Best Tools To Cut Sheet Metal

Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade.

Best tools to cut sheet metal.

But you don t have to be a tinsmith to cut sheet metal successfully. Hot metal chips will fly. And the most frequently used tool in this regard is the best quality electric nibblers. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool.

Somehow this way of cutting protects the edges from corrosion. To cut straight lines use an electric saw. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. But we ll also indicate the best tin snips to use for each type of cut we show.

Knipex tools sheet metal nibblers. They barely weigh a pound and allow for really tight radiuses to be cut. Electric nibblers can be used both as an electronic tool and a stand alone air tool. Cut metal roofing with electric shears electric metal shears come in two varieties a standard plug in in power tool or better an attachment for your impact driver this is best done with malco tools shears are a cheap tool that can quickly cut sheets of corrugated metal in straight lines with little effort.

Power slicing is one advanced and effective way to cut items from sheet metal. 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. Cut metal with your circular saw. The method you choose to cut sheet metal depends on the thickness of the metal and the type of cut you plan to make.

With the right tool and a few simple techniques you can make almost any cut with ease. A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet. They work on iron copper or aluminum sheets that are up to 1 2 mm thick. Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal.

Start by taping both sides of the sheet metal directly over the line you want to cut and clamp the metal to a work station so it doesn t move. Aviation snip is a term applied to the higher end form of this sheet metal cutting tool which comes in 3 basic varieties allowing for straight left hand curved and right hand curved cuts. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in. 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.

We ll recommend a pair of tin snips that will get you through 90 percent of the jobs you ll run into.