Using tin snips for thin sheets.
How to precisely cut sheet metal.
Making detailed cuts with.
How to cut sheet metal method 1 of 4.
Get a strip of masking tape from the top and bottom of the sheet metal.
Using a chisel and hammer is the most basic form of cutting sheet metal.
Clearance is an important factor in the design of a sheet metal cutting process.
Be sure to remove it.
Straight cutting compound snips work best for cutting thick or doubled up sheet metal.
Cutting straight lines with an electric saw.
As discussed earlier cutting clearance is the straight line lateral distance between the edge of the punch and the edge of the die hole.
However if you attempt to cut sheet metal with a top rated hacksaw follow these couple of tips rub some wax along with the blade of the hacksaw.
Make sure to use a 60 tooth or more carbide tipped blade and wax the blade to ensure the cut is well lubricated.
Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal.
Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal.
This way it won t create separate metal chips.
Go slowly proceed with the utmost caution and wear hearing protection.
If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough.
Choose between red blue or yellow snips based on the cut direction.
First if you want to cut a duct near the middle and use both ends mark and cut the duct before snapping it together.
I hope this reads sensibly.
Place the metal on a hard surface to score it and on long pieces do the bending with the score place along a sharp edge of a bench and if necessary clamp the fixed piece with a long piece of flat wood to prevent buckling the metal while bending it back and forth.
The way the metal separates hence the cut will be largely determined by the clearance.
They don t cut curves well.
It might sound crazy but you can cut sheets of aluminum on a table saw.
There are three tools that kevin caron uses a lot to get a precise cut from a thin piece of metal.
There are two ways to cut round ducts.
One tool is a foot shear or a jump shear.
Another tool is a plate shear for cutting slightly.