Your nc30 needs a convection deck

Gooder idea HD.
Eric, I think I'll wear something other than slippahs. Wouldn't wanna' catch mahself on far.
Just went out to the shop and found the grinder. Had a wheel on it, and a diamond wheel in the box.
It's 4.5", 7.5 amp Makita. Should do well enough, if the jigsaw can't cut it.

 

I had a cell phone in a holster on my hip doing a bunch of grinding, particles got down in there, I found it was a little magnet in there, cleaned it out best I could but, two days phone went poop, had insurance though, had to send it through the mail to get a new one

 

I think you've been around them reactors too much that's what's the matter with you

 

duck

 

Like my electrician buddy used to say...."Richard Cranium?"

 

Gots to have my chili and stew....after coffee!

 

Kinda what I was thinking, I'd cut it with a cut-off wheel in the grinder before ever using a jig saw...I do it all the time when I want a nice clean cut...otherwise I'd just torch it out.
Mark your cuts with a scribe or a sharp pencil if you don't have a scribe...basically you want a clear and precise line to follow with the edge of the wheel. (you can grind an nice square edge on an old screwdriver to use as a scribe)
When cutting a plate like this with a 4" or 6" grinder, I like to mount the plate vertically in the vise...get it up at a good comfortable working height where you can see your marks well. Then I start my cut at the bottom and work up. Take your time, don't "push" the grinder, it just burns up the wheel a lot faster and overheats the metal. Just concentrate on keeping the point where the wheel is cutting right on the very edge of your line. Oh, and don't hold the grinder too firmly, if you push it a bit much and it "catches", then it will just tear up the cutting wheel and it may even try to "come after you"
I cut metal like this quite often and I would guess it will only take you 10 minutes or so. But like I said, don't rush it, just take your time, do it once, do it right and be done. If it goes well, you will only need to give the edges a light swipe with a file to de-burr it.
Safety glasses highly recommended...maybe even a face shield

 

More good tips.
I'll be spending a few minutes on the layout, before anything else.......obviously.
Any tips for cutting the "arc" for the pipe opening?

 

Yeah, that is my method - do some test cuts THEN screw up the final piece.

 

That would be the one place you may need to use the jig saw...I have a circle cutter for my oxy/acetylene torch but if you don't have that then the jig saw is about the only other good option that I can think of.
I'd use a compass to mark the circle but if you don't have one then use a piece of pipe or something to mark the circle.

 

I've got a compass or two, but no torch.

Measure once, cut twice. Wait........

 

No no no, it's cut it twice, and it's still too short...

 

Yeah, that was my other answer. Or, "I keep cutting it, and it's still too short".

 

Tube steel is stuck in Maumee, Ohio, so I guess I'll work on the sheet.

 

This is as far as I got..........

 

Last pic, top right, you can see where I started to experiment.
That wheel was fairly new, although I didn't measure it before I started. The other blade doesn't cut for diddly, so I'm off to the store for more of these.
The jig blade (metal cutting) I tried started getting dull in about 5 seconds and didn't even begin to cut. I'll try another.