How To Cut Aluminum Sheet

Mark the start and stopping point of your cut with a grease pencil or some similar implement that marks on sheet metal.

How to cut aluminum sheet. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. Instead we recommend using a diamond blade that s rated to cut ferrous metal. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal.

To cut the sheets of metal rathe. The edges are sharp the cutoffs are stiff and get in the way the snips bind or you just can t seem to negotiate the curve. 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. An angle grinder fitted with an abrasive metal cutting disc works well to cut all kinds of metal including bolts angle iron rebar and even 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. Cutting aluminum sheet metal with a hammer and chisel is relatively straight forward line up the edge of the chisel along the line you wish to cut and strike the chisel with a hammer. But the discs wear down quickly cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them. If you re cutting a line in a sheet of aluminum you can skip the vice and cut your way down the sheet on a flat surface.

Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal to cut it. Cutting sheet metal with snips can be tricky and frustrating. Use wood as a backing piece to help push the chisel through the metal and prevent the chisel s tip from wearing. These problems are common for those of us who don t work with sheet metal every day.

To cut straight lines use an electric saw. For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. Cutting with tin snips.