Cut Thin Aluminum Sheet

Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal.

Cut thin aluminum sheet.

How to cut thin sheet metal and keep it flat. Clamp or hold a straightedge or square along the cutting marks and score a line with the tip of a sharp utility knife blade. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. Set your store to see local availability compare.

An air powered sheet metal nibbler or a nibbler head attached to a power drill can cut through galvanized corrugated aluminum sheet as well as flat sheet up to 16 gauge. Cutting aluminium sheet sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. Before cutting put on a pair of safety goggles and work gloves to prevent injuries. Diamond tred aluminum sheet heavy weight model 57575 13 49 13 49.

Using a softer piece of material such as wood as a backer will allow the chisel to push through the metal and prevent wear on the chisel s tip. If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly. Lincane aluminum sheet weathered gray model 57565 62 98 62 98. Tin snips are primarily used for cutting thin sheet metal like tin aluminum brass and thin gauge stainless steel.

If possible choose a saw blade that creates narrow kerfs the notch or slot made by the saw. M d building products 3 ft. And you can use the same technique anytime you need a straight cut on aluminum or other light gauge sheet metal even steel. Select a fine toothed blade and don t cut aluminum with a wall thickness of more than 1 4 inch 0 64 cm.

These photo steps show that it can be done using a utility knife. Set the piece of aluminum on a table or over sawhorses and position it so the cutting area has open space underneath it. Then bend the sheet back and forth a few times to snap it. Bench mounted tools such as shears or band saws cut aluminum sheet relatively slowly and with varying amounts of accuracy.

Since aluminum does not tend to close as you cut it create narrow kerfs whenever you can. 2 mark the start and stopping point of your cut. The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line.