broad, smooth bend you need to cut more.  If you have a vice clamp one part of the bar with the cut or notch sticking out a bit and then start bending the other end.  BTW, cut or notch into the flat side, not the edge.  Good luck.

"by hammer and hand all arts do stand."

  This is a good reason to have redundant tools for the same purpose in the shop.  Georges idea is probably best for what you may have on hand.  I wore my arm out and decided to build a power hacksaw.  You may not be able to do that or buy a new bandsaw, torch or what have you, but extra shop supplies are also a good idea.  I bent a sawzall blade the other day and beat it halfway straight with a hammer to where it would somewhat fuction and got the job done.  Guess I ran out of "back up" supplies too...

 

Scott

So you are not allowed to use the forge do you have a torch Heat with a torch and hot cut it, that is unless all types of fire is forbidden.

 

Use a chisel and score a line on one or both sides of the bar. Bend and it should come apart.

There are other methods if this is going to be a repeated process. 

Hack saw blades are cheap.  Buy good quality blades and keep several in a drawer as spares.  They are a consumable item.  

 

If you already have a saw kerf on one side. Use a cold chisel on the other side and then break it in your postvise.  Now I put a piece of bandsaw blade in a wood cutting bowsaw frame and have a LONG LARGE hacksaw that doesn't break blades.  Used my whitney punch to make the mounting holes and did them slightly inboard from the wood blade ones to have slightly more tension.  I've used it to cut 1.5" round stock before.

Now there are a lot more ways to cut than hot cutting with a forge.  Edwards shear would cut 1/8". Cold chisel should do 1/8" with a pass on each side, then laser cutting, waterjet cutting, Bandsaw cutting, det cord...

Hacksaw, cold chisel, hot chisel, O/A torch. I got the idea from someone here to use a bow saw with a metal cutting band saw blade to make a hacksaw on steroids. 

Pnut

It must have been Thomas as he's describing it in the above post. Hahaha. 

Thomas:  Would you be able to share your “bow hack saw” blade suggestions?  Length / TPI / width for cutting thick ~ 2” steel stock by hand?  I recall you suggesting relatively coarse teeth?  Just wondering what has worked for you since it is an “off-label” use.

I have a very non-mechanized shop and I find myself using a hacksaw all of time.  The extra stroke would be a boon plus a little more mass to provide down force would be nice. I have some old-school, springy grade bed frame angle I was thinking could be made into an H-frame buck saw.

Thank you!

18 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

det cord

Once again, ThomasPowers goes for the explosive solution. 

maybe its time to buy a saw blade?

JHCC:  "There are few problems which cannot be resolved with a judicious use of high explosives."

That Scott Adams quote goes well with this from Woody Allen: "There's nothing wrong with you that couldn't be cured with some Prozac and a polo mallet."

1/2" x 1/8" ? Tha't 13mm x 3mm !

How about bending it with your hands back and forth about 3 or 4 times? 

If you have really small hands ... clamp in the vice and rap the flat bar in a rag and do the same. 

It will take as much effort as going up one flight of stairs slowly. 

What Marc1 said. Or clamp it in a vice and bend it back and forth with a hammer.

you will be surprised what a properly sharpened, shaped and hardened chisel will do. Clamped in a vice I have cut 3\16” mild steel cold. Thicker stock is layer on the anvil and scored. Perhaps more than one pass. Use a sacrificial plate on 3\8” ur you risk cutting threw and striking the anvil when you flip it over.

a handled cold cut and a striker can cut thicker stock.

Round and square stock to 1\2” can be cut threw this way as well. Curing the heads off 1\2” rivets and bolts are a mater of a blow or 3

Like Charles said, A handled cold cut works well. To free up your hammer hand, I use an adjustable stand. Level the stand with your anvil face. Then hang a heavy weight by an "s" hook on your work. Now you can use your handled tool with no helper or vice.

Good Morning,

A 'Tailgate Shear' can be made with a section of Rail or a section of a leaf spring. I suppose, if you can't cut 1/2 x 1/8, you will have a hard time making a Shear. There are many little things that a person should be able to make. No problem making a hacksaw frame from a single piece of rebar, just need a blade. Never purchase "one" blade, buy the package of 10. Don't buy the cheapest blades, they don't last, thus making them the most expensive blades because you have to buy it twice (or more) plus your travel.

Good Luck on your Journey. Neil

 

Well whenever I scrounge band saw blade for billets I tend to save the ones that still feel "sharp" to use as hacksaw blades.  When they dull out they go on to billet pieces.   I have a number of different TPI  and over the years have 3 or 4 different saw frames and grab the one that looks suitable...

I keep one behind the seat in my pickup.  Along with a large adjustable wrench, 3# hammer and large cold chisel----always handy when I visit the scrapyard and don't want to pay for steel I won't be using.

  Heres one I re-equiped with a bandsaw blade, Thomas.  I think the frame is an old meatsaw or something. The teeth are a bit worn out in the middle, time for the billet pile?  I counted 10 tpi but my eyes arent what they used to be.  Maybe I need to carry some readers around.

The rule of TPI for saw blades is. 3 teeth on the stock at all times. Hacksaw blade come in packages real fine blades aren't that useful, 1/8" wants 24 tpi max. WhenEVER possible cut the thinner dimension.

1/8" x 1/2" can be sheared in a vise with a piece of heavier bar stock and a heavy hammer though a chisel makes a nicer cut. Scoring and bending works well and heck just make several cuts on through with the nice SHARP chisel. 

Oh heck, if you have a large say 12", Crescent wrench, and a cheater pipe, put it in a vise and twisting it off with the wrench and cheater if necessary. 

Frosty The Lucky.

like the det cord idea!  hmmmmm

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this, but if you drill a series of closely spaced holes, you can easily snap the remainder.