How To Precisely Cut Sheet Metal

Clearance is an important factor in the design of a sheet metal cutting process.

How to precisely cut sheet metal.

As discussed earlier cutting clearance is the straight line lateral distance between the edge of the punch and the edge of the die hole. Using a chisel and hammer is the most basic form of cutting sheet metal. First if you want to cut a duct near the middle and use both ends mark and cut the duct before snapping it together. A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet.

The way the metal separates hence the cut will be largely determined by the clearance. Straight cutting compound snips work best for cutting thick or doubled up sheet metal. How to cut sheet metal method 1 of 4. It might sound crazy but you can cut sheets of aluminum on a table saw.

Another tool is a plate shear for cutting slightly. Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal. Make sure to use a 60 tooth or more carbide tipped blade and wax the blade to ensure the cut is well lubricated. If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough.

They don t cut curves well. This way it won t create separate metal chips. Cutting straight lines with an electric saw. 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.

Go slowly proceed with the utmost caution and wear hearing protection. Get a strip of masking tape from the top and bottom of the sheet metal. Using tin snips for thin sheets. I hope this reads sensibly.

One tool is a foot shear or a jump shear. 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. There are three tools that kevin caron uses a lot to get a precise cut from a thin piece of metal. Making detailed cuts with.

Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal. After cutting metal there s often a sharp edge left. Be sure to remove it.