Best Tools To Cut Sheet Metal

A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet.

Best tools to cut 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. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in. But you don t have to be a tinsmith to cut sheet metal successfully. Hot metal chips will fly.

Knipex tools sheet metal nibblers. Electric nibblers can be used both as an electronic tool and a stand alone air tool. 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. Power slicing is one advanced and effective way to cut items from sheet metal.

In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool. We ll recommend a pair of tin snips that will get you through 90 percent of the jobs you ll run into. To cut straight lines use an electric saw.

And the most frequently used tool in this regard is the best quality electric nibblers. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade. They barely weigh a pound and allow for really tight radiuses to be cut. Standing at around 11 inches long these knipex hand nibblers take the hard work out of cutting sheet metal.

But we ll also indicate the best tin snips to use for each type of cut we show. Cut metal with your circular saw. 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. With the right tool and a few simple techniques you can make almost any cut with ease.

Somehow this way of cutting protects the edges from corrosion. The best tool to cut sheet metal is an electric nibbler tool it cuts corrugated iron sheet metal and even metal car panels easily. For most applications it is necessary to file and clean up the edges left by a snip. Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal.

They work on iron copper or aluminum sheets that are up to 1 2 mm thick.