Best Way To Cut Sheet Metal By Hand

For cutting out holes in sheet metal it s going to be necessary that you begin with a starter hole this can be formed by using the hammer and chisel method to punch through the metal.

Best way to cut sheet metal by hand.

These problems are common for those of us who don t work with sheet metal every day. Apart from hand nibbler there are electric nibbler drill powered nibbler and pneumatic nibblers and so on. Cutting sheet metal with snips can be tricky and frustrating. We recommend using a diamond blade that s labeled as a ferrous metal cutting blade but many tradespeople use a regular masonry diamond blade with good results.

The edges are sharp the cutoffs are stiff and get in the way the snips bind or you just can t seem to negotiate the curve. Open the snips all the way at the beginning of a cut and seat the sheet metal as deep as possible into the opening this provides you with maximum leverage. The way of cutting sheets with nibbler is to cut punches out of a tiny metal sheet and repeat the process until you get your desired dimension. Metal lath and hardware cloth can be cut with a tin snips but there s an easier way.

They are great for making small cuts. To cut straight lines use an electric saw. Mount a diamond blade in your angle grinder and use it like a saw to cut the mesh. 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.

But you don t have to be a tinsmith to cut sheet metal successfully. The standard tin snips comes in three standard cuts and you should have all three on hand. The most common hand tools for cutting sheet metal are hand shears also known as tin snips there are several versions from the old school cleaver type to the much better scissor type that can actually be maneuvered around turns and curves.