Best Way To Shape Sheet Metal

Different methods of cutting metal work best in different situations.

Best way to shape sheet metal.

Hammering off dolly is a precision operation that is used to shape metal without stretching it. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. They don t cut curves well. But the discs wear down quickly cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them.

2 secure the sheet metal and position the metal nibbler against the line edge. An angle grinder fitted with an abrasive metal cutting disc works well to cut all kinds of metal including bolts angle iron rebar and even sheet metal. For sheet metal parts the thickness is the same everywhere. Sheet metal usually refers to a thin metal plate with a thickness of 6 mm or less.

Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench. Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line. First if you want to cut a duct near the middle and use both ends mark and cut the duct before snapping it together.

Metal nibblers are the best option for making curved cuts because of its increased range of control. Instead we recommend using a diamond blade that s rated to cut ferrous metal. A stationary or hand shear is a very good approach to delicate detail work. There is no perfect or best way to cut sheetmetal materials.

Sheet metal fabrication is a cold processing process which is commonly used for punching bending drawing and forming. Clamp the wood on top of the metal to the workbench. Often called the poor man s pullmax tuck shrinking is another way of shrinking metal to gain shape. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards.

Although you can use a metal nibbler for long cuts in sheet metal it takes more time and is generally less convenient. Finally bend the sheet up by hand to the angle desired. There are two ways to cut round ducts. The work shown here is a fine tuning operation in the final stages of forming and flattening a surface.

This photo shows hammering on dolly but in this case the dolly is rubber clad. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line.