Cutting A Straight Line In Sheet Metal

Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal.

Cutting a straight line in sheet metal.

If your project requires cutting a hole in the center of sheet metal draw it on the metal as you would any other cut line. Tape the sheet metal and secure it in place. I could never get a perfectly straight line when cutting longer cuts on sheet metal. Clamp the straight edge on a something you don t care much about to hold it in position other wise it will walk around on you and screw up your cut.

The circular sheet metal cutters can be driven or the work may be pulled through idle cutters. Then create a pilot hole within the penciled circle using a power drill. Clamp or hold a straightedge or square along the cutting marks and score a line with the tip of a sharp utility knife blade. Slitting usually produces a burr.

Long straight cuts are easier to make with large tin snips. Slitting can be performed in a straight line or on a curved path. Metal is difficult for saws to cut and rubbing wax along the blade. This may be a no brainer to most of you but i had to do a lot of repetitive cutting of sheet steel and was looking for the fastest way to do it.

In this video you ll see how to build a straight cutting angle grinder jig. Apply masking tape to both sides of the sheet metal directly over the. This way you can simply press the edge of the torch cup against the straight edge and slowly make a straight cut. Then bend the sheet back and forth a few times to snap it.

Slitting is a shearing process in which the sheet metal is cut by two opposing circular blades like a can opener. A metal bender works like a hand held clamp and grabs onto a point of a metal surface that you want to bend. A nibbler is an electric metal cutter used to cut sheet metal in any direction. It will take a few bunch of passes per cut at least so be patient and thorough.

Its adjustable head allows it to cut straight lines curves or circles. I have been trying to do it in the s. An well known trick when cutting with your plasma cutter is to clamp a metal straight edge to the metal so the arc is directly over your cut line. Just light scoring cuts then it will snap off at the line you scored.

Open the cutters as wide as you can at the start of each stroke and make long smooth strokes. And you can use the same technique anytime you need a straight cut on aluminum or other light gauge sheet metal even steel. The easiest way to straight cut metal sheet. Recently it clicked in my head to utilize an old trick when making straight cuts with a plasma cutter.