Cutting stainless media

I've been wanting to make a load of stainless media for a while, and I've 
got some 1/2" & 3/4" stock coming soon. Right now I'm exploring ways to
cut 
it up. Lloyd suggested a band saw with a good cooling system. The
following 
link shows some 1/2" Rockwell 60 rod a buddy cut with a small handheld 
plasma cutter. Not stainless, just sort of a test. (I had a cutoff piece 
laying around, so what the heck...)

http://pyrobin.com/files/testcutr60-1a.jpg

The cuts are very rough LOL (a little long, too) and the pieces have been 
slightly deburred with a grinder. The discoloration that extends up the
rod 
is what I'm wondering about. That's from the plasma cutter, not the
grinder. 
I realize this steel is harder than 304 stianless, but I'm sure the 304
will 
be simalarly discolored when cut. Is this a problem, ie: is the plasma 
cutter too hot? Maybe they can be polished?

I'm thinking a band saw would be better, but since I don't have access to
a 
good one, I'm considering the plasma cutter. I just don't want to spend 
$150+ and realize I f****d it up... :0

-Scott