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.

Cutting a straight line in sheet metal. Then create a pilot hole within the penciled circle using a power drill. Make long strokes for long straight cuts. And you can use the same technique anytime you need a straight cut on aluminum or other light gauge sheet metal even steel. Slitting can be performed in a straight line or on a curved path.

Recently it clicked in my head to utilize an old trick when making straight cuts with a plasma cutter. Open the cutters as wide as you can at the start of each stroke and make long smooth strokes. Slitting usually produces a burr. Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal.

Tape the sheet metal and secure it in place. The easiest way to straight cut metal sheet. I have been trying to do it in the s. Lift the cutoff strip and roll it to the side to prevent it from binding on the tin snips handle.

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. This way you can simply press the edge of the torch cup against the straight edge and slowly make a straight cut. Cutting straight lines with an electric saw 1. Then bend the sheet back and forth a few times to snap it.

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. 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 is a shearing process in which the sheet metal is cut by two opposing circular blades like a can opener. Just light scoring cuts then it will snap off at the line you scored.

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. It will take a few bunch of passes per cut at least so be patient and thorough. A nibbler is an electric metal cutter used to cut sheet metal in any direction.

The circular sheet metal cutters can be driven or the work may be pulled through idle cutters. A metal bender works like a hand held clamp and grabs onto a point of a metal surface that you want to bend. I could never get a perfectly straight line when cutting longer cuts on sheet metal. In this video you ll see how to build a straight cutting angle grinder jig.