Cut Sheet Metal Without Bending

Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal.

Cut sheet metal without bending.

It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. Hot metal chips will fly everywhere.

The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot long pieces using this method. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. Also referred to as aviator snips these scissor like hand tools cut sheet metal materials up to 18 gauge in thickness accurately without leaving a ragged bent edge as the finished product. If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly.

Clamp the sheet metal in place on your work table to hold it in place while you work. Plus a plasma torch can be used for thick metal too so they are really handy. One tool is a foot shear or a jump shear. Cut metal with your circular saw.

When working with sheet metal one particularly useful piece of equipment is the brake. Another tool is a plate shear for cutting slightly. Metal shops have brakes mounted at different angles with automated braking arms however it is possible to bend sheet metal at home without the use of a brake. There are three tools that kevin caron uses a lot to get a precise cut from a thin piece of metal.

This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. Tin snips are primarily used for cutting thin sheet metal like tin aluminum brass and thin gauge stainless steel.

The fastest way to cut sheet metal in complex shapes or straight lines without a shear is a plasma torch. When set to a low amperage a plasma torch won t warp the metal and can yield quick clean cuts that help you get the job done quickly.