Cut Sheet Metal Without Bending

You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in.

Cut sheet metal without bending.

Cut metal with your circular saw. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. 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. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards.

Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool. Another tool is a plate shear for cutting slightly. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line.

Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. When working with sheet metal one particularly useful piece of equipment is the brake. The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot long pieces using this method. The fastest way to cut sheet metal in complex shapes or straight lines without a shear is a plasma torch.

Plus a plasma torch can be used for thick metal too so they are really handy. There are three tools that kevin caron uses a lot to get a precise cut from a thin piece of metal. These photo steps show that it can be done using a utility knife. Hot metal chips will fly everywhere.

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. One tool is a foot shear or a jump shear. If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade.

Clamp the sheet metal in place on your work table to hold it in place while you work. Tin snips are primarily used for cutting thin sheet metal like tin aluminum brass and thin gauge stainless steel.