Home : Sheet metal - Hints and tips for cutting sheet metal

Sheet metal - Hints and tips for cutting sheet metal

If you need to cut a piece of sheet metal, perhaps to make a bracket for a broken arris rail, try these methods.

• Use a hacksaw. Put the sheet on a flat bench or table with the saw line slightly overlapping the table edge. Position the blade at a 45° angle and keep the teeth in constant contact with the metal. Support a large sheet on another table or bench or ask someone to hold it. Wear work gloves cut metal is sharp.
  
  
• Use a cold chisel to cut a small piece. Lock the metal in a vice with the cutting line level with the top of the jaw. Hold the chisel against the edge of the metal at a 45° angle to the jaw top and hammer it along the length of the piece. The waste piece will curl away.
  
  
• You can also slice a large piece of sheet metal with a cold chisel. Lay the metal on a hardwood bench or table with the cut line even with the edge; then clamp a length of straight steel or hardwood on top. Hold the chisel at a 45° angle to the bench or table edge and hammer along the length of the metal. The scrap should peel down towards the floor.