Cutting Thin Sheet Metal Straight

Set your saw to straight rather than oscillating if there s a choice.

Cutting thin sheet metal straight. Worked well to cut thin steel. Cutting straight lines with an electric saw. These photo steps show that it can be done using a utility knife. Long straight cuts are easier to make with large tin snips.

How to cut sheet metal method 1 of 4. Simply line up your chisel along the line you are going to cut and strike the back of it with a hammer. Here are a few tips for cutting metal with a recip saw. Right and left cutting snips are used for making curved cuts while straight cutting snips make straight cuts.

If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough. Lift the cutoff strip and roll it to the side to prevent it from binding on the tin snips handle. Choose between red blue or yellow snips based on the cut direction. Choose a blade with 20 to 24 tpi teeth per inch for thin metal 10 to 18 tpi for medium thickness metal and about 8.

If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly. Right cutting left cutting and straight cutting snips. Making detailed cuts with. Extend blade life by keeping the saw s speed slow.

Using a chisel and hammer is the most basic form of cutting sheet metal. There are many different types of tin snips but for cutting sheet metal you only need to work with three basic types. Using tin snips for thin sheets. Longer blade was nice for long straight cuts 148 see all buying options.

Make long strokes for long straight cuts. Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal.