Cut Through Thin Aluminum Sheet

Tired of getting fingers cut on sheet metal while using tin snips.

Cut through thin aluminum sheet.

Using a softer piece of material such as wood as a backer will allow the chisel to push through the metal and prevent wear on the chisel s tip. If possible choose a saw blade that creates narrow kerfs the notch or slot made by the saw. How to cut thin sheet metal and keep it flat. Cutting thin aluminum should require no more than a few basic tools and is therefore a task that can be easily tackled either on the spot or from any reasonably well equipped garage.

These photo steps show that it can be done using a utility knife. The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot. Select a fine toothed blade and don t cut aluminum with a wall thickness of more than 1 4 inch 0 64 cm. Check out this video.

Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal to cut it. Cutting aluminum sheet metal with a hammer and chisel is relatively straight forward line up the edge of the chisel along the line you wish to cut and strike the chisel with a hammer. For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. 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.