Tools Used For Cutting Sheet Metal

Hacksaws or jeweler s saws are another basic hand tool which can be used to cut sheet metal.

Tools used for cutting sheet metal. 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. For the home shop any one of these would be sufficient for. Trick tools offers sheet metal hand tools that can shear bend and notch sheet metal for race car and automotive fabrication or heating and cooling applications. Power slicing is one advanced and effective way to cut items from sheet metal.

A hacksaw can cut sheet metal but its shape limits its turning radius and depth of cut. Electric nibblers can be used both as an electronic tool and a stand alone air tool. The tool nibbles its way through the sheet so it literally punches tiny pieces of metal one at a time at high speed leaving behind waste material in the form of tiny metal chips. An angle grinder fitted with an abrasive metal cutting disc works well to cut all kinds of metal including bolts angle iron rebar and even sheet metal.

For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. But the discs wear down quickly cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them. A tool like a nibbler is fast and easy to maneuver around to cut circles corners and angles in sheet metal work with out jamming like electric shears or tin snips would. You are limited in turning radius and depth because of the geometry of a hack saw.

The best tool to cut sheet metal is an electric nibbler tool it cuts corrugated iron sheet metal and even metal car panels easily. These are some of the tools that i use to cut sheet metal. For a cleaner cut put a strip of masking tape on the top and bottom of the sheet to keep chips from scratching the material. The hacksaw lends itself towards the softer metals because the harder ones such as stainless steel tend to eat blades so again these tools are suited for hobbyists or small sheet metal shops.

These problems are common for those of us who don t work with sheet metal every day. To prolong blade life rub wax along the length of the blade. And the most frequently used tool in this regard is the best quality electric nibblers. But you don t have to be a tinsmith to cut sheet metal successfully.

Cutting sheet metal with snips can be tricky and frustrating. Instead we recommend using a diamond blade that s rated to cut ferrous metal. Clamp the sheet metal to a work table and press the dremel blade against it. To learn how to use a metal nibbler for small cuts keep reading.

Somehow this way of cutting protects the edges from corrosion.