Cutting Steel Sheet Metal

Steel thickness is referred to as gauge the smaller the number of gauge the thicker the steel.

Cutting steel sheet metal.

Once you have the starter hole work your way out to the desired radius using the correct red or green colored snip. To cut straight lines use an electric saw. Thin gauge steel like sheet metal can be cut with a large variety of tools. Thicker steel like pipes tubes and plates may require the use of power saws and torches.

Steel comes in many different forms and thicknesses. For cutting out holes in sheet metal it s going to be necessary that you begin with a starter hole this can be formed by using the hammer and chisel method to punch through the metal. A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet. It will glide through 14 gauge material without much hesitation.

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. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in. Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal 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.

Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal. Its head rotates 360 degrees to make any job easy. I m using irwin to. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade.

For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. It can cut straight curved or complex designs and leaves edges with minimal burrs.