Working Stainless Steel

Cutting stainless was always a lot easier using a cutting fluid
containing 1,1,1,trichloroethane until they outlawed it. Not
ozone-friendly. I still have half a can of the old Rapid-Tap that they
stopped making about 14 years ago, and don't know what I'll do when
it's gone. The new stuff works, but not nearly as well.
The good fluids don't just lubricate. They form a hard oxide on
the tool as it heats, and the oxide eliminates almost all rubbing
friction, leaving the power to cut the metal without generating so
much heat. Using too much of such a fluid prevents the tool from
heating enough to form the oxide and is counterproductive.

Dan