How To Cut 16 Gauge Steel Sheet

Install one of the cutoff cutters.

How to cut 16 gauge steel sheet. 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. Clamp or hold a straightedge or square along the cutting marks and score a line with the tip of a sharp utility knife blade. Then bend the sheet back and forth a few times to snap it. Loosen up the drill head with the provided wrench.

Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal to cut it. And you can use the same technique anytime you need a straight cut on aluminum or other light gauge sheet metal even steel. The lower the number the thicker the metal is. Thicker steel is better cut with a plasma cutter circular saw or angle grinder.

Steel with a gauge lower than 18 is probably best to be cut with shears or even snips. How to cut 16 gauge sheet metal by metalman21 sun feb 18 2018 6 33 pm clavius wrote. Most sheet metal cutting tools are limited to 16 gauge and thinner 14 gauge is still sheet metal but in common forms 11 gauge while technically sheet metal is 1 8 thick and not really sheet metal for the purposes of this article so we will focus on 16 gauge and thinner. Mark the cut line with adhesive tape and draw your cut lines.

Situate the metal under the blade and line the blade up with the cut line. Pull the handle down slowly with your hand and slice through the metal. Place the dremel cutter on the cutting line perpendicularly to the sheet metal. Hold the tool tight.

Simply line up your chisel along the line you are going to cut and strike the back of it with a hammer. A soft wood backer will allow for the chisel to pass through more easily by providing support for the metal. If you ve hit it hard enough the chisel will cut the sheet metal if it s thin enough.