The Best Ways to Cut Up Steel Posts

Angle Grinder with Cut-off Wheel

• An angle grinder with a cut-off wheel will take a whole lot of the work out of your job. It may not be the fastest or the easiest solution but, of the efficient ways to get this job done, it is the least specialized tool. Any angle grinder will do. Just make sure you have a thin cut-off wheel, not an angle grinding wheel. You'll be cutting with the edge of the wheel, not grinding. These wheels are fairly thin and fragile, so make sure you wear protective eye-wear and clothing. Be prepared to go through many discs.

Chop Saw

• A chop saw is a reliable way to get this job done. Chop saws are not especially expensive -- particularly compared to a plasma cutter. The blade diameters are larger than cutoff wheels; they cut a bit more efficiently. More important, because the saw is on a fixed armature, rather than the freehand angle grinder and cut-off wheel setup, the likelihood of breaking blades (or cutting wheels) is greatly reduced -- especially if your steel posts are secured snugly to the saw's work surface. You should use a metal-cutting chop saw since they are specifically designed for use with metal.

Oxyacetylene Torch

• Oxyacetylene torches can be used for both cutting and welding. They can take the grunt work out of your cutting, but require much more skill than operating a chop saw. They may not make the job go a lot faster than a chop saw, but they can, for example, cut a metal post in place, whereas a chop saw requires the post to be laid on the saw. The real benefit of oxyacetylene is the ability to cut thick metal. For thin stock, abrasives may be easier. If your post walls are really thick, however, you can give a chop saw a workout, but you won't overwhelm an oxy-torch setup.

Plasma

• Abrasive cutting wheels and oxy-torches have been around for a long time, but plasma cutters are relatively new -- especially to the world of do-it-yourselfers. But, plasma cutters have become increasingly affordable. These unique tools use a plasma cutting jet to cut through steel like cream cheese. Occasionally, the jet cuts through the metal, and the metal reattaches because it's still molten; this isn't such an issue with torches and it's a non-issue with mechanical cutters. Plasma cutters are the most expensive of these cutting methods. They have thickness limitations, too. But, if you can afford a plasma cutter, and the wall thickness is within the plasma cutter's capacity, this is the way to go. For this job, they are as close as you can come to a magic wand.