Cut Through Thin Aluminum Sheet

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.

Cut through thin aluminum sheet.

Select a fine toothed blade and don t cut aluminum with a wall thickness of more than 1 4 inch 0 64 cm. To cut straight lines use an electric saw. The illustrations are for a small bracket but i have cut 3 foot. Check out this video.

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. Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal to cut it. For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. 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.

If possible choose a saw blade that creates narrow kerfs the notch or slot made by the saw. If you use metal shears to cut thin sheet metal such as duct metal it curls and can be difficult to flaten properly. Use a wood cutting saw with carbide tipped blades to cut most aluminum. Tired of getting fingers cut on sheet metal while using tin snips.