Easy Way To Cut 16 Gauge Sheet Metal

Depending on the cut shape you ll use left cut right cut or straight snips typically indicated by the handle color.

Easy way to cut 16 gauge sheet metal.

Since there are going to be a lot of curves to the finished piece i dont know if nippers would be a good bet for steel this thick. How to cut 16 gauge sheet metal by metalman21 sun feb 18 2018 6 33 pm clavius wrote. If you only have one or a few to do a decent variable speed jig saw with a fine metal cutting blade will make reasonably quick work of it. I need a way to cut thick steel sheet meal 16 gauge that is quick and easy.

Thin gauge steel like sheet metal can be cut with a large variety of tools. These tools are good for cutting soft sheet metals such as tin aluminum and brass. Tired of getting fingers cut on sheet metal while using tin snips. The lower the number the thicker the metal is.

Cut metal with your circular saw. Also referred to as aviator snips these scissor like hand tools cut sheet metal materials up to 18 gauge in thickness accurately without leaving a ragged bent edge as the finished product. Hot metal chips will fly. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter.

Check out this video. The method you choose to cut sheet metal depends on the thickness of the metal and the type of cut you plan to make. Aviation snips and tin snips are a common method of cutting thin sheet metal for hobbyists. You ll also be limited to the gauges you can work with i don t believe you ll be cutting anything thicker than 16 gauge cold rolled steel with this method.

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. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade. To cut straight lines use an electric saw. Saws and torches can also be used on thin steel but are impractical choices unless you re cutting high volume or need to cut steel often.

Thicker steel like pipes tubes and plates may require the use of power saws and torches. Most sheet metal cutting tools are limited to 16 gauge and thinner 14 gauge is still sheet metal but in common forms 11 gauge while technically sheet metal is 1 8 thick and not really sheet metal for the purposes of this article so we will focus on 16 gauge and thinner. There are nippers out there that could do it but i want to know if there are cheap easier ways out there than killing my hands trying to cut it. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool.