Long straight cuts are easier to make with large tin snips.
Cutting thin sheet metal straight.
These photo steps show that it can be done using a utility knife.
Using tin snips for thin sheets.
Right cutting left cutting and straight cutting snips.
Extend blade life by keeping the saw s speed slow.
Right and left cutting snips are used for making curved cuts while straight cutting snips make straight cuts.
Choose between red blue or yellow snips based on the cut direction.
If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough.
Set your saw to straight rather than oscillating if there s a choice.
Lift the cutoff strip and roll it to the side to prevent it from binding on the tin snips handle.
The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot long pieces using this method.
If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly.
Worked well to cut thin steel.
Using a chisel and hammer is the most basic form of cutting sheet metal.
Nice tight blade contact.
Choose a blade with 20 to 24 tpi teeth per inch for thin metal 10 to 18 tpi for medium thickness metal and about 8.
Longer blade was nice for long straight cuts 148 see all buying options.
Open the cutters as wide as you can at the start of each stroke and make long smooth strokes.
There are many different types of tin snips but for cutting sheet metal you only need to work with three basic types.
Here are a few tips for cutting metal with a recip saw.
Make long strokes for long straight cuts.
Making detailed cuts with.
Wax your saw blade before cutting sheet metal.