How To Cut Sheet Metal With Tin Snips

Tin snips are primarily used for cutting thin sheet metal like tin aluminum brass and thin gauge stainless steel.

How to cut sheet metal with tin snips.

Tin roofs are lightweight and soft by nature this is why cutting them manually with snips is a good option. Tin snips have heavy blades that can cut through thin sheets of metal. There are many types of snips available on the market designed either for straight or curved cuts. Clamp the sheet metal in place on your work table to hold it in place while you work.

But you don t have to be a tin knocker to cut sheet metal with ease. Right cutting left cutting and straight cutting snips. I recommend a pair of tin snips that will get you through 90 percent of the jobs you ll run into. Cutting metal rated too thick for your blades will damage both the tool and your metal.

These tools are good for cutting soft sheet metals such as tin aluminum and brass. Yellow snips are designed to cut in a straight line while green snips cut to the left and red snips cut to the right. But i can also point you in the. The cheapest way to cut metal roofing is with a pair of tin snips.

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. With the correct snips and a few good ol fashion techniques you can cut some sheet metal worker like you have been a tinsmith your whole life. Probably it s also the cheapest way for cutting corrugated tin roofing. Aviation snips which are also known as compound snips or tin snips are designed to cut metal and come in different shapes and sizes.

There are many different types of tin snips but for cutting sheet metal you only need to work with three basic types. Cutting sheet metal with snips can be tricky and frustrating. You probably wont find snips which are capable of cutting above 18 gauge mild steel. Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal.

For a reference on gauge thickness see our gauge chart. The best tin snips are good for cutting any edge of corrugated iron that is going to be seen as they are easy to control when cutting. Longer tin snips and compound snips are best for heavy corrugated metal. But you don t have to be a tinsmith to cut sheet metal successfully.

You want a pair of straight cuts or left or right handed pair for cutting both straight and around corners. When cutting seams and thick metal use compound snips. Snips are ideal for cutting any type of corrugated roofing especially for cutting softer metal like tin sheets. They are essentially metal cutting scissors that are stronger and more durable than standard scissors.

When you re covering your cuts with flashing and such it s not necessary to sweat for a pretty cut line.