How To Cut 24 Gauge Sheet Metal

Use compound snips to make small cuts in thin gauge steel.

How to cut 24 gauge sheet metal.

Align the tin snips with the sheet metal. Clamp the sheet metal in place on your work table to hold it in place while you work. Cut thin stainless steel metal between 25 and 15 gauge with a pair of compound action snips or shears also called aviator s snips or. If your project requires curved cuts make an easy economical and adjustable.

Long straight cuts are easier to make with large tin snips. Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench. A soft wood backer will allow for the chisel to pass through more easily by providing support for the metal. Cut metal with your circular saw.

Open the cutters as wide as you can at the start of each stroke and make long smooth strokes. How to cut stainless steel sheet metal. Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in.

Mark on your stainless steel sheet with a permanent marker or metal scribe where you want to make the. Simply line up your chisel along the line you are going to cut and strike the back of it with a hammer. Make long strokes for long straight cuts. If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough.

These scissor like tools allow you to cut through thin steel 24 gauge or thinner in the same way you would cut through paper with ordinary scissors. Compound snips are sometimes referred to as aviation snips or tin snips. If you want a sharp 90 bend tap along the crease with a mallet. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool.

Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade. Hot metal chips will fly everywhere. Lift the cutoff strip and roll it to the side to prevent it from binding on the tin snips handle.

Place the sheet metal on top of the workbench and lay out your pattern using a tape measure pencil and straightedge. Today i ll go over three different tools you can use to cut sheet metal and plate.